Virtual Law Practice

Month: June 2010

  • Online Legal Services for “Digital Natives”

    I’m contributing to a public policy paper regarding the risks and benefits to the public from the use of cloud computing in law practice management.   The process has encouraged me to think in-depth about how the general public reaches out to the legal profession for help.  At the same time, I just finished reading Born Digital, by John Palfrey and Urs Gasser.  This has prompted me to add to my analysis how the age-range of clients and their methods of communicating with us change over the course of a law practice.

    Born Digital discusses the generation among us that has known only a digital world – “Digital Natives.”  They were the first generation to write papers in high school using online research engines and Wikipedia entries.  They are able to multitask in ways that the generations preceding them cannot understand.   They form complex online social networks and share information and unique online personalities that create digital records of the different phases of their lives from infancy on. (more…)

  • Virtual Law Practice in the News

    It’s time again for another post where I compile many of the interesting news articles and blog posts that have surfaced in the past six months about virtual law practice.  When I started doing this a couple years ago it took a lot longer to find things to list than it will this year.  More legal professionals are aware of virtual law practice and more virtual law firms and innovative technologies have emerged.

    The list is in no particular order.  At the end I have also added a couple new social networking resources that have formed where attorneys interested in the use of tech to deliver legal services online can meet up.   I know there are more out there, so please feel free to add them in the comments.

    “The Transformation of eLawyering” June 18, 2010, Darryl Mountain, Slaw.ca blog

    “Revolution has already happened” June 2010, David Hill, ILTA Magazine

    “14% of Lawyers Operate a Virtual Law Firm” June 11, 2010, Larry Bodine, Law Marketing Blog

    “North Carolina Bar to Issue Cloud Computing Opinion” April 13, 2010, Daily Record, Nicole Black

    “Legal Ethics of Cloud Computing” April 9, 2010, MyShingle, Carolyn Elefant

    The North Carolina State Bar & Cloud Computing Podcast, May 20, 2010, Lawyer2Lawyer with J. Craig Williams and Bob Ambrogi interviewing Jack Newton of Clio and Alice Neece Mine with the NC Bar Ethics Commission, LegalTalkNetwork

    Exploring the Virtual Law Practice Podcast, May 12, 2010, The Legal Toolkit, hosted by Jared Correia, Law Practice Management Advisor with Mass. LOMAP (more…)

  • Massachusetts LOMAP Blog: Intro to Virtual Law Practice & Unbundling Legal Services Online

    I’ve written the first in a three-part series of guest posts for the Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program (Mass LOMAP). The series covers a basic introduction to virtual law practice and delivering unbundled legal services online.  The other two posts will discuss marketing best practices and ethics issues in virtual law practice.  From the first post:

    Two influential forces are driving attorneys and law firms to consider delivering legal services online. The first is the increase in our clients’ expectations for more accessible and affordable legal services through the use of technology. The second is the changing landscape of the legal marketplace and the need for firms to find different means of obtaining a competitive advantage. Larger law firms continue to downsize and consider outsourcing, and more attorneys, many newly-licensed, are opening solo and small firm practices across the country. Virtual law practice provides a way for the legal profession to meet the needs of the general public for greater access to justice, while also addressing the practice management needs of the professionals who serve the public.

    Check out the rest of the guest post.  I’ll post links to the next two in the series when they go up on the LOMAP site.  Thanks to Jared Correia for the opportunity to share this information!

  • Upcoming Webinar/CLE – How to Operate a Virtual Law Office and Deliver Legal Services Online

    On July 13th and 14th, I will be presenting a two-part webinar with CLE credit for the North Carolina Bar Association on the topic of creating a virtual law office and delivering legal services online. 

    The first part will be a basic introduction to virtual law practice and how it is used by both completely web-based law firms and traditional law offices for law practice management.  We’ll look at case studies along the way.  This first part will also examine the technology used to create a virtual law practice and include a discussion of the ethics risks that are unique to this form of law practice management and ways to mitigate the risks. 

    The second part of the webinar will focus on the practical how-tos of setting up a virtual law office.   If you are interested in joining me, you can register for the webinar on the NCBA site.

  • Delivering Unbundled Legal Services in Michigan – New Ethics Opinion

    A new ethics opinion has been published by the State Bar of Michigan on the topic of unbundling legal services.  This is another example of a State Bar recognizing the need for unbundled legal services as a means of access to justice for the public.  The conclusion from the opinion (entitled RI-347):

    So long as he or she complies with the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct and other law, a lawyer may, without appearing in a proceeding or otherwise disclosing or ensuring the disclosure of the lawyer’s assistance to the court or to other counsel and other parties, assist a pro se litigant by giving advice on the content and format of documents to be filed with the court, including pleadings, by drafting those documents for the litigant, by giving advice about what to do in court or any combination of these.

    The opinion further states that the attorney is not obligated to announce the limited legal representation to the court as long as there is no misrepresetnation by the pro se litigant that he or she has not been provided with the assistance of an attorney.   So for those attorneys licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan who may have been considering operating a virtual law practice to deliver unbundled services online, this opinion is supportive of limited scope services pertaining to that state’s laws.  Footnotes in the opinion provide citations to other state bar and ABA opinions and resources related to the unbundling of legal services.

  • Another Opinion Related to Residency Requirements

    If you are keeping up with developments in the bona fide office rules or residency requirements of state bars that govern the practice of law, you might want to read through this recent opinion: In the Matter of the APPLICATION OF CARLTON, No. 10-mc-160 U.S. District Court D. Maryland (April 26, 2010).  I’ve only got the Westlaw citation for it: 2010 WL 1707722 (D.Md.).  I’ll link to it if it ever makes its way online into the zone of free research. 

    The attorney in this case worked from home in Massachusetts for a law firm based in the District of Columbia. She is licensed in the District of Columbia, but not in Massachusetts. The opinion held that her law practice is in D.C. even though she lives in MA and that she was not in violation of a Maryland local rule regarding “principal law office” location.  The opinion discusses the attorney’s use of technology to provide legal services online and collaborate with her firm in D.C. 

    This is another example of where elawyering is called into question because of outdated rules and regulations that do not take into consideration the methods now available to attorneys to ethically and responsibility provide services online.  At least the outcome is a positive one.  It’s worth a read if you keeping up with new development on this topic.

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