Virtual Law Practice

Tag: CLE

  • Upcoming Events Related to ELawyering, Virtual Law Practice

    – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Law presentation on virtual law offices, next Thursday, February 10th at noon. 

    – Unbundling Legal Services: Ethics and Best Practices, ALI-ABA Teleconference, February 24, noon-1:30pm EST.

    – AVVO webinar on unbundling legal services which will also discuss the use of technology to unbundle and deliver legal services.   Thursday March 10th at 10:00 am PT.

    – ABA/LPM Meet the Author Series Podcast, 1pm

    – ABA TECHSHOW, Chicago

                     – April 11, 10:30-11:30am, “Expanding Your Practice with an Online Office”, co-presented with Catherine Sanders Reach

                      -April 12, 8:00- 9:00am, Meet the Author, “Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online”

                                      10:00 – 11:00am, “Popular Cloud Services for Lawyers”, co-presented with Tom Mighell

                                       7:00pm, Hosting Taste of Techshow Dinner with an “elawyering theme”

  • 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.

  • 60 Websites to Check Out – From the Practical Skills CLE

    Last week I co-presented a CLE session at the NC Bar Center with Lee Rosen, of Rosen Divorce Law fame, and Erik Mazzone, the Director of the Center for Practice Management at the NC Bar. The conference was the Bar’s Annual Practical Skills CLE which is geared towards newly minted attorneys and others wanting to brush up on practical lawyering skills. The presentation was titled 60 Websites in 60 Minutes, and the goal was to share useful websites with the attorneys in the audience along with throwing in some fun, stress-relieving sites.

    My 20 websites focused on open source or shareware applications that could be useful to an attorney opening a solo or small firm practice and wanting to keep their overhead down. I also tried to focus on security for the mobile attorney, such as Truecrypt or PCTool’s free, secure password generator. Here is the list of websites that were presented. I’ve thrown in brief descriptions under the ones that I covered.

    60 Websites in 60 Minutes – 2008 NC Bar Practice Skills CLE

    Google Maps

    Jott

    Truecrypt
    Truecrypt is free, open-source disk encryption software. There are multiple uses for this software, especially for the mobile attorney. For example, create an encrypted drive containing sensitive data and place it and Truecrypt on a USB key. When you use a laptop to practice law remotely, mount the encrypted file as a drive on your temporary computer and use the file system like a normal drive. When you are done, unmount the drive and the only thing visible left on the USB key will be the encypted file. So if you loose your USB key or it is stolen, all they will be able to see is the encrypted file.

    Cornell Legal Research Engine

    iStockPhoto

    Firefox 3+ No Scripts
    Firefox 3 is the safest web browser to use. Add NoScripts to the program and it’s even better. If you are using web-based apps to practice law, I recommend switching from Internet Explorer to Firefox 3 with add-on security.

    VLOTech

    SugarSync

    Thunderbird
    Thunderbird 2 email application has superior security and privacy features, including phishing protection, industry leading junk mail filters, and support for user privacy and remote image protection.

    Grand Central

    PB Wiki

    Open Office
    OpenOffice.org is the free open source version of Microsoft Office. It includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and other applications. It runs on PCs and Macs which makes it useful if you are collaborating with others. It has easy to use applications, great compatibility with other programs and you don’t have to buy a new version to install each time it has an update.

    Wakerupper

    Jing

    Zaba Search
    ZabaSearch is a website that provides contact information for just about anyone you are trying to locate. The site claims to contain three times more telephone numbers and addresses than the White Pages Directory. Good for investigating.

    Evernote

    Elance

    PCTool’s Password Generator
    PCTools.com provides a secure password generator. You can specify password length, phonetics, letters, mixed case, numbers and punctuation.

    WordPress

    Google Analytics

    7 Zip
    7-Zip is open source software you can use to compress large files. A useful tool if you need to email or upload a larger file to a client or counsel.

    LinkedIn

    Comodo

    Product Wiki
    Productwiki is a free product review site written by consumers. Includes software, computer, electronics products reviews and more. Shows competing products and pros and cons for each.

    Google Docs

    TinyURL

    DaFont
    Designing a logo or letterhead for your law practice or looking for an eye-catching font to use in a presentation? Dafont.com has a large directory of free fonts for install on your Mac or PC.

    Alltop

    DimDim

    Twitter
    Twitter has become a popular social networking site for attorneys. You can follow individuals as well as different news and business organizations, such as the ABA Journal or Legal Voices, which follows twitter commentary from the legal industry.

    Public Library of Law

    Project Draw

    Second Life Bar Association
    If you are interested in learning about the developing legal system in the virtual reality world, Second Life, or if you just want to meet up with other tech-savvy lawyers from across the world, consider attending a meeting of the SLBA at the Second Life Justice Center. Free CLEs and other legal conferences are being held at the center on a regular basis with speakers who are in the top of the IP and Cyberlaw fields.

    Todoist

    Soocial

    Uncyclopedia
    Strictly for stress relief, Uncyclopedia is a parody of Wikipedia with over 100,000 humorous encyclopedia-style entries created by users. Check out the entries related to the legal profession or feel free to edit an entry for a creative writing break.

    Google Calendar

    37 Signals

    Solo Practice University
    Solo Practice University is a new web-based educational community for attorneys that teaches the “practice of law” and fills in the gaps that law schools tend to ignore, such as the practical, how-tos of running a law practice. Teachers will include law professors and legal professionals and the courses will be a combination of media from web conferences to podcasts and ebooks.

    Goog 411

    Pandora

    Home Office Lawyer
    Home Office Lawyer is a popular law blog written by Grant Griffiths, a Kansas Family Law Attorney, who runs his law practice from a home office. Home Office Lawyer as well as Grant’s other blog, Home Office Warrior, have great information on the latest technology and other law practice management tools that can help an attorney run a home-based law practice or lower their law office overhead.

    Chrome

    Manager Tools

    Legal OnRamp
    Legal OnRamp is a lawyer networking site where attorneys contribute content and participate in online forums and groups. Members may use the site to meet other attorneys worldwide who specialize in a particular area of the law or join in the OnRamp marketplace to find out about new client opportunities.

    Lojack for Laptops

    Duct Tape Marketing

    Adobe Connect Now
    Adobe ConnectNow, currently in Beta, is a great way to interact with other professionals from your computer. The application is free and you may use screen sharing, chat, notes, audio and video to hold online meetings. If you are planning on using a virtual or remote legal assistant, this might be a great way to handle an orientation or training. The security may not yet be there with this application, so I would not recommend using it for communicating with clients at this stage in its development.

    JD Supra

    NewsGator

    Open Congress
    OpenCongress combines official government information with related news and blog coverage. If you want to find out the story behind a bill, this is the place to go.

    Clipperz

    Law Practice Matters

    ABA eLawyering Task Force
    ABA’s Elawyering Task Force is part of the ABA Law Practice Management Section and provides an introduction to the increasingly popular trend of using technology to provide legal services online. Even if all you are doing is setting up a web site for your law office, this is a good site to visit for practice tips.

    Delicious

    Presentation Zen

    Techmeme
    Techmeme is popular website that can keep you up to date with technology and trends that can help you run your law practice and your life. Focusing on the practical application of technology in daily life, it combines the best tech stories of the day into an easy-to-scan page with 24/7 updated content.

    Stay Happily Married

    Kiva

    Major Geeks
    MajorGeeks is a trusted website that provides downloads for your computer that will repair, back-up, and protect your system. Check out the anti-virus and backup downloads.

  • 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.

  • ABA Hosts Virtual Reality Law Conference in Second Life

    The ABA’s Conference “Why Virtual Worlds Matter for Lawyers” was held today at the Justice Center in Second Life (SL). It was a fascinating discussion of virtual reality law issues and the future of law in virtual reality worlds.

    I attended the conference through my avatar on SL while other attorneys participated through teleconference for CLE credit. Panel members included David Elchoness, Executive Director of the Association of Virtual Worlds, Lauren Gelman, Executive Director of Stanford Law Center for Internet and Society, Steve Mortinger, VP & Associate General Counsel of IBM Systems & Technology Group, Francis Taney, Chair of the Technology Litigation Practice Group, and Benjamin Duranske, attorney and blogger who writes about his experience in SL and about virtual reality law on his blog, Virtually Blind. He has also written the book Virtual Law: Navigating the Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds.

    As far as practicing law completely through a virtual reality world, the security is not fully there yet. Not to mention that the client base would be limited and difficult given multiple jurisdiction issues. I’ll stick with my VLOTech virtual law office. However, there are a number of American attorneys who have opened up virtual reality offices in SL and are helping to write and interpret the laws that will govern this virtual reality world.

    Here’s a screenshot of the ABA Conference today (I’m the short-haired blonde sitting down in the middle. It costs Linden dollars for an avatar makeover and new suit, so I stuck with what they gave me.):

    ABA Virtual Reality Law Conference in Second Life

    If you are not familiar with SL, you might want to check it out. I have limited time for virtual reality worlds right now, but I enjoy keeping up with the development of the technology behind these worlds. I find the environment extremely addictive because of the ability to meet new people from around the world and travel (fly) to different virtual reality developments. There is a Second Life Bar Association that meets every second Saturday in the Justice Center on SL and I may limit my SL interaction to those meetings. It might be a great way to meet some of these pioneering attorneys who are out there creating the legal system that will govern virtual reality worlds.

    Why does this matter to the rest of us in the “real” world? Because individuals in the real world are creating viable businesses completely based in SL. Virtual world real estate is bought and sold in Linden dollars but that translates into US dollars in the real world. Companies, such as IBM, and many universities, have SL presences and own real estate in SL. There are IP, business, employment and contract law issues that arise in SL among other matters. Some of these issues were discussed in the conference today and hopefully they will make a transcript available.

  • Does Focusing on “the Business” Lead to a Decline in Professionalism?

    Two recent events have led me to ponder this ongoing debate of whether focusing on the business aspects of running a law practice in some way threatens the legal profession. Perhaps it’s because my state tends to be more conservative because I don’t read too much about this online. Some of it stems from more traditional attorneys feeling threatened by the use of technology to practice law, but I acknowledge that there are other issues at work here.

    I attended a CLE sponsored by my state bar association where the topic of maintaining professionalism was discussed. The speaker noted with enthusiasm that we attorneys needed to remember that “this is not a business; it is a profession!”

    Well, I think it’s both and it serves our clients as well as ourselves for attorneys to treat the legal profession as a business, a business that maintains high customer service standards.

    I respectfully understand the point that this gentleman CLE presenter was emphasizing. But as a solo virtual law practitioner, I sure wish the bar would sponsor a few more CLEs geared towards the business aspects of running a law practice. After all, this is not exactly something attorneys are taught in law school and it is critical to our success.

    Practicing law from a virtual law office comes with the fun challenge of explaining to other attorneys why you have chosen to offer legal services online. A large part of chosing to run a virtual law office has to do with the fact that it allows me to run a healthy business as a professional. Surprisingly, the public, my clients, do not have any problem “getting it.” My clients see what I see: convenience, low overhead at a time when the economy is floundering, flexibility to provide my clients with services when it’s convenient for them, efficient and secure form of communication, etc.

    Also this past week, I attended a practicum for a bright group of MBA students and had the chance to read through the team’s business plan and critique it as business owner. Just reviewing and critically thinking about their business plan made me want to run home and rewrite and clarify my own business plan for my virtual law practice. I think it benefits our clients as well as our own law practices when we take the time to remind ourselves, through business plans or conversations with legal practice consultants, what our goals are in managing our law practices.

    So that’s my fun project for this weekend: Updating my business plan so that I stay focused on the practical as well as professional aspects of running my virtual law practice.

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