When my husband and I sold VLOTech, our legal software as a service solution that created virtual law offices, to Total Attorneys in the fall of 2009 we were anxious to see some of the items on our development list taken to the next level. Almost a year and a half later, I’m excited to announce that they are releasing VLO 2.0, the next generation of the VLO concept.
I’ve been involved at different stages in the process of rebuilding and adding to the software. A strong focus on the security of the system and attention to the ethics concerns unique to lawyers have been maintained by the developers at Total Attorneys. It will be exciting to see the reaction from attorneys to the more user-friendly design and workflow.
From April to June anyone interested in test driving the beta version of the VLO can sign up with Total Attorneys for a free trial. After June when the trial period ends those beta users will be offered a discount price if they wish to continue to use the software.
More web-based practice management solutions are entering the legal marketplace and more of them are developing client portals and features to facilitate virtual lawyering. I’m clearly going to be biased in favoring the VLO 2.0 because it is what I’ve used to build my own practice for going on six years, and it is something that I’ve been able to work on closely with others to grow into what I believe is a solid platform for the online delivery of legal services. I would encourage anyone interested in the development of technology for virtual law practice to take a close look at the VLO 2.0 beta from Total Attorneys and find out about some of the innovative developments that are coming down the pipeline for that software in the near future.
I’m excited to see the changes in VLO 2.0 from Total Attorneys. One of the biggest disadvantages of the Total Attorneys VLO has been the lack of automated document assembly. Other competitors in the virtual law office SAAS field such as DirectLaw offer an integrated state-specific automated document assembly function. The goal of many attorneys looking to start a virtual law office is to provide affordable fixed-cost unbundled legal services. The ability for clients to use automated document assembly to complete forms which the attorney can then review seems critical to achieving this goal.