The new VLOTech website designed by G2WebMedia is online. Regular updates on the Company and VLOTech software and services will be provided to interested clients on the new website rather than by email. I will continue to blog here about my own experience with a virtual law practice and contribute to the VLOTech blog regarding the VLOTech software and services.
Tag: Virtual Law Office Technology
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New Website/Blog Complete
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Legal Directories and a Virtual Law Office – What’s Your Address?
This 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.
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Virtual Law Practice Heralded as the Future of Solos and Small Practices
The response to my guest post on Susan Cartier Liebel’s blog Build a Solo Practice, LLC has been overwhelming. In the past three days Virtual Law Office Technology has been swamped with emails and a few phone calls from other solos interested in using the release version of the web application. I’ve really been enjoying hearing from these other attorneys with solo or small practices and learning how they run their businesses and how they would like to see this technology work for them.
Also heralding virtual law practice as the future of solos and small firms, Jordan Furlong, Editor-in-Chief of National magazine at the Canadian Bar Association, writes here on his blog Law21, “Small, flexible, accessible, affordable, and turn-on-a-dimeable — that’s what tomorrow’s solo and small firms will look like. It seems that, in some quarters at least, tomorrow has arrived early.” He was kind enough to mention my virtual law practice, the Virtual Law Office Technology, and the guest post to Susan’s blog.
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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.
