Virtual Law Practice

Month: October 2012

  • Slides – Consumer Law Revolution: Online Marketing Tools for Lawyers

    These are the slides from my part of the panel presentation from the College of Law Practice Management (COLPM) Futures Conference last Friday at Georgetown Law Center in D.C. Some of this talk included research from my forthcoming book on the subject.

    I think Michael Mills, who was on the panel with myself, Marc Lauritsen and Tanina Rostain, made a wonderful point when he asked whether our profession’s reluctance to use available technologies that make legal knowledge available to a larger majority of the public is actually “immoral.” It is certainly malpractice to not use it, but I think he is right, if it’s available and can be implemented by law firms or at least made accessible through legal services organizations to increase access to justice, then yes, it borders on being immoral.

    I tried to argue that some of these companies creating new platforms to deliver legal services might collaborate with  private practitioners as well as legal aid services  to increase alternatives available but also help lawyers to build their online brand and market their full-service or unbundled legal service offerings. I’m not sure about what reception these ideas had because it was the end of the day and that always limits attendee questions.  Would love the feedback.

  • Consumer Law Revolution

    I will be speaking on a panel at the College of Law Practice Management (COLPM) Futures Conference this Friday at Georgetown Law Center in D.C.
    Our panel will be discussing the following topics:
    • How is technology changing delivery of legal services to consumer?
    • How is tech changing how lawyers who serve consumers practice?
    • Will the consumer law movement shape the broader market for legal services?  Do we see signs today that consumer law developments are already doing so?
    • Will constraints – for example, client or lawyer conservatism, immature technology, or ethical barriers – limit a more rapid evolution or a real  revolution?

    I am charged with speaking about lawyer marketing using Internet-based platforms. My co-panelists are Professor Tanina Rostain, Michael Mills, and Marc Lauritsen. I will post any slides from my part of the presentation at a later date.

  • Business Lessons for Lawyers:Unbundling in Other Industries

    This is an except including a checklist from my book Limited Scope Legal Services: Unbundling and the Self-Help Client, ABA LPM (2012):

    The economy does not exist in a bubble and neither should legal professionals. There are lessons to be learned from looking at ways that
    other industries have unbundled their services to create new or improved markets that adapted to changes in the global economy and the way
    consumers exercise their purchasing power.

    The Music Industry

    More than a few people in the music industry initially questioned the unbundling of music. Traditionally, a music producer would bundle a musician’s less popular recordings with the one or two singles that were commercially popular and charge a higher fee for the entire catalog of records on a CD. When iTunes presented the concept of allowing the consumer to pick and choose whichever songs he or she wanted from the hits and the not-so-popular songs, it revolutionized the way that music is purchased.

    Critics had to admit that it did not culminate in the downfall of the music industry or result in decreased sales. Instead, unbundling songs at a lower cost per purchase allowed the consumer to learn about the artists and their music offerings without making a large up-front investment in an entire album. If consumers liked the services, they would come back for the rest of the album, and the full album could always be downloaded from the iTunes store for the customers that wanted the entire recording.

    The Airlines (more…)

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