Virtual Law Practice

Tag: client-centric law practice

  • The Future of the Legal Profession is Client-Centric

    This past week the ABA LPM Section held its spring conference in Las Vegas. Of the many topics covered in the sessions and CLEs, the one recurring theme was that the changes in our profession are being driven by the clients. Some of these changes include increased customer service, response time, alternative billing, online access and use of technology by the firm to cut costs and make legal services more easily obtainable and affordable. This client-centric focus on law practice management is important because once these changes have been made by the attorney, there is little room for going back.

    Imagine telling the client who has enjoyed online access to the status and files of his case that he must now make in-person appointments in your office and will receive the invoice in the mail in 7-10 business days. Or imagine telling your clients who you provided flat fees for legal services that you will now be charging them by the billable hour rate and instead of a number they can budget, giving them a guestimated range they will owe you upon services rendered. (more…)

  • Defining a Virtual Law Firm

    While researching the feasibility of creating a completely virtual law firm, I kept reading articles that viewed a “virtual law firm” in the same way that Dennis Kennedy defines it as “an affiliated group of lawyers connected by technology rather than co-existing in common physical locations.” Here is Kennedy’s article which I have read several times.

    In other words, a group of lawyers working at Biglaw could all be on the same practicing network with other lawyers at Biglaw’s ally and they would be considered to have a “virtual law practice.” What I want to read about is not how practicing online affects the attorneys personally or makes their firm more productive. I want to read about how communicating and serving clients through the internet and how using technology to make it more affordable can affect the public. I know, with the burgeoning law school loans, I should be thinking more about myself and building a big career. But I get the biggest kick out of helping folks and making the law understandable for the lay person. I steered a lady and future entrepreneur in the right direction today. Didn’t get paid a cent for my time and probably won’t ever see anything tangible come out of it except maybe a referral. It felt right though and it reminded me of why the legal profession appealed to me in the first place.

    Maybe that is why I define a virtual law office practice from a more client-oriented perspective rather than as a lawyer to lawyer tool. I feel like I’m going out on a limb every time I post or comment or share the concept of practicing completely online. But I strongly believe there is something to this. It’s going to take patience and staying power, probably until someone “bigger” than me picks up on it and brings it into public awareness.

  • Slow but steady…

    The payment and “ask an attorney” function of the website is still in the process of beta testing. We are trying so hard to make sure that everything is in compliance with the NC Bar and also easy to understand and use for the clients. Therefore, we are taking our time to make sure the site is done to the best of our ability.

    In the meantime, I have been practicing law locally from my home. I have worked on several estate planning projects and a small business setup. I thoroughly enjoy practicing law independently. The total responsibility for a legal matter motivates me much more than when I was practicing in firm and sharing different aspects of a legal case with several other legal professionals. With my home practice, I feel that I can take the time I need to so that I can focus on a client’s needs without having to worry about billable hours. I think it humanizes the practice of law more to focus on the client as a customer and not focusing on their legal matter in terms of how much time it will take you to work on it and what that will equate to in billable hours at the end of the day. So I am more optimistic each day that Kimbro Legal Services @ kimbrolaw.com will serve as a great way to practice law for me as an attorney who needs the flexibility to stay at home and care for her young child and at the same time provide quality legal services in a more customer-friendly method. Of course, I am prepared for the potentially negative feedback from traditional attorneys that I may receive once I start marketing the website and business. But I think by maintaining my professionalism online and in my marketing strategies and by making this website secure and safe for clients, I can convince other attorneys that this can be an alternative to the traditional, physical law firm.

    Once the website is completely operational, I plan on blogging on NC related legal matters related to the services I plan to offer. Please check back later in the summer.

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