Category: News Feeds

“Legal Innovation” is not always about technology; it’s about a change in practice that improves the delivery of legal services through better value to your clients.  That “change” can involve technology, but it doesn’t always have to. 

If technology is part of the Innovation or Process Improvement that you are undertaking, your firm’s users must adopt the technology fully for any profound “change” to occur.  If you are considering the implementation of any new technology, try to include the following steps.  They will help you realize your new technology’s full value – and avoid finding yourself in a web of software sprawl.

1. Align technology with strategic change

Before you even start looking at any new shiny technology, ask yourself: What are you trying to do better, or what new thing are you trying to do?  If the process in your firm is broken, chances are technology will not make it better.  You will just be automating a broken process.  If the thing you are trying to do better can be improved, will any new technology accomplish all of this or only parts of it?

If you break down the process to its various “moving” parts, you may have an easier time finding the right technology for each part, rather than finding the perfect technology that “does it all.”

Lastly, consider what other processes will be impacted by any technology.  If you are automating one part of a process, will the other non-automated parts adapt to the new workflow easily, or will the new technology create a new bottleneck in your process?

2. Compatibility of systems

Chances are, there will be more than one new piece of software that will fill your needs.  When making choices on which to try or buy, consider which technology does this best versus which technology does this well-enough AND integrates well with your other current systems.  If your new piece of shiny new tech does not play well with systems your team already uses, it will be hard to get widespread adoption; worse, it might create further inefficiencies in your processes

3. Communicate early and often for buy-in and engagement

Identify all users who will be using the new tools and get them involved in the search, trials and purchase decisions.  If you get users involved in screening new technology, they will be more invested in the outcome.  Top-down requests (demands?) to adopt new systems don’t generally work.

A piece of shiny new technology might impress a group of lawyers, but if their clerks and assistants don’t like it, it’s not worth the investment.  However, beware of internal blockers – those who cling to the old way of doing things. “I don’t trust [the new thing] to do it correctly,” or “I can do it faster myself!” Nobody likes change, especially if someone has been doing the same thing for years.  If they know why and how the improvement will occur and have input along the way, they are less likely to resist.

4. Training is Key

I remember reading the printed owner’s manual that comes with most appliances or electronics.  They would start with “Congratulations on the purchase of ……” and then outlined what and how the new thing worked.  With most new legal technology and software, you rarely get any manual or user guide.  After you sign up, you are lucky to get a set of video “tours” of the systems and a link to the support page.

This self-help approach might work for some users and firms but spending the time — and money where needed — to get all your users trained adequately on the software is the quickest way to achieve the full value from your new shiny technology.  Just as necessary as onboarding and training is getting follow up training after 30-60 days to ensure that everyone on your team is maximizing the use of the new tech.  You can use these follow-up sessions for diving deep into how your users need or want to use the technology or get answers to nagging issues.  Any provider that is unwilling to spend the time with you to solve your problems and maximize the value of their product shouldn’t get your business.

As the VP of Customer Support at Matter365, it is my role to ensure that every new customer gets up and running on our platform as quickly and as painlessly as possible and to get the value of a fully integrated Legal Practice Management system.  To ensure that, we provide initial onboarding and training.  We also follow up with customers at regular intervals with offers of ongoing training and support to ensure that all firm members have the skills and knowledge required to effect the “change” promised by the adoption of a new piece of shiny technology.

Rohit Parekh is a Registered Trade-mark Agent and practices intellectual property law.  In addition to the practice of law, as the VP of Customer Success at Matter365, Mr. Parekh develops and implements processes and workflow solutions for legal services to maximize efficiency and value.

—–

Schedule a consultation to learn how Matter365 can help your firm adopt change, not just technology.

Winter is creeping up on us, and with Hanukkah almost behind us, Christmas nearly upon us, and everyone in the legal profession ready to ring in the New Year, it’s time to reveal the eight finalists for our twelfth annual holiday card contest. But first let’s give shout-outs to some honorable mentions (click on each firm’s name to see its card):

1. Brown & Bouchard: Pandemic-related bingo? This is actually pretty funny and completely relatable. From the nominator: “We sent these out to some colleagues as a little lighthearted holiday joke and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. One of them suggested we submit to ATL. This is our Telephonic Hearing Bingo Card holiday card. It definitely helped us laugh and blow off some steam. We have a tough area of practice and we are passionate about what we do. Sometimes, though, you just have to laugh about it a little.”

2. Kramer Elkins & Watt: From the nominator: “We are a small law firm in Madison, Wisconsin, with three partners, an associate, and two (soon to be three) staff members. We opened in the fall of 2015. Beginning in 2016, we have crafted creative holiday card messages designed to poke fun of legalese. Please enjoy the 2020 version.” Who doesn’t love making fun of legalese? Check it out.

And now, the eight finalists, in alphabetical order. Again, click on each firm’s name to view its card. Please note that most of these cards have SOUND, so you might want to turn your sound off or down, or use headphones. Explanatory comments come from firm representatives unless otherwise indicated.

1. Conn Kavanaugh: “This is our take on the 2020 viral TikTok trend,” says the nominator from this Boston-based firm. You know what they say about the law firm that drinks together… they make great holiday cards!

2. Harness Dickey: IP comes alive at this firm, and they’re on a mission to help Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer adjust to a COVID Christmas. “We realize 2020 is not a typical year. We could have easily gone with a very traditional ecard with a simple ‘Happy Holidays from Harness Dickey’ message,” said Bryan Wheelock, a Principal in the firm’s St. Louis office. “Instead, we wanted to acknowledge it hasn’t been a normal year and provide a quick smile and maybe a chuckle, even if it only lasts a minute or two. We all deserve a break this year.”

3. Lane Powell: This year’s holiday card from Lane Powell has that touch of humanity everyone needs after a year of being apart. From the nominator: “This card manages to toe the line between acknowledging the year’s eventfulness while also making a moment for lightness and smiles. 2020 made me tired so I want familiarity and warmth, not a flat joke from a committee of lawyers. In my mind, Lane Powell delivered here.”

4. McBrayer: “We started planning and scripting this card featuring the founder of our firm in the late summer, but unfortunately — heartbreakingly so — we lost him in October after an extended illness,” says the nominator. “As with all our cards, we try to put our personality into them, and this year that takes the form of a winter visit with our late founder, Terry McBrayer, as he and our Managing Member James H. Frazier, III, discuss the origins of our firm in the form of a familiar poem.” Our condolences to the firm, and may this card serve as a lasting memory.

5. Morse: We truly enjoyed this card because it was such a creative idea. This firm decided to highlight their client’s creations during the pandemic, and it really came out wonderfully. “A representative from the firm says, “We presented all employees with a challenge: nominate a client that is either giving back to their community, is a small business that offers a service or product that might make a good holiday gift (and could use a boost during these times), or has pivoted their business to provide pandemic support in some way. The response was awesome! We had room to feature 20 clients on our e-card but we just couldn’t leave anyone out, so we added an ‘honorable mention’ list at the bottom too! From combatting loneliness in the elderly and virtual tutoring, to ‘bookends for wine’ and a manicure featured on Time’s 100 Best Inventions of 2020 list, our clients are truly doing amazing things. And they absolutely deserve the spotlight this year.”

6. Rumberger Kirk: This is a sweet holiday card that really captures the feeling of the season. “Our animations take at minimum 2 weeks to produce and this one was just over that time frame. The mask cloth simulation was quite challenging but I think we pulled it off,” says the nominator. “Attention to detail and a unique story is what makes this really stand out from the other holiday ecards. For example, the magazine on the desk is 22 pages (front and back) of Rumberger branded law content, even though you can’t really read or see much of it.”

7. Wolf Greenfield: This card comes from a two-time winner of our holiday contest, and of course the perrenial finalist made the finals once again. “We broke away from the stop motion style that led to us winning the 2017 and 2018 ATL Holiday Card Contests and placing second in 2019, and leapt into the magical and immersive world of animation,” says a representative from the firm. “We didn’t abandon our old holiday card stars altogether though! If you look closely, you’ll see nods to Wolf Greenfield cards of the past with the gingerbread cookie from 2019, the snowman from 2018, and the robot from 2017.”

8. Venable: This card reminded me of what life has been like working from home for almost a year (with kids yelling the background and competing for attention during calls). “Since our founding, Venable has supported the economic and social vitality of the communities in which we work and live,” says the nominator. “By helping individuals and organizations meaningfully connect with opportunities, resources, and each other, we ensure that our firm’s impact reaches far beyond our day-to-day business operations.”

Now it’s time for our audience to vote. We’ll keep the polls open through SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern time). This gives you ample time to campaign for your pick over the holidays (but please, please, please don’t cheat).

Thanks to all the entrants and nominators, good luck to the finalists, and happy holidays to everyone! Above the Law is happy to celebrate holiday cheer with you!

---

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

Ed. note: This column originally appeared on December 9 on Original Jurisdiction, the new Substack publication from David Lat.

I’m often asked whether I miss the practice of law. Generally my answer is no; I love my work of writing about law and the legal profession.

But as a former appellate attorney, if I could return to the world of practice for one experience, it would be to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Having even just one argument before SCOTUS is the dream of many a lawyer.

For Kannon Shanmugam, it’s just another day in the office.

Okay, that’s an exaggeration; a high-court argument is still a noteworthy occasion, even for Shanmugam. But it’s not rare. It’s something that happens, on average, about twice a year for the veteran appellate advocate.

Yesterday, Shanmugam argued before the Supreme Court in Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc., which represented his 30th appearance before SCOTUS. Yesterday was also, in a nice coincidence, the 16th anniversary of his first Supreme Court argument, in Muehler v. Mena.

I connected with Shanmugam by Zoom yesterday afternoon, a few hours after his argument. He took the call from his office at Paul Weiss, sitting at the same desk where he had argued before the Court that morning.

(And yes, in case you’re wondering, Shanmugam handled the argument sitting down, using a headset. Supreme Court advocacy — it’s just like telemarketing!)

I began by asking him: how did it feel to be making your 30th argument?

“I didn’t actually realize it was going to be my 30th until one of my colleagues pointed it out to me a couple of weeks ago,” he said. “I try not to pay much attention to the numbers. I hope to be remembered for the quality of my arguments rather than the quantity.”

And 30 arguments in, appearing before the Court hasn’t lost its magic for him. As Shanmugam told me, “It is every bit as special now as it was the first time I did it.”

Does he get nervous after hearing the “oyez, oyez” that signifies the start of the session?

“I wouldn’t say that I get nervous, exactly, but the adrenalin is definitely pumping when the Chief Justice calls the case.”

For 15 of the years that he’s been arguing before the Supreme Court, a tradition-bound institution, the procedure, pomp and circumstance have remained the same. But this year has brought dramatic change.

For the safety of the justices and lawyers in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Court has been conducting oral arguments by telephone since May. That means no more trekking down to One First Street, entering the grand and glorious courtroom, and rising to one’s feet as the justices enter. I asked Shanmugam for his thoughts on the new process.

“We’re all new to this format, and it feels very different,” he said. “When the Court debuted this format, I said that it wasn’t as good as arguing in person, but better than nothing at all — and I’d stick to that view.”

“The Court is handling this as well as humanly possible,” he continued. “The clerk’s office is fantastic, giving the lawyers very specific instructions about the process. It’s very well organized, and it runs remarkably smoothly.”

To prevent chaos in a situation where the justices aren’t in the same room and can’t see one another — reflecting the Court’s aversion to cameras, the arguments are purely telephonic, with no video — the Court instituted a system in which the justices take turns asking questions, in order of seniority, with Chief Justice Roberts serving as moderator.

Back in May, I wrote that I liked the turn-taking approach, arguing that it gives every justice — not just the most aggressive or noisiest ones — the opportunity to ask questions. (It has been nice to have Justice Thomas participating, for example.) I also praised how the new format lets the advocates see what each member of the Court is thinking, so they can try to address each justice’s concerns — and perhaps garner the justice’s vote.

What does Shanmugam think of the system of seriatim questioning? He’s nothing if not diplomatic, but I got the sense that he’s not a huge fan.

“The pace of it feels very different,” he observed. “It’s not nearly as rapid fire. It also feels like nine three-minute arguments, as opposed to one argument.”

“This makes it harder for the Court to pin down the advocates and get to the nub of the case,” he continued. “In the traditional format, the justices’ questions would build on each other. Now, one justice might have one thing on his mind and focus his questions on that, but then the next justice might have something totally different on her mind, devoting her questioning to those topics.”

The new format presents challenges for advocates as well.

“In an in-person argument, you can see the Court’s decision-making take shape — that’s a lot harder now,” Shanmugam said. “A challenge of telephonic argument for the advocate is that you’re arguing into a void. You can’t tell whether your points are landing. You can’t see the justices talking to each other. You’re not getting any visual feedback.”

“These are really just observations, not pros and cons,” he added. “I think this format is the best the Court can do under the circumstances. It would be very hard to have telephonic arguments without some structure. You can’t have nine people who can’t see each other all trying to talk at once.”

Since the justices can’t see the advocates during telephonic arguments, I asked Shanmugam: what did you wear? Did you take advantage of the situation and make yourself comfortable by wearing, say, head-to-toe Lululemon (yes, they make menswear too)?

Alas, no. A stickler for tradition, Shanmugam wore a dark suit and the same silver necktie he has worn to every one of his 30 arguments before the Court, as well as his wedding. (This shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows him; as fellow Supreme Court advocate John P. Elwood once tweeted, Shanmugam probably wears a necktie in his sleep.)

At an in-person argument, Shanmugam would be sitting at counsel table with a few colleagues, who could pass him notes with their ideas and suggestions. Yesterday morning, he was the only person in his office when arguing. But he was in a messaging group with the two associates who worked with him on the case, William Marks and Stacie Fahsel, and they could pass him virtual notes.

(An interesting aside: neither Marks nor Fahsel clerked for the Supreme Court, and Shanmugam, despite having clerked for the Court himself, does not believe a SCOTUS clerkship is a prerequisite to success as a Supreme Court and appellate advocate. “Of course you have to be smart, a hard worker, and a good writer and oral advocate,” he said. “But it isn’t the case that only the 36 people who clerk at the Court each year can do that. Many of the most talented associates I’ve worked with over the course of my career didn’t clerk for the Court.”)

So Supreme Court oral argument has changed quite a bit from pre- to post-pandemic. What about over the longer haul? How has argument changed during the 16 years that Shanmugam has been appearing before the Court?

He began by noting that the Court is almost totally different in terms of composition. Over the past 16 years, he has argued in front of a total of 15 different justices. Justice Thomas and Justice Breyer are the only two justices who were on the Court in 2004, when Shanmugam made his high court debut, and who are still on the Court today.

Despite the personnel changes, many things remain the same. The justices are still active and incisive questioners — and, if anything, they are even more active today than in 2004. The standard of advocacy remains exceptionally high — and, if anything, it’s even higher today than in 2004.

One development driving that: the rise of the specialized Supreme Court bar, an elite group of expert advocates who appear regularly before SCOTUS. They’re incredibly well-credentialed and well-connected, they’re intimately familiar with the Court and its workings, they know how to persuade the justices, and they don’t make rookie mistakes. (For a superb, in-depth look at the Supreme Court bar, check out The Echo Chamber, a special report by Joan Biskupic, Janet Roberts, and John Shiffman of Reuters, released back in 2014.)

“One can debate the pros and cons of a more specialized Supreme Court bar,” Shanmugam said, “but these days, it’s rare to have a first-time advocate appearing before the Court.” He noted that we did have a first-time advocate yesterday — but Bryan Garner, who made his SCOTUS debut in the other case argued yesterday, Facebook Inc. v. Duguid, is no ordinary bear.

(Indeed, Garner — the renowned scholar, grammarian, and lexicographer, longtime editor of Black’s Law Dictionary — left the justices a bit “starstruck,” according to Elura Nanos of Law & Crime.)

For a long time, the Supreme Court bar was stodgy and stagnant in terms of lateral movement. But in 2019, Shanmugam made waves by moving from Williams & Connolly, whose appellate and Supreme Court practice he had launched, to Paul Weiss, where he took on the dual roles of chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice and managing partner of the D.C. office.

This gave rise to a game of musical chairs within the Supreme Court bar, with other SCOTUS superstars making moves of their own. Lisa Blatt left Arnold & Porter to head the appellate practice at Williams & Connolly, and John Elwood left Vinson & Elkins to head the appellate practice of Arnold & Porter (where he was soon joined by Allon Kedem, coming out of the Office of the Solicitor General).

I asked Shanmugam about how the move from Williams & Connolly, a legendary litigation powerhouse, to Paul Weiss, an elite full-service firm, has changed his practice.

“Paul Weiss is a much bigger firm, and a much bigger — yes, I hate this word, but I’ll use it — platform,” he said. “Paul Weiss is really unusual in that it has a top-flight litigation practice and top-flight corporate practices, and this does create opportunities. The clients that come to this firm by virtue of its corporate practice are a who’s who of the corporate world — and it’s wonderful to have access to such a remarkable client base, which has allowed for a lot of cross-referral work.”

The value of a world-class M&A practice like that of Paul Weiss is obvious, given the gigantic fees associated with billion-dollar deals. I teasingly asked Shanmugam: what do you bring to the table? More specifically, I asked him to comment on the traditional knock on appellate work: it’s prestigious but not that profitable, since it’s not as “leveraged” as other practice areas (i.e., you can’t throw a ton of associates on projects and have them bill until the cows come home, since an appellate team might be just a partner and an associate, or a partner and two associates).

“Appellate practices have tremendous value, and the demand for appellate practitioners reflects that,” Shanmugam said, taking note not just of Lisa Blatt’s and John Elwood’s moves, but also of how Skadden Arps recently hired Shay Dvoretzky away from Jones Day. “When a matter goes up on appeal, it offers an increasingly rare opportunity for a firm to get access to new clients, because that’s often a point at which clients are looking for new lawyers.”

“Appellate and Supreme Court work is a very visible area of practice,” he continued. “It draws a lot of attention to a firm’s broader litigation practice, and to the firm more generally.”

“It’s also important for recruiting. Even if they don’t want to be appellate practitioners, law students are often drawn to firms that are prominent because of their Supreme Court and appellate practices. So appellate practices have enormous value to firms, even if they’re not as ‘leveraged’ in the narrow sense of the term.”

Fair enough, counselor. And given the gossip about the prodigious pay package that Paul Weiss used to woo Shanmugam (which he declined to comment on), his points are well taken. Despite his firm’s industry-leading commitment to pro bono work, longtime chair Brad Karp isn’t running a charity over at Paul Weiss; he presumably hired Shanmugam because he thought it was good business.

And it looks like Paul Weiss will be able to enjoy the benefit of Shanmugam’s services for the foreseeable future. As one might expect from a longtime member of the Federalist Society and former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Shanmugam hails from the right side of the aisle, and he was talked about as a possible Solicitor General or judicial nominee in the Trump Administration. But in light of Joe Biden’s recent win in the presidential election, Shanmugam probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And he’s okay with that.

“I’m really enjoying what I’m doing now,” he said. “In many ways, this was a career-defining decision for me. And I’m really excited about leading the D.C. office of Paul Weiss, at least as excited about it as about growing my own practice. We have a tremendous opportunity to build on our position as a major player in the market.”

Since his arrival, the D.C. office has hired such marquee names as Jeannie Rhee, who served on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, and a trio of prominent partners from Boies Schiller Flexner — Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, and Jessica Phillips. With almost 100 lawyers, the D.C. office of Paul Weiss is now the firm’s second largest, with around 10 percent of the firm’s total headcount and 20 percent of the firm’s litigators.

I asked Shanmugam how many hours he spends a year on firm management. He declined to give a number — just as he also declined to tell me how many hours he bills in a year, or what his current billable rate is — but he noted that the time he spends on management has increased dramatically since the pandemic hit.

“I never would have foreseen this challenge when I took on the managing partner role last year,” he said. “Firm leadership and culture are so important during this time, when we are all working remotely. Brad [Karp] has been an incredible leader during this period — an extraordinary law firm leader, the best in the country in my opinion.”

Under Karp’s leadership, Paul Weiss has focused first and foremost on the health and safety of its employees. The firm is strongly encouraging everyone to work remotely, and it has announced no date for a return to requiring people to work in the office, instead taking its cues from public health experts.

At the same time, firm leaders have been doing what they can to maintain connectedness and camaraderie among lawyers and staff during this time. Traditions like weekly lunches and Friday happy hours continue, albeit virtually, and Shanmugam has also been having one-on-one conversations with each of the office’s associates to see how they are doing.

“I’m really proud of our office, both the lawyers and the operations team, for their incredible ability to keep our work going in this challenging time,” he said. “It hasn’t been easy with all the personal challenges people have been facing, like caring for relatives with COVID-19 or dealing with kids not being in school. It’s a testament to this firm and the community we’ve built here that we have been able to continue in the way that we have.”

And not all the changes brought about by the pandemic have been bad.

“It has been nice not to travel as much as I used to,” Shanmugam said. “Much as I enjoy going to new places, it can be a real burden, especially when things are very busy.”

“You can now get hired for major matters via Zoom, which is mind-boggling. In the past, we would visit prospective clients, meet them in person, and make the pitch. Meeting them virtually is a huge time saver.”

“And I’ve gotten to spend more time with my kids, who are 12, 11, and 3. That’s been a weird bonus of what has been a really challenging time.”

As our conversation concluded, I congratulated Shanmugam on his 30th Supreme Court argument and asked him if he had any exciting plans to celebrate.

“I’m going to go home and watch my Kansas Jayhawks. And drink a beer.”

Ed. note: This column originally appeared on December 9 on Original Jurisdiction, the new Substack publication from David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction on its About page, and you can register to receive updates through this signup page.

---

David Lat, the founding editor of Above the Law, is a writer, speaker, and legal recruiter at Lateral Link, where he is a managing director in the New York office. David’s book, Supreme Ambitions: A Novel (2014), was described by the New York Times as “the most buzzed-about novel of the year” among legal elites. David previously worked as a federal prosecutor, a litigation associate at Wachtell Lipton, and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@laterallink.com.

 A woman carrying a bucket of water walk past one fetching water from a hand-dug well on November 22, 2020, near Luveve township in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It has become very difficult for most women to balance the time for work, household chores and searching for water. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)  

First published in CCIJ.

In November every year, Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, explodes into a magnificent riot of colour as the majestic purple jacaranda and the flame-red flamboyant trees bloom, transforming the wide tree-lined streets into a glorious spectacle.

But beneath this blissful veneer of blossoms is a troubled city struggling to come to terms with a devastating shortage of water and the resultant loss of life.

In June, three months into a Covid-19 lockdown, Bulawayo was blindsided by a totally different disease — diarrhoea.

The gastro-intestinal malady, which spreads through the ingestion of contaminated water and food, had killed 13 people by July and infected more than 2 000 others. Some of the survivors suffered mysterious skin disfigurement. And many are yet to settle their hefty medical bills.

The Bulawayo Municipality said eight suburbs were affected. In September, city clinics were attending to more than 240 cases of diarrhoea every two days. In comparison, Covid-19, at that time, had claimed six lives.

“The diarrhoea outbreak caught many of us by surprise. We were bracing for a Covid-19 emergency, like everywhere else in the world. I can’t adequately describe the terrifying sense of fear and shock caused by the diarrhoea outbreak under the shadow of the Covid-19 crisis,” recounted Mthokozisi Sibanda, a city resident.

Diarrhoea killed 13 people by July and infected more than 2 000 others.

The sprawling townships of Luveve and Cowdray Park were the epicentre of the diarrhoea outbreak. Local residents recounted the ordeal of having to constantly dice with death, as the twin perils of Covid-19 and water-borne disease stalked the area.

The diarrhoea-related deaths have since subsided, but emotional scars remain fresh, worsened by a water shortage that threatens to spiral out of control.

But even as that threat lessened, deaths in the city attributed to the coronavirus have increased in October and November. The increased toll from the virus comes amid warnings from Solwayo Ngwenya, a local professor of medicine and clinical director of Bulawayo’s largest hospital, that the reluctance of residents to wear face masks has increased the risk of a “second wave” of infections.

Climate change is real

Three out of six water-supply dams have dried up owing to dwindling rain, forcing the municipality to introduce drastic rationing which has seen most suburbs receiving water for only 12 hours over an entire week.

The director of the Bulawayo City Council’s department of engineering services, Simela Dube, made the chilling revelation that Criterion Water Works, a giant reservoir holding 10 days’ buffer storage, has now completely dried up.

“It’s the first time in history,” Dube said. “The issues of climate change are starting to show. The inflows into our dams continue to decline almost every season.”

The city’s 650 000 residents need at least 150 megalitres (150 million litres) of water a day, but the municipality can supply only 89 megalitres, using five bowsers – tankers – for transporting water.

The huge disparity between supply and demand means people are forced to resort to unsafe sources of water, such as unprotected wells, contaminated streams and boreholes whose water quality is questionable.

Linda Mushekwi, 15, balances a 20-litre bucket of water on November 22, 2020, near Luveve in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Linda bemoans the water crisis’s negative impact on her school studies as she spends half of her day searching for water for a household of five people. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

Bulawayo City Council (BCC) says laboratory tests have ruled out fears that the diarrhoea is caused by serious notifiable diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery. Municipal health officials attribute the outbreak to residents’ poor hygiene practices, particularly the use of dirty water-storage containers.

Civic groupings have challenged this narrative, accusing the city council of supplying “tainted” water.

In the face of the mounting crisis, the municipality has sought permission from the central government to conduct a study to establish whether it would be feasible to allocate each household the first 5 000 litres of water for free every month, according to Dube. It is an ambitious “pro-poor” plan.

He says the study—which will also look into the viability of the water-tariff structure — will cost US$600 000.

“The study will also look into the ring-fencing of the water services so that water can account for its own expenditure and income without getting subsidies from other (municipal) accounts.”

Finding clean water is tough

Mother-of-two Anna Nduna, 21, said it has become very difficult to juggle the tasks of tending to her three-month-old twins while also frantically hunting for water.

“I am staying in Cowdray Park and the water situation there is very dire. Sometimes we spend three weeks without (municipal) water. Due to that, we ended up resorting to fetching water from unprotected wells near the [spilt] sewage,” she said.

A girl is reflected as she leaps into a hand-dug well to draw water on November 22, 2020, near Luveve in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Several people have had minor injuries while drawing water from the wells. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

“To make matters worse, I have three-month-old twins. So, I struggle to get water for washing their nappies and for cooking. I come here (looking for water) every day, two or three times a day. Today, I have been here since 1pm and now it’s already 4pm,” she said while attending to her crying babies.

The distance between her home in Cowdray Park and where she fetches water is about a kilometre.

When asked how she manages to carry a 20-litre bucket of water plus her twin babies, she said: “I strap one of my babies to my back and the other one in front. There is nothing I can do. The situation is horrible and unbearable.”

Anna Nduna and her children, including her three-month-old twins. (Photo: Darlington Mwashita)

Her husband works as an illegal artisanal gold miner in Inyathi, 68 kilometres from Bulawayo and the family’s modest income does not afford her the luxury of buying borehole water from private suppliers.

Tormented by a running stomach

Sikhathele Ncube, 43, a mother-of-three and resident of New Luveve township, said diarrhoea is terrorising her family.

The water situation in Luveve is unbearable for residents, made worse by a burst pipe that was spewing untreated effluent close to where many residents collect water when I visited the area.

“We fetch water near the sewage because we don’t have options,” Ncube said, referring to a nearby broken pipe that was spewing raw effluent when I visited the area.

Flies seen on November 22, 2020, rest on the grass next faecal matter beside one of several unprotected hand-dug wells from where some residents draw water near Luveve in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. In July, 13 people died while hundreds suffered stomach ailments resulting from drinking contaminated water. Cases of diarrhoeal-related disease continue to be recorded in the city as water shortages persist. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

“We wake up at 2am to queue for water at the wells here,” said Ncube. “I use this water for cooking, drinking and washing. Just look at that,” she gestured, pointing at a nearby pile of human waste.

“People are sick with diarrhea and other water-borne diseases. As I speak, I have a running tummy, and so do my children. We don’t care whether the water is safe or not,” she said.

It takes her an agonising 40 minutes to fill up a 20-litre bucket.

“We fetch water near the sewage because we don’t have options.”

“What we need is water for drinking and cooking. We wonder what will happen now the schools have opened. My children last had a bath a week ago. With the outbreak of Covid-19, we don’t know how we can protect ourselves from it since we don’t have water to wash our hands regularly. Toilets are not being flushed. Everything is just messed up,” Ncube lamented.

Fistfights routinely break out when desperate residents jostle to fetch water at unprotected wells, she added. “Sometimes we fight over water, something which is very terrible.”

Women live in fear of sexual violence

Women are also fearful of being mugged or raped while hunting for water in the dark, according to Ncube. But it was “better to be mugged than to die of thirst,” she said.

A woman carries a water bucket from a well in the early morning hours of November 22, 2020, Luveve township in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. It has become very difficult for most women to balance the time for work, household chores and searching for water. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

“Yes, we can be raped, but what is more important to me is to provide water for my children. We are between a rock and a hard place.”

Sibonokuhle Nyoni, 38, a mother-of-two from Old Luveve township, also believes that the dire water shortage was exposing women and girls to sexual violence.

Nyoni travels six kilometres from Old Luveve to another suburb, Emakhandeni, to access water from a borehole.

“Water is life and if you don’t get it, then it means there is no life. We are afraid of disease outbreaks. We wake up at 4am looking for water. We come here twice a day,” Nyoni said.

Magwegwe residents line up to fetch water from a Bulawayo City Council bowser as shortages of water increase in the city. (Photo: Darlington Mwashita)

To protect themselves from knife-wielding muggers, women walk in groups.

“The situation is terrible, especially for women. For instance, some women are nursing babies and they need water for washing nappies and cooking for their children,” said Nyoni. “But with this water situation in Bulawayo, it becomes very difficult for them.”

Nyoni said they spend most of their productive time looking for water.

“We always think about water, nothing else, and this is affecting our day-to-day lives. You can’t do other things,” she said.

Magwegwe and Lobengula residents fetch water flowing from the Magwegwe reservoir in Bulawayo. (Photo: Darlington Mwashita)

Muggings, fistfights and rape are not the only perils encountered in the hunt for water. Sikhangezile Ndlovu, 37, a mother-of-three from New Luveve township, who has dug a well in her backyard, lives in constant fear that her children may accidentally fall in and drown.

In a bid to solve her water challenges, Ndlovu dug the three-metre-deep well in August. But it is not covered, exposing her children to danger.

“Since I came here in August from South Africa, I have never received water from the city council. So, we decided to dig a well at our house. The well has been very helpful and my neighbours also come and fetch water from here,” she said.

Tackling crisis through advocacy

Following the diarrhoea outbreak, which has so far claimed 13 lives, residents of Luveve township formed a “water crisis committee.” It includes their local councillor, Member of Parliament, and residents. The aim is to urgently find solutions to the water crisis.

One of the committee members, Chrispin Ngulube, 62, a survivor of the devastating diarrhoea, said they teamed up with other stakeholders and approached the high court in Bulawayo. They were seeking an order directing the city council to release laboratory samples of tap water and other vital information pertaining to the disease outbreak.

Women traveling along a railway line carrying water buckets to fetch water from hand-dug wells in the bush area along Cowdray Park in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Darlington Mwashita)

However, the residents withdrew the lawsuit after the municipality indicated willingness to release the information.

The initial intention of the residents was to invite a private laboratory in Harare to subject Bulawayo’s municipal water samples and pipes to stringent tests.

“When the diarrhoea outbreak began, the council did not take it seriously. In fact, they accused residents of using dirty water containers for storing water. Things got worse and people started dying in [significant] numbers, prompting the residents to take action,” Ngulube said.

“Due to the water crisis, we lost lives, both young and old, in Luveve. We still have people who are having problems even after the outbreak. My wife and I were also affected by diarrhoea. We nearly died. I had a running tummy and stomach cramps and I had to go to Luveve Clinic.”

In a separate lawsuit four months ago, some Bulawayo residents filed a class-action lawsuit at the high court, suing the city council and central government for failing to fulfil their constitutional obligation to supply adequate water.

Council spokesperson Nesisa Mpofu refused to comment on the case, describing the matter as sub judice (before a court).

Speaking out

Ishmael Mkandla, another member of the residents’ committee, said advocacy could make a difference in communities by raising awareness and mobilising assistance.

“We appealed for assistance in different organisations, both legal organisations as well as residents’ organisations. We received a lot of donations and distributed them to the affected residents. There is also another organisation which has drilled a borehole with the help of the local Member of Parliament, Stella Ndlovu, to assist the communities.”

Advance Tshuma, 21, washes clothes at his family home on November 22, 2020, in Luveve, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Advance complains about the discolouration of his pricey clothes due to dirty water while others use it for household consumption. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

Recently, 1 374 residents of Bulawayo`s Luveve township signed a petition addressed to their councillor, Febbie Msipa, demanding an urgent solution to the water shortage. They also complained that many houses no longer receive piped water even when supplies are restored during the 12-hours-per-week window.

Semukele Mnkandla, vice-chairperson of the Bulawayo United Residents’ Association in Luveve township, said she suffered from a running stomach for almost a month after drinking contaminated tap water.

“I spent the whole month not feeling well after being affected by diarrhoea. Diarrhoea affected both children and old people. What I can tell you is that some of these people who were affected are still sick even today,” she said.

“They are having skin diseases. There is a young man aged 21 whose intestines got twisted and, as a result, he is now using a tube when he wants to relieve himself. His system got damaged. This has even forced him to change diet,” she said.

Those who were ferried to hospital by ambulance are also personally responsible for hefty bills which are accumulating interest, she said.

How safe is municipal water?

Bulawayo mayor, Solomon Mguni, said the city’s municipal water is clean.

“Every effort is made to supply the residents with clean safe water at all times. Despite the initial quality of water after treatment, it from time to time gets contaminated during distribution, transportation and storage due to unhygienic storage and handling practices,” he said.

The city council has encouraged residents to ensure the storage containers are clean and to boil the water before consumption.

Recently drilled sinkholes for a pegged borehole, photographed on November 22 2020, in Luveve in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

The municipality’s director of health services, Edwin Sibanda, said the piped water is safe for consumption, even though it emits an unpleasant odour and has an unusual colour—especially soon after supplies are restored following the drastic rationing measures.

Sibanda argued that the strange smell is not a danger to human health, but some residents have refused to accept this official explanation.

Waterpreneurs cash in

The city’s deputy mayor, Mlandu Ncube, said the municipality has no solution to the crippling shortage of water and is now pinning its hopes on early and bountiful summer rains.

The city council has tried to lessen the suffering by delivering water by bowser. There are five bowsers, four of which have a volume of 18 000 litres each and the fifth one carries 10 000 litres. Community leaders say this is woefully inadequate to cater for 650 000 residents.

Enterprising “waterpreneurs” are cashing in and selling water. They use tanks and browsers to fetch water, often from boreholes located on private property, and sell it to desperate residents. To run such a water-supply business, one must have authorisation from the Environmental Management Agency, but most “waterpreneurs” operate illegally. The borehole water is being sold for up to US$43 for 5 000 litres. In a country where the United Nations says 60% of the entire population faces starvation and extreme poverty is on the rise, most people in Bulawayo — many who earn less than US$100 per month — simply cannot afford to buy water at those prices.

Triple whammy hits Bulawayo

Residents are grappling with a triple whammy that has made it extremely difficult to access potable water: dwindling rainfall as drought and climate change take their toll; decaying water supply infrastructure; and a sharp increase in cases of water-borne diseases.

The loss of lives to such a primitive ailment has brought untold humiliation upon Bulawayo, once regarded Zimbabwe’s best-run city.

People draw water from a well on November 22, 2020, near Luveve in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The city council water browsers, which sometimes provide clean water haven’t made delivery in days. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

A neatly designed metropolis with ornate colonial architecture, its iconic avenues were built wide enough to allow a span of 16 oxen and a cart to make a full turn. It was established by the King of the Northern Ndebele, Mzilikazi Khumalo, King Shaka’s military general who famously fled Zululand and founded the Mthwakazi kingdom. Mzilikazi’s son and successor, King Lobengula, would later be defeated by British imperial invaders.

By June 1894, a modern town was taking shape. The country’s first stock exchange was built in Bulawayo. Economic historians attest to the fact that Bulawayo had electric lighting in 1897, way before London did — a remarkable feat. Bulawayo’s nickname is “City of Kings”.

The water crisis is a sore point for local residents, who see it as a blemish on this proud heritage.

An ancient crisis implodes

The perennial shortage of water dates back to 1912 when the British colonial settlers first mooted the ambitious idea of laying a 400-kilometre pipeline to draw water from the Zambezi, Africa’s fourth-longest river.

The tantalising idea has enchanted generations but remains a pipe dream. The Zambezi — the longest east-flowing river on the continent and the largest African river emptying into the Indian Ocean — is viewed as the only lasting solution to arid Matabeleland’s water woes.

But for decades, politicians have used the water crisis as bait to persuade gullible voters while paying lip service to the proposed Zambezi pipeline project.

Zimbabwe’s collapsing economy, described by Johns Hopkins University economist Steve Hanke as the first country to suffer hyperinflation in the 21st century, has meant that the national government lacks the financial resources to provide new sources of raw water to Bulawayo. It has also seen a rapid deterioration in the crumbling network of outdated water supply pipes.

Gwayi-Shangani Dam project

Discarded empty bottles that are used to collect water when it comes out from the tap are in the dried garden at Gogo Kasuka’s household on November 22, 2020, in Luveve, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. (Photo: Zinyange Auntony)

Construction of the 634-million-cubic-metre reservoir, located 245 kilometres from the city, is described by officials as the first phase of central government’s flagship solution to Bulawayo’s perennial water crisis. Its volume is almost double the combined capacity of Bulawayo’s existing dams.

After a long delay in the commencement of construction, some progress has been registered in the engineering works, amid disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Judith Ncube, the Minister of State for Bulawayo, said the dam is now expected to be commissioned in December 2022, rather than the initially planned December 2021.

Construction of the US$120-million dam is being undertaken by China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE), a subsidiary of China Three Gorges Corporation (CTE).

When the dam is built, one pipeline will link it to the Zambezi River, while another pipeline will channel the water to Bulawayo. The total cost is estimated at US$864-million, a massive financial outlay for a broke government whose total annual national budget has rarely exceeded US$4-billion in recent years.

The government has also allocated 205 million Zimbabwean dollars (US$2.5-million) for the drilling and rehabilitation of a network of boreholes which currently supply water to residents as a stop-gap measure.

The Bulawayo City Council also took out a US$33-million loan from the African Development Bank to finance a Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project.

The money will fund the rehabilitation and upgrading of water purification facilities, water distribution, sewer drainage network and the wastewater treatment disposal system.

Real risk of new disease outbreaks

A new report by Zimbabwe’s Auditor-General Mildred Chiri warns that Bulawayo is at risk of more water-borne disease outbreaks resulting from a failure by the municipality to manage the sewer reticulation system.

Decades of inadequate spending on public infrastructure have ensured that even when water is available a lot of it is lost as the ageing pipes are prone to frequent bursts.

Municipal finances are in shambles and my investigation revealed that the city council will increasingly find it difficult to access similar funding in future.

An analysis by a civil society organisation, the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association, of council books for the seven months to July 2020 shows that the municipality’s wage bill now constitutes a massive 58% of total council expenditure, almost double the state-recommended 30% threshold.

The local authority’s governance shortcomings have come under scrutiny. Investigations by Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission investigators recently led to the arrest of the city’s director of housing, Dictor Khumalo, on charges of flouting tender and procurement procedures.

Passing the buck

Councillors and municipal officials blame the central government for failing to ensure an adequate supply of bulk water to the local authority.

According to the Water Act, it is the responsibility of the central government to build dams and supply raw water to municipalities. It is the responsibility of municipalities to treat and distribute the bulk water.

We obtained video footage showing that some desperate Bulawayo residents are resorting to vandalising council water pipes. They argue it is the only way they can get water in certain suburbs.

But, from a governance perspective, it creates a vicious cycle as the municipality must spend scarce financial resources to repair vandalised pipes.

Ultimately, Bulawayo’s devastating water shortage can only be solved through the concerted efforts of the central government, the municipality, residents and other stakeholders.

Diarrhoea has already claimed 13 lives. Covid-19, whose effective prevention is also dependent on access to clean water, had killed 66 people in the city by mid-November.

So, lives are at stake and urgent action is necessary before more people die from what is an avoidable disease. DM

This investigation was developed with the support of  Wits University.

In their latest monitoring and advocacy report, ZADHR noted that the Ministry of Health and Child Care should put in place measures of how to acquire and distribute the vaccine across the country.

“ZADHR joins the rest of the world in acknowledging the scientific breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine development announced recently. We urge the government to urgently plan and budget for the nationwide free provision of the COVID-19 vaccine to all citizens,” the report read.

“The urgent provision of resources, availability of cold chain vaccines infrastructure, smooth distribution networks, and citizen education against vaccine hesitancy will prove to be important game changers in the fight against COVID 19 in the country. The Ministry of Health should put in place a framework within its governance structures that shall oversee the acquisition, distribution, and monitoring of the COVID-19 vaccine in Zimbabwe.”

Lake Kariba is one of the largest man-made lakes, built by the colonial government in 1959, on the Zambezi River.

A small number of Tonga people settled on the Zimbabwe side of Kariba, while the majority remained in Zambia.

They now number around 140,000 in Zimbabwe, and over a million across the border.

The Tonga live in Binga district, which has been marginalised since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980.

They have few schools and clinics, and poor roads and they had to travel 600km, via the Victoria Falls border post, visit relatives just across the border.

So the opening of a new border post brought jubilation.

eNCA correspondent Pindai Dube visited the Binga district and shares more details in the video above.