Virtual Law Practice

Tag: Lawyers.com

  • Legal Directories and a Virtual Law Office – What’s Your Address?

    taking a look at online legal directoriesThis week I’m considering giving online legal directories another chance. As more and more attorneys are dropping out of Martindale Hubbell, I recently turned to Findlaw’s online directory options.

    I formerly had a listing with Lawyers.com and was unhappy with the unprofessional splash page that they insisted on setting up for me. Why they would not link directly to my vlo, I am not sure. Because my vlo is a secure web application and clients can come to me directly through the online office, I did not have a need for Lawyers.com’s unsecure “email me” contact form that I was paying for each month. The one benefit was that the listing boosted my ranking in google which initially may have been worth the pricey fee. On to other options as I continue to grow my vlo and learn more law management practice tips along the way.

    A basic Findlaw listing that links to my vlo would be great. Except they are not too familiar with a vlo and virtual law is not a separate category of law practice. Even though I work with clients online throughout the entire state, I would have to purchase a listing in each individual cities in the state. The expense here is mindboggling.

    What is my address? Well….it’s a website address. The online directories have trouble categorizing you outside of the traditional law office setup. As more solos and law firms go online with Virtual Law Office Technology (VLOTech) and use a vlo to practice law, the usual law directory companies will have to come up with a different pricing structure that provides services that fit with a vlo’s marketing needs.

    One option might be to leave out the physical address requirement and let the vlo link to their vlo for the same price and if they want to add both a physical and a vlo link, then charge for both. I’m not an expert on how online directories operate. The customer reps at Findlaw have been efficient at giving me the information I need as far as pricing and services. However, I think if these companies want to stay on the cutting edge of legal technology trends they should start considering how their services can be useful and affordable for a virtual law practice.

  • Solo Advertising – Needs vs. Wants

    I recently commented on The Dreams of a Solo to a post here about how the needs versus wants when starting a solo practice are a fine balance that every solo needs to think about before getting in over their heads.

    I didn’t have too much difficulty in determining my technology needs from wants. With the web application, I could just use the computer equipment I already had, even though dual monitors would be swell as would a new Blackberry and a MacBook Air. [Note to self: I need to update my tech “wish list” again before birthday.]

    The most difficult part for me in determining the needs versus wants in opening my virtual solo was figuring out what advertising I really “needed.” Advertising expenses can quickly get away from you if you count the cost of new office announcements to other attorneys and membership in different organizations as a form of advertising. These don’t even reach the public, just build an attorney network that hopefully results in referrals.

    Online versus traditional advertising was my biggest challenge. I erroneously thought that I had to have a listing in the Yellow Pages. Big mistake. Kevin at Real Lawyers Have Blogs recently posted here about how ineffective this is for solos. He’s right. Google is the new phone book. Even if the YP ad came with the online listing that linked to my vlo, it still was not worth the $2,000 plus annual contract. I think I was under the impression from working at my previous firm that it was just what law offices did to have a “presence” locally. Well, if your office is virtual that doesn’t matter so much.

    Online directories, such as Lexis’ Lawyers.com also proved to not have a good ROI. Unless you can afford the extra cost to “bump” your listing up to the top (i.e., have a BigLaw advertising budget), I don’t think it was worth the expense. The service occasionally resulted in a prospective client but that wasn’t worth the monthly bill and tacky splash page to my website.

    I think it took me a good year of figuring out what I really “needed” for advertising to build a decent client base and then keep the business momentum going. I’m still working out the perfect balance. I suspect that, like everything in life, the need-want balance with my virtual practice will always change a little each year.

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