Virtual Law Practice

Tag: secure online client interface

  • Technology at Techshow to Enable Online Delivery of Legal Services

    Exhibitor Hall at this year’s ABA Techshow has a number of different web-based technologies that allow  for attorneys to take all or portions of their practice online.  Most of them seem to be practice management applications, and not so much geared towards working online securely with clients. However, there are a few new developments that assist virtual law practice that warrant mention.  

    DirectLaw and VLOTech are again this year the two products intended for the online delivery of legal services. (By way of disclaimer, and as most of my readers know, my husband and I co-founded VLOTech which was acquired by Total Attorneys this past fall).  Both products are SaaS, but with different features and focuses so they will appeal to different types of law practices.  Both products facilitate the unbundling of legal services online and from my exploration of the exhibitors’ booths there are not any other products at the show this year that focus on unbundling legal services for online clients.  DirectLaw has recently launched a new site for members of the public to locate a virtual law firm, MyLawyer.com.  If you operate a virtual law practice, you should see about getting a listing in their directory.  (more…)

  • Social Networking Policies for a Virtual Law Practice

    Last week I gave a brief presentation for the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP) about developing policies for online social networking. While researching for the presentation and round table discussion, it occurred to me that having a policy in place for social networking is a wise idea for a virtual law practice. Considering that a great deal of the marketing and professional networking for a virtual law practice is going to be handled online using social networking tools, it makes good sense to establish a policy for your practice whether you are a solo practitioner or a medium-sized online law practice with virtual assistants.

    If you haven’t already, please check out Carolyn Elefant’s ebook Social Networking for Lawyers: The What, Why and How.  This is a good resource regarding the use of social networking for legal professionals and could be useful for developing your own social networking policies for a virtual law practice.

    Here are some social networking policy suggestions from my presentation that can be applied to a virtual law practice: (more…)

  • State Bars Address Virtual Law Practice

    Over the past month, I have spoken with several attorneys who want to open virtual law practices.  They are approaching their state bars to get the go-ahead before hanging the virtual shingle.  If you live in Texas, Maryland or Georgia, you may want to keep an eye out for opinions from your state bar authorities regarding virtual law practice.

    The summer issue of the NC State Bar Journal published a new proposed formal ethics opinion regarding web-based management of client records.  You can read the proposed opinion #5 on the NC State Bar website here. 

    The proposed ethics opinion examines two separate scenarios where the attorney’s clients are able to access confidential client records through a web-based system.  The proposed opinion expands beyond the NC Bar’s previous 2006 ethics opinion regarding virtual law offices which focused more on non-secure email communication rather than web-based VLOs. 

    This new proposed opinion concludes that “client files may be stored on a website accessible by clients via the internet provided the confidentiality of all client information on the website is protected.”  It also specifies that “[i]f the law firm will be contracting with a third party to maintain the web based management system, the law firm must ensure that the third party also employs measures which effectively minimize the risk that confidential information might be lost or disclosed.”

    I have been forwarding the NC Bar’s opinion on VLOs and this new proposed opinion to attorneys in different states who are in the process of approaching their own state bars.  If anyone would like to share the virtual law practice opinions of their state bars, I would love to post them on this blog as resources for other attorneys researching virtual law practice.

  • How Does a VLO Fit In With the Paperless Law Office Tech Trends?

    This is an excerpt from a post I made on the VLOTech website explaining how a virtual law office (VLO) fits into the trend of attorneys using technology to create more paperless law offices. As more of VLOTech’s clients go live with VLOs across the nation, the examples of virtual law practices will be clear. In the meantime, I’m saying forget about thinking outside the box to understand the virtual law office concept. Just don’t get in a box in the first place.

    In the past two years, the legal profession has seen the introduction of several web-based law practice management tools. These web-based systems focus primarily on time and billing management for attorneys. Separate systems are devoted entirely to online case management. Many attorneys seeking to have “paperless” law offices are creatively combining different web-based applications with software products, such as Adobe, to create a more digital law practice.

    VLOTech strongly supports this movement by the legal profession to use the most current technologies to provide better services to clients and to create more productivity and balance in the lives of legal professionals.

    Where do completely virtual law offices fit into this trend?

    To understand what VLOTech and it’s attorneys are envisioning and practicing, think one step beyond web-based practice management systems and tools. Look at the way other businesses successfully function in virtual reality worlds and how avatar-based forms of communication are breaking down the barriers of geographic location and economic limitations. Less extreme, think about how many people handle all of their banking and financial matters completely online without ever walking into a brick & mortar bank building to chat confidentially with a financial consultant. A virtual law office capitalizes on the secure web-based technology available to create the infrastructure of an attorney’s law office online. VLOTech provides the technology and each individual attorney or law practice uses it to design the virtual law practice that meets their needs.

    By the basic definition, a completely virtual law office (VLO) is a professional law practice that exists online through a secure portal and is accessible to the client and the attorney anywhere the parties may access the Internet. A VLO provides attorneys and clients with the ability to securely discuss matters online, download and upload documents for review and handle other business transactions in a secure digital environment. With a VLO, an attorney’s clients benefit from the convenience and accessibility. The attorney benefits from the flexibility of a virtual law practice, an online client and revenue generating software, and lower overhead associated with setup and maintenance of a nontraditional law office.

  • 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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