Virtual Law Practice

Tag: attorney work/life balance

  • Video – Disruptive Innovation in Legal Services at Harvard

    Last week I attended a conference hosted by Harvard Law School’s Program on the Legal Profession, entitled “Disruptive Innovation in the Market for Legal Services.”

    My primary reason for attending was to hear Clayton Christensen, a Professor at Harvard’s Business School and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, speak about disruption in the legal profession. Unfortunately, he admitted to not really having analyzed our profession from the perspective of disruptive innovation so his talk was a bit of a rehash of both Innovator’s Dilemma and The Innovative University. It was still really worth it to hear from the man himself, and following his presentation, the Senior VP of IBM Watson, Mike Rhodin, the CEO of Legal Zoom, John Suh, and GC of Charles River Ventures, Sarah Reed, weighed in on what they think disruptive innovation of legal services looks like.

    Chris Kenny, Chief Exec of the UK Legal Services Board, also spoke via video conferencing about how alternative business structures (ABS) are working out across the pond. According to Kenny, ABS is working great in the UK, increasing access to justice and creating healthy competition in the marketplace without risk to consumers or disciplinary issues in the profession. I found his presentation to be informative and encouraging in terms of looking forward towards real structural change in our profession. The ABA President-Elect, William Hubbard, weighed in after Kenny spoke to explain that the ABA was not on board with ABS, but he said he would like to see the gap bridged between main-street lawyers and the innovators and academics pushing for change in the profession. Of course the real reasons why we can’t move forward with ABS have to do with protectionism and the interests of the lawyers who sit at the helm of the Bar. Progress here will come slowly, and I still believe it will be consumers who push the change in the market forward, not the ABA House of Delegates.

    Bob Ambrogi wrote a good run-down of the morning’s presentations. (Note: it’s hidden behind a required registration wall.)

    After a very interesting morning session, the conference broke out into working groups. I attended one called “Lawyers and Technology.” There were also working groups on access, big data and analytics, and corporate pricing and matching. Several legal technology startups spoke briefly at each working group, but the discussions among the attendees was the most stimulating. Below is the video of the Working Group Report to the conference summarizing the key points from each breakout discussion.
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  • 2009 Recap of Virtual Law Practice

    This year has brought the legal profession closer to the acceptance of virtual law practice as a method of delivering legal services through the use of technology.  Virtual law practices are improving access to and affordability of legal services to the general public.  For legal professionals, practicing law online provides the flexibility to create innovative and unique law practices that provide improved work/life balance in addition to professional success. 

    In this post I wanted to review some of the online articles related to virtual law practice that came out in 2009.  As more virtual law firms launch in 2010, expect to see the tone of these articles change to include more detailed discussions about technology and ethics issues involved in the delivery of legal services online as well as discussions about different structures of virtual law practices that are now in the planning stages.  This might include multi-jurisdictional virtual law firms with interesting fee and management structures, using a virtual law office as a non-profit to provide pro bono legal services, “cost-co” type firms with registration fees, and other unique ways that legal professionals are envisioning the use of the technology to collaborate with attorneys and clients online.   

    I work mostly with other solos and small firms who are opening virtual law practices, but I have spoken with many other attorneys who envision collaboration with others to expand their practices beyond the solo or small firm realm.  More legal SaaS products are also entering the market, each with a different focus and concept about what virtual law practice can be.   It will be interesting to see what develops in 2010 not only in terms of what structures individual attorneys come up with, but what new features and functionalities the technology will bring.  There are also major changes in the legal profession happening in the UK and abroad that may serve as an influence here in the States.

    Along with many others, I see great potential for virtual law practice to even the playing field for access to justice in our country.   Of all of the benefits, I think this may be the most important goal for the profession to keep in mind as it moves forward in defining and supporting the use of technology to deliver legal services. 

    That said, here is a list of virtual law practice in the news in 2009.  I’m going to limit myself to mostly North American news here to keep the list manageable, but be aware that similar articles are popping up within other countries’ legal professions.  I’m also posting both the negative and the positive articles on the topic and they are in no particular order. 

    Know of any more?  Feel free to pass them along.

    Mid-Year Review of Virtual Law Practice in the News — a round-up post from January 2009 – July 2009 with links to articles

    ABA eLawyering Task Force publishes Draft Minimum Guidelines for Virtual Law Practice

    The Firms of the Future, Jordan Furlong, Law21

    An Office Can be Virtual, but Client Service Can’t, Edward Poll, Canadian Bar Association, National Magazine

    Virtually Legal:  Bricks and borders place no restrictions on the growing wave of virtual lawyers, Alison Arnot, Canadian Bar Association, National Magazine

    The Virtual Paralegal Podcast, The Paralegal Voice, Lynne DeVenny and Vicki Voisin

    4 Steps to Starting a Virtual Law Office, Jay Fleischman, The Untethered Lawyer

    Legal Implications of Cloud Computing — Part One, David Navetta, Information Law Group (not so much related to attorneys practicing law online, but a good explanation of “cloud computing”)

    The Virtual Law Office — Not Your Father’s Cloud, Donna Seyle, Freelance Law Firm

    Virtual Law Firm Rimon Law Group Welcomes Four New Partners, Dec., 2009

    Does the Future Belong to Virtual Law Firms?, Francesca Heintz, EDD Blog Online

    Unbundled Legal Services Or Self-Represented Consumers? You Decide., Jay Fleischman, The Untethered Lawyer

    Setting up a Web-based Virtual Law Office, Stephanie Kimbro, ABA GP/Solo & Small Firm Division Technology eReport

    SaaS Security: Can you Trust your Data in the Cloud, Jack Newton, ABA GP/Solo & Small Firm Division Technology eReport

    Disaster Ahead for Lawyers Unwilling to Change, Richard Susskind, ABA Journal Legal Rebels Blog

    lawtechTalk Episode #5: Cloud Computing and Your Law Practice, Nicole Black, lawtechTalk

    Adding a Virtual Law Office to your Practice, Stephanie Kimbro, Lawyerist

  • Transitioning with a Virtual Law Practice

    Over the past couple weeks I have spoken with two or three attorneys who have been  laid off from their positions at large law firms.  A couple of them knew that the practices of their BigLaw firms were not sustainable in this economic environment and had the foresight to pad their savings.  Now they are considering opening virtual law practices as a way of transitioning from a large law practice into the next phase in their legal career.

    The trend of opening a virtual law practice as a method of career transition seems to  be growing.  Previously I had been working with attorneys who wanted to use a virtual law office (VLO) to generate additional online client revenue for their existing law practices or who wanted to go completely web-based for the flexibility and better work/life balance.  Transitioning with a virtual law practice is another use of the technology to consider.

    A VLO could be a great way of keeping an attorney’s resume up to date and allow them to continue practicing law while they transition from one phase of their legal career to the next or perhaps phase into retirement, taking only the online clients they want to continue to handle.  Maybe an attorney needs to move with their spouse to another state but  has yet to sit for another state’s bar exam.  They could continue to practice law of the state they are licensed in through a VLO while studying and moving to another jurisdiction.

    The technology is flexible so that conflicts of interest checks can be run against any previous law practice contacts and export features would allow an attorney to export the data contained in a VLO into another law practice management system once the attorney had completed the transition in their career.  If the transitional VLO took off, generating a steady online client base, then the attorney would have the option of keeping their virtual doors open and operating a completely  web-based VLO or adding it to whatever practice of law they join or open for themselves.

    Or an attorney transitioning into retirement and closing the doors to their traditional law practice might use a VLO to retain a select number of clients to work with on the side online while enjoying their retirement by traveling and not being tied down to a physical law office.  They could even use a VLO to transition out of a practice by using it to communicate and work online with their partners and associates in the traditional law office while they cruise around on a yacht or go hiking in the mountains.  As long as they could carry their iPhone or Blackberry around with them and get wireless access, they could transition gracefully out of the firm remotely.

    These are just a couple ideas about how to use a virtual law practice to transition through phases of a legal career.  I’ve written before about how both men and women in the legal profession could use a VLO to take time off to care for their families and transition in and out of a traditional law office using the technology for that purpose.  Let me know your thoughts on other ways that legal professionals could use a virtual law practice to transition between phases in their lives and careers.

  • Interest in Virtual Law Practice Spreading Across the States

    Over the past month, I’ve heard from several attorneys who will be opening their own web-based virtual law practices.  The following states are on board now: SC, IL, VA, AK, GA, TX, MD, TN and KY.  Some attorneys are still in the process of speaking with their state bars about providing unbundled legal services.  One solo practitioner is working with a law professor to write a manuscript that addresses the benefits and potential ethics issues that may arise in operating a VLO.

    I’m excited about the growing number of VLOs, not only because I run a company that provides the web-based technology, but because most of the attorneys that I have spoken really see the value to the public of offering online unbundled legal services.  While many in the public can turn to Nololaw and Legalzoom for legal document drafting, these options do not provide the public with direct and personal communication with a licensed attorney.  A web-based VLO can provide this service and still keep the costs affordable for individuals who otherwise may not have been able to seek out an attorney. 

    Aside from generating additional online client revenue, the one thing I hear over and over again about why an attorney wants to open a VLO is because they are tired of spending more time working than living.  Sometimes the comment is coming from a law partner who is fed up after putting in years at one firm and missing out on his or her children growing up.  Or it’s from a newly graduated law student who does not want to end up like their overworked parents and wants to start out with flexibility from day one.  There are different stories, but the underlying tone is that these professionals love practicing law and want to find a way to stay in the legal profession without sacrificing their personal lives. 

    I’ve said before that I don’t think virtual law practice is for everyone, and the risk is no different than hanging your own shingle as a solo on a brick & mortar law office.  But if you really commit to the concept and the work that it takes to market it and to set up good practice standards for VLO management, then I believe virtual law practice can provide wonderful work/life balance for an attorney. 

    As for my own virtual law practice, this summer I am busy enjoying the benefits of running my own solo practice from home.  The third year of solo VLO practice has brought more referrals and returning small business clients my way.  It’s a sign that I must be doing something right.  I’ve also honed down the advertising and marketing techniques that work best with my VLO which I hope to share with VLOTech clients when they hang their virtual shingles. 

    I will be co-presenting another CLE session for the NC Bar Association at the end of September.  The session will be similar to the ABA TechShow’s popular “60 Websites in 60 Minutes.”  Some of the websites I am presenting would be useful to the virtual law practitioner so I will be sure to post those links and info. after the CLE presentation. 

    As always, this blog is for discussing virtual law practice, especially ethics and a technology issues in operating a VLO.  I welcome any questions or stories about virtual law practice that anyone wants to ask or share.

  • Notice & Understanding: Setting the Scope of Representation for Online Clients

    While each state’s bar has different rules governing their attorneys, I suspect that many of the rules of professional conduct and ethics opinions are similar. The NC State Bar was one of the first to address virtual law practice. On January 20, 2006, the NC State Bar adopted the 2005 Formal Ethics Opinion 10 (Ethics Opinion 10) providing advice regarding virtual law practice and online unbundled legal services.

    The comments in the opinion focus more on email communication and do not envision a web-based application that provides for detailed attorney/client interaction. However, it is still nice to have a standard opinion to work with.

    The nature of unbundled legal services and the requirement that prospective clients understand the scope and nature of the legal representation being offered online was one of the topics addressed by the Ethics Opinion 10. The Bar stated that the virtual attorney must be careful to comply with Rule 1.2(c) of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. This rule states “[a] lawyer may limit the scope of representation if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances.”

    Accordingly, the attorney must continue to provide competent and thorough representation to the client regardless of the limited nature of the legal services being conducted. Rule 1.2(c) allows for the limited legal services to be provided to the public as long as the attorney complies with Rule 1.1 regarding competence of legal services provided.

    A well-designed VLO provides notice to prospective clients as well as assurances that these notices have been read and accepted by the client. (See my Clickwrap Agreement post) Additionally, the scope of representation may be again communicated through a secure online message from attorney to the client and a traditional limited scope of representation agreement may be uploaded for the client to sign and return to the attorney, either by scanning and uploading to the VLO or by traditional mail or fax methods.

    Before offering unbundled legal services, the virtual attorney has the responsibility to explain exactly what services will be provided at what cost to the client. A well-designed VLO operates with this specific process as the foundation for the transactions by requiring multiple steps where the client must read and acknowledge the terms and/or provide information to the attorney which lets the attorney know that the client has moved forward with accepting the scope of representation.

    With each VLO, an attorney has the ability to tailor his or her virtual practice to encompass a variety of limited legal services, including the combination of using the VLO in conjunction with a full-service law office. Because each practice will differ in the areas of law practiced by the attorney(s) and by the chosen design and use of the VLOTech application, the responsibility to ensure compliance with Ethics Opinion 10 and Rule 1.2(c) of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct will remain with the individual practitioner or law firm.

    Here are a couple examples: An attorney whose practice centers on litigation may use a VLO to generate additional client revenue on the side by answering basic traffic ticket questions while maintaining a full-service litigation practice. The same attorney might use the VLOTech application to provide homepages to existing clients that he or she meets with in person and allow those clients to pay bills online, communicate in a more secure method than through email and basically to use the VLO as an amenity to the full-service firm.

    As a different example, another attorney may decide to enter retirement from a full-service law firm by creating a VLO that handles only transactional legal services, such as drafting estate planning, contracts or setting up business entities for clients who do not want or need to meet with the attorney in-person. The VLO allows this attorney to work remotely or from home allowing him or her to ease into retirement or create a completely new online law practice that allows for greater work/life balance.

    There are a variety of different situations where a VLO may be used to provide unbundled legal services and with each it is possible to provide quality legal services and comply with Rules 1.2(c) and 1.1 of the N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct.

    Similar to a traditional law office, a virtual law attorney must use his or her judgment on a case by case basis when deciding whether he or she may competently and ethically handle a particular matter. If the client’s needs would be better suited if handled by a full-service attorney and the virtual law attorney does not provide this services, then it is his or her responsibility to refer the client out. This is no different from the responsibility of every attorney — whether practicing virtually or with a traditional, brick and mortar law office.

  • Work/Life Balance Reform and the Virtual Law Office

    The following is a post I wrote for MsJD about how a virtual law practice could be used as a way to provide attorneys with more flexible work/life balance. The essay was in response to an essay contest hosted by The Project for Attorney Retention and MsJD.

    Stephanie Kimbro, Kimbro Legal Services A small part of the work/life balance reform in the legal profession is taking place quietly through the use of secure, web-based technology. Virtual law offices provide an alternative method of practicing law that permit flexible work hours and can be used to create a better work/life balance for legal professionals. I chose this alternative and for the past two and a half years I have practiced law from home with a completely virtual law office powered by Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC (VLOTech).

    In the interest of full disclosure, VLOTech is a company that my husband and I founded based on the positive response we received from other legal professionals nationwide to the concept of a completely virtual law office and the flexibility it offers. The technology is a secure, web-based, software as a service (SaaS) hosted program that generates online client development and permits an attorney to practice law anywhere he or she may access the Internet. The technology assists legal professionals so that they may build a better work/life balance for themselves by modifying their practice to fit personal and family needs.

    Finding a better work/life balance was my motivation to start a completely virtual law practice. I chose to practice law from home so that I could spend my days caring for my young child but still continue to build my career as an attorney. To provide a brief description of my virtual office, my client files, data, billing, invoices, accounts receivable, other accounting and administrative tools, calendars and data management tools are located in the backend of the virtual office online. I have a central point in the virtual law office where all of my cases are organized and it shows me the status and priority for better time management.

    On my client’s side, they have access to their own homepages through my virtual law office where they may view all of our online communications, pay me online, download and upload documents, and update client data, among other features. I have 24 hour policy of responding to my clients online. My clients are located across the state, most of them I’ve never met or spoken with in person. My flexible work hours include the time during my child’s nap, in the early morning and evenings or whenever else it is convenient for me and my clients to get work completed. My clients appreciate that I am available to them during non-business hours because that is often more convenient for them as well.

    Through the use of VLOTech, blogs and other web-based technologies, the legal professional today may create alternative working arrangements that can be adjusted and refined as circumstances in his or her personal life require. I have used these to fashion a work/life balance that meets my current needs as a parent, a wife, a daughter and an attorney. I have found wonderful mentors online through law blogs, the ABA’s Solosez and my state bar’s practice group listservs. In five years from now, my work and family life needs will be different, but an effective use of web-based technology will allow me to adjust the hours which I devote to my law practice and return to a more traditional attorney work schedule.

    Many baby boomer law partners will realize the importance of work/family life balance as they begin to care for their aging and elderly parents. At some point in our lives, most of us will be contributing to the care of a family member, either financially or with our time and either by chose or imposition. Legal professionals of both sexes are not immune to this fact of life. Recognizing this, rather than fighting against it, would benefit the legal profession with both higher retention rates among young attorneys and with peers who were less vulnerable to depression and alcohol abuse.

    Other attorneys who are adopting these technologies in their law practices have seen the potential for the virtual law office concept to reform the work/life balance in the legal profession. Its usefulness is not limited to young female attorneys who want to take the time out to raise a family and continue to have a career. The technology could be used by more experienced attorneys who need to take a couple months or a year off from a firm to care for an elderly parent or ill spouse. Apply the same concept to legal assistants and paralegals who could use the technology from their homes or other remote location in conjunction with a traditional law office and continue to be productive members to their employers while managing law office administrative tasks, client intake, accounting and other functions found in the virtual law office software. The web-based technology permits the attorney to control his or her law practice in a more flexible manner that maintains productivity and makes the management of clients and a law office more efficient.

    VLOTech and other web based, software as a service technologies that are available today should be put to work to help the legal profession reform the work/life balance. If the level of productivity remains high, quality legal work is produced and client development is strong, then there should be no reason why virtual law office technology should not be considered to implement a better work/life balance and improve attorney retention.

    The crux of the divide between baby boomer attorneys and fresh law school graduates is not about “putting in the time.” It’s about letting someone else other than your law firm control how you allocate your time and prioritize the people in your life. Technology is quietly allowing legal professionals to arrange their lives and their careers so that at different times in their lives they may adjust to meet a careful balance that changes a little for each of us, each year of our lives. I’m excited to be a part of this quiet reform and I hope that it continues to spread and provide more unique law practice alternatives for the members of our profession.

  • KLS Virtual Law Office Fall Update

    This fall I’ve connected with several other attorneys across the nation who have similar goals of using the most current technology to better serve clients and facilitate collaboration between attorneys. Roger Glovsky (The Virtual Lawyer) has a great website, Lexpertise, with the goal of linking attorneys nationwide. Grant Griffiths is an attorney who also runs a home based law practice and is the author of two blogs: Home Office Warrior and Home Office Lawyer. Both of these websites have a wealth of information for anyone wanting to find better ways to strike a better work/life balance.

    With a virtual law office, I sometimes have people who reside in states other than North Carolina who will contact me asking for referrals to attorneys who are licensed to practice law in their state. So, these networks are an important way of serving people who visit my website. Over the past year or so, I’ve built up a decent referral bank for visitors to my website whom I am not able to assist and I’m hoping that will continue to grow.

    As many others have written, the legal profession is quickly changing thanks to the available technology. The most successful practices of the future will be those that have embraced these changes and kept up with the technology. An attorney doesn’t have to be a software programmer or computer expert anymore in order to use and maintain software applications that make his or her law practice run more efficiently.

    I am anxious to introduce the vlotech software to the legal profession. It will not happen overnight, but expect it to happen and expect an impact. The public is ready for something different than prepaid legal plans or fill-in-the form legal document websites like legalzoom. (And for the hundredth time, the virtual law office is not anything like legalzoom or nololaw or prepaid legal. It is my law office with all the administrative, management, accounting, etc. functions right there for me and my clients. All online. No lack of parking spaces, no secretary, no appointments necessary. It sometimes baffles me that the public gets this more easily than some attorneys. Give it less than five years and it will be a different story.)

    As for professional development, I attended the annual Estate Planning and Probate Practice CLE in Greensboro this past October so I feel up to date in this area of the law. I was hoping one of the speakers would go into more details about the recent N.C. law changes to the statutory form Health Care Power of Attorney and Living Will. From what I have learned from speaking with other estate planning practitioners, many of their offices are still using the older versions of the documents because they feel that the newer versions are too complicated and wordy for their clients. Many want to wait and see the application of the changes in practice before switching over. Personally, I find the new Living Will statute to be clearer than the old. It would be interesting to know what medical practitioners think about the application of both revised documents.

    Aside from the home based, online practice, I’ve been asked to speak to several mothers’ groups locally about estate planning. I am also posting an educational thread about estate planning on an online forum for mothers. The material and dialogue online between myself and the other women will be the same as my in-person talks, but the forum will most likely reach a larger number of people and be more accessible for many of them. I’m grateful to have these opportunities.

    What strikes me the most after these talks and the question/answer sessions that follow is that a lot of people do not have any estate planning in place for their young families and many do not understand how it can be important to them at this stage in their lives. Yet, most of them have insurance policies in place for the “what ifs” in life. There is still this strongly held presumption among people in their 30s and 40s that estate planning is only for individuals at the end of their lives and only if they have sizable fortunes. I enjoy sharing what I have learned with these groups, and if nothing else, hopefully it helps them start a productive dialogue with their families.

    Also interesting to report, some skeptical people suggested to me that I would only be able to attract clients to the vlo who were in their 20s and 30s because that demographic is most comfortable with obtaining services online. I’m happy to report that I see a wide mix of clients in their 40s and 50s who use their vlo homepages, download and upload drafts and documents for review and pay me online. I even have had a couple clients in their late 60s this past year. This should say something for the ease of the website. That, and North Carolina has a large number of people who retire down here and need their estate planning updated from another state.

    Adding to the content of my virtual law office and this blog are on the top of my priority list for the upcoming new year so please check back. I’m looking forward to a productive and prosperous new year. I wish anyone reading this the same.

  • Supporting Virtual Law Practices

    Keeping up with blogging has been impossible between running my online law practice, raising an 18 month old and forming a new software company. I’ll do my best to provide a brief update.

    In June, we filed a patent for the virtual law office software and business method. We formed a company called Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC (VLOTech). The company provides software that connects legal professionals to the online community. To view a beta version of the software, please visit my law practice, Kimbro Legal Services at www.kimbrolaw.com. We have drafted a detailed business plan and are currently seeking angel or other investors to assist in getting the company up and running.

    A handful of attorneys in several states have shown interest in being some of the first attorneys in their states to set up virtual law practices. A couple are interested in integrating them into their existing practices and others are interested in having a completely virtual, homebased law practice. I have about a couple attorneys a month contacting me and that’s with zero marketing effort. I’m very excited about the potential that this has not only to offer a greater work/life balance for attorneys and another way to profit in their businesses, but also that it will offer more affordable and accessible legal services to the public.

    After over two years of research on the virtual law office as a business method for the legal profession, I feel very strongly that it is a great alternative way of providing unbundled legal services. An attorney could combine it with an existing brick & mortar law office and expand their client base to anywhere in the state(s) in which they are licensed to practice law. The software and business method provide for a number of different business applications. When we have more marketing materials ready for the company, I’ll post a link to those and the demo of the software. For now, we are working hard on the website content for VLOTech.

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