Virtual Law Practice

Month: July 2013

  • Breaking News: Major US Bank Offers Online Legal Services in Business Hub

    An exciting breakthrough in online delivery is occurring through the new offering that Suntrust Bank is launching. They have partnered with a third party to create an online Business Hub which provides legal services in addition to assistance with planning, websites, data backup and finances.

    From the website: “This online portal helps you create legal documents, develop business plans and generate invoices and financial reports.” It appears to be a one-stop shop for small business owners who need accounting and planning software, and even some marketing services. The service also claims to provide risk assessment services for businesses through the legal services tools.

    eyeBusiness Centric Services Group, Inc. is the named developer of the Business Hub according to the Terms of Service. Both Epoq Legal, a company based in the UK, and DirectLaw, a US based company are providing technology components to this project. Mozy Pro, PlanHQ, Moonfruit and Freeagent are also providing software. The link on Suntrust takes the user to a third-party website that is run by the Business Centric Services Group, Inc. All of the tools provided in the Hub cost the user $25 a month which may be debited from the user’s Suntrust account.

    The online legal services are provide through a product called Legal Document Builder. According to the site, this lets the business owner handle the following:

    – Create legal documents for your business from a wide range of templates using a straight forward question and answer process.

    – Templates include: website terms and conditions, privacy policy, tenancy agreement, debt recovery letters, shareholders agreement and many more.

    – Avoid risks and disputes that could financially weaken your business and comply with Health & Safety legislation by performing risk assessments and more.

    That’s a lot of practical software in one place for a small business owner for only $25 a month. I haven’t had time to dig into the details of using each product on the Hub because I have not registered yet. But as a small business owner myself and having been a solo practitioner for many years, I can certainly see the appeal of this package of unbundled legal and other services. I do not at this point see any reference to licensed lawyers providing support for the legal documents. For many small business owners’ legal needs, this would not even be necessary. However, there may be more options available once you register.

    In my classes, I tell the law students to think about what happened when Intuit got into the tax business. What happened to accountants when Turbo Tax went on the market? Then I ask: “What would happen to estate planning or small business legal services if Turbo Tax added those online options at the end of the annual tax software?” How many consumers are going to go straight through that trusted brand for the convenience and the fact that their confidential information is already being handled in that space. With this new online Business Hub from Suntrust, it seems like that future is starting to get here.

    How will pure-play virtual law offices serving business law manage to compete with $25/month for all of these services? I will leave that for another post.

  • Minimalism & Virtual Law Practice

    This will be a personal post. Fellow virtual lawyers might find my recent experience with minimalism and moving interesting. It touches on the main reason many of us are attracted to online delivery and the use of technology in law practice – more freedom and efficiency.

     

    When I first designed my virtual law office and launched it back in 2006, a large part of my motivation was my daughter who had just been born. I needed the flexibility to care for her and was not interested in racking up the traditional lawyer hours in an office. I also loved working with my clients and thought there was a more convenient way to deliver services to them. I could also use the efficiency to lower my fees to be more affordable.  I have a transactions-based practice so unbundling and online delivery made sense.

     

    BEFORE
    BEFORE

    Over the last seven years, although I was almost completely paperless and virtual, I accumulated “stuff” in my home office and my house. The simplicity of being able to work online and not get lost in the office environment was replaced with recreating an office environment in my own home. Not good.

     

    So I decided to research minimalism. This is a renewed trend that has emerged since the recession hit. It’s a more positive way to embrace being faced with unemployment, foreclosure, debt and other situations that threaten to remove us from our tangible possessions. If you can’t afford to purchase things or are forced to sell or give up your possessions, that involves loss, but if you willingly choose to give up those things there is a greater sense of control over your life and it can be empowering rather than depressing. I like this approach to life in general. I thought I would adopt some of these principles while also doing some reading on mindfulness (a post for another day and very applicable to legal professionals). (more…)

  • Connecting a Mobile Game to Real World Legal Services

    MobilegamerHere is an update on my game project. In my previous posts I’ve explained why I believe we can use the power of games to help us engage and empower the public to learn basic laws and legal issues. I’ve also explained the difference between gamification of the law and games that involve legal topics. The next step is to explain more specifically how a game like what I’m building with my team can increase access to real-world legal services as well as educate the public.

    According to my game designer, this concept is a little revolutionary for the game industry and I’m guessing it will be for the legal profession as well. Please read all the way through before jumping to conclusions.

    The game we are creating is intended to teach the public basic estate planning issues. These are not state specific legal issues. These are very basic. For example, level one of the game addresses this basic, simple fact: If you have children, you should name a guardian in your Will.

    Yes, as a lawyer, I know full well how you can take a simple statement, add a bunch of “but what ifs” and make it the most convoluted and complex thing in the world. But that’s not what we are doing here. Rest assured there will be the usual disclaimer at the start of the game stating that this is not a substitute for legal services provided by a licensed lawyer – as if anyone would actually be misled into thinking that a mobile game featuring a time machine is going to really be able to do that. But still, just in case and mostly for the lawyers, we’ll have those disclaimers on there.

    That aside, now for the fun part. (more…)

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