I’ve been preparing materials to teach a course on virtual law practice for Solo Practice University (SPU).  Lawyers USA just published an article about SPU here.  I hope some of my blog readers will join me for the virtual law practice course. 

One of the topics I’m covering at the beginning of the course has to do with taking the leap from a traditional law practice management method into a virtual law practice.   In helping others make the decision to go completely web-based with their solo or small firm or to add some virtual component to their law practice, I’ve been thinking about why I left my position as an associate in a small, traditional law firm to go solo with a VLO. 

It’s been three years since I opened my web-based virtual law office, Kimbro Legal Services.   In 2006, I hung my virtual shingle using the beta release of the VLOTech virtual law office software.  As with any business, after a couple years you realize that your goals and expectations have changed from when you launched, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the support I’ve had from other attorneys and from the great public response over the past three years.

Reasons why I initially formed my virtual law practice:

1. The birth of my first child.  I wanted to work from home and spend as much time with her and my family as I could.  Childhood is a short time and I didn’t want to miss it.

2.  From my experience in the small firm, I noticed that there was a clear market need for individuals of middle income and moderate means to be able to conveniently access and afford legal services.  Yet many of them were going to their office supply store and buying legal kits or purchasing LegalZoom documents online.  They weren’t consulting an attorney for the guidance they needed because they were 1) afraid they couldn’t afford it, or 2) were just too intimidated to sign a traditional engagement letter with an attorney and put up a sizeable retainer.

Those were my main reasons for opening my VLO.  Three years later my reasons for practicing with a virtual law practice are the same, but I have some added observations and experiences that reinforce my decision.

1.  Clients want this.  The general public response to the VLO in the past three years has been amazing.  My clients appreciate the convenience and accessibility to legal services.  They have their own homepages on my secure VLO where they can drop me a note at any time, upload and download documents, fill out online forms, pay their invoices, review their invoices, etc.  I think the ability for them to access their own case files and review our work together helps them to feel more in charge of their legal needs and more connected with me as their legal representation. 

2. Client revenue has come in from across the state.  I have not had the collection problems that I was warned about by other attorneys when I first opened my solo practice.  I expected it to be a big hassle and in three years I’ve been limited to two or three small collection issues that were not that difficult to resolve.  Clients receive their invoices online.  They pay me online.  We set up recurring billing or payment plans.  Maybe it’s the convenience of the invoice being online or maybe it’s being able to pay by credit card.  Whatever the reason, ease of collections has been a pleasant surprise.

3.  Attention to customer service results in client loyalty  They don’t really teach you this in law school, but running a law practice requires business skills.  I stopped trying to act like an attorney and instead focused more on being a good business owner.  This has made all the difference in the world.  I relate to my clients on personal levels through our dialogue on the VLO.  I take the time to address all of their concerns and questions with patience and it has resulted in a growing client base for my virtual law practice. 

4.  Virtual law practice in some form is the way our profession is headed.   If you haven’t already, read Richard Susskind”s End of Lawyers?: Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services.  The traditional law office will not cease to exist, but it may find ways to incorporate a virutal law practice component to address the needs of its clients and to facilitate attorney online collaboration.  In the past three years, I’ve been overwhelmed with the number of attorneys who support web-based virtual law practice and who see it’s benefits for the public as well as the legal profession.  It’s a growing trend in our profession that would be foolish to ignore. 

As I’m working more with other attorneys through VLOTech to set up other virtual law practices, I’m spending less time on my own VLO.   Fortunately, we just opened up a new VLO in North Carolina where I can refer some of my online clients and we are in the process of launching another VLO, a multi-attorney firm in NC, this week.  

Three years may not seem like a long time to have been in business, but considering the novelty of the concept when I started and how popular virtual law practice is becoming now, I’ll give myself a birthday pat on the back for taking the leap.

One of the great things about the software-as-a-service model is that the software doesn’t require installs for every different version or patch. VLOTech can get input from the attorneys using the product to decide what aspects of the technology to develop next. Updates to the software are then just added to the existing clients’ systems. It’s development guided by the users which just makes good sense.

We have a test site up and running for our first group of innovative attorneys to try out before they go live with their virtual law practices. The goal is to get an online demo on the VLOTech blog so that it’s available for everyone. For now, the focus is on supporting our first e-laywering pioneers. We now have attorneys from 21 different states who have expressed an interest in opening a web-based virtual law practice with VLOTech. There’s clearly something going on here.

In other news, VLOTech is having its website professionally designed by G2 Web Media which is owned by Grant Griffiths of Home Office Lawyer fame. The website/blog should be up and running by the end of the month. The VLOTech company website will be a blog so that company updates and software progress can be posted quickly and archived in one spot. We’re also planning on having a faqs section which will address head-on the questions that we predict prospective clients and the public may have about SaaS, web-based applications and vlos in general.

The Greater Wilmington Business Journal recently published an article about VLOTech and how the company is attracting attention across the nation from attorneys who are interested in setting up Virtual Law Offices.

I’ve been asked to teach a CLE session at the GP/Solo/Small Firm CLE for the NC Bar Association this summer. My working title is “Virtual Law Practice: Technology and Ethics Considerations.” I’m looking forward to the opportunity to share my experience practicing law online and hopefully encourage more solo and small firm practitioners to look into the different technology options available that can enable them to create vlos or to take their practices remote.

Of importance to estate law practitioners, the time required for a personal representative to file an estate tax return after he or she has been notified by the federal government regarding the amount of estate taxes owed has been changed from two years to six months.

They’ve also changed the timeline for filing estate tax returns with the Secretary after a person receives notice regarding a state generation‑skipping transfer tax credit that was allowed.

Something to watch out for if you are either preparing estate taxes for a client or advising them in that area. Here are the changes as posted:

SECTION 3. G.S. 105‑32.8 reads as rewritten:
§ 105‑32.8. Federal determination that changes the amount of tax payable to the State.
If the federal government corrects or otherwise determines the gross estate tax imposed under section 2001 of the Code or the amount of the maximum state death tax credit allowed an estate under section 2011 of the Code, the personal representative must, within two yearssix months after being notified of the correction or final determination by the federal government, file an estate tax return with the Secretary reflecting the correct amount of tax payable under this Article. If the federal government corrects or otherwise determines the amount of the maximum state generation‑skipping transfer tax credit allowed under section 2604 of the Code, the person who made the transfer must, within two yearssix months after being notified of the correction or final determination by the federal government, file a tax return with the Secretary reflecting the correct amount of tax payable under this Article.

The Secretary must assess and collect any additional tax due as provided in Article 9 of this Chapter and must refund any overpayment of tax as provided in Article 9 of this Chapter. A person who fails to report a federal correction or determination in accordance with this section forfeits the right to any refund due by reason of the determination.”

In the meantime, I have been practicing law locally from my home. I have worked on several estate planning projects and a small business setup. I thoroughly enjoy practicing law independently. The total responsibility for a legal matter motivates me much more than when I was practicing in firm and sharing different aspects of a legal case with several other legal professionals. With my home practice, I feel that I can take the time I need to so that I can focus on a client’s needs without having to worry about billable hours. I think it humanizes the practice of law more to focus on the client as a customer and not focusing on their legal matter in terms of how much time it will take you to work on it and what that will equate to in billable hours at the end of the day. So I am more optimistic each day that Kimbro Legal Services @ kimbrolaw.com will serve as a great way to practice law for me as an attorney who needs the flexibility to stay at home and care for her young child and at the same time provide quality legal services in a more customer-friendly method. Of course, I am prepared for the potentially negative feedback from traditional attorneys that I may receive once I start marketing the website and business. But I think by maintaining my professionalism online and in my marketing strategies and by making this website secure and safe for clients, I can convince other attorneys that this can be an alternative to the traditional, physical law firm.

Once the website is completely operational, I plan on blogging on NC related legal matters related to the services I plan to offer. Please check back later in the summer.