Youngstown Daily Legal News

With an iPad in hand, law offices can be virtually anywhere these days

ANNIE YAMSON
Special to the Legal News
Published: October 1, 2014

Virtual lawyers may sound like something from a science fiction novel but the concept is very real and growing in popularity.

Since the advent of websites like LegalZoom, online legal advice is readily available and easy to understand.

Rocket Lawyer and NoLo are also growing enterprises providing legal help for the layperson at the click of a mouse.

As a result, attorneys have had to invent new ways to keep up with client needs. Some law firms do it better than others.

“As lawyers, we have an interesting perspective that is beaten into our heads from the first day of law school,” Chad Burton, founder of virtual firm Burton Law LLC, recently wrote for the American Bar Association. “We always look to the past for precedent.”

The time has come to start looking to the future, according to Burton, who is one of the first completely virtual law firms in Ohio.

He is based out of Dayton, but, because of the mobility of his services, has attorneys who can practice all over the state.

Burton likens the need for virtual law firms to doctors who had to find away to adapt and respond to WebMD.

“How many times has a client started a conversation with, ‘Well, I Googled this issue and it seemed straightforward?’” he asked.

But for Burton, lawyers who ignore the widespread influence of the Internet and sites such as LegalZoom, are ignoring client needs.

According to him, the model of a virtual law firm is actually based on common sense.

Instead of having a brick-and-mortar base, a virtual law firm may have a conference room it uses as a part of an office-sharing arrangement where lawyers can meet with clients when necessary or hold firm meetings.

For the most part though, the attorneys at the firm work from home, or wherever makes sense to them.

Burton, for example, equips his lawyers with iPads and sends them on their way, but he makes clear that the lack of an office or constant supervision is no excuse for poor work.

“Virtual gigs do provide a lower access point into the market for new lawyers, but this fact does not supplant the need for legal skills training,” he wrote. “Proper legal training is needed for any type of virtual setup to succeed.”

What drives a virtual law firm most is the technology it embraces and on which it relies, and cloud computing is key.

“Some in the profession discount the use of such technology without truly understanding it, but this technology is now the norm — it is neither scary nor evil,” Burton wrote.

In fact, the International Legal Technical Standards Organization has developed a set of best practices for cloud computing.

Along with sites that simplify law for the public, online legal practice management tools are expanding at an unprecedented rate and are being marketed to lawyers.

Websites and apps like Clio allows a practice to manage the business side of things, billing clients, managing calendars and accounts from anywhere the Internet is available.

Clio even has an iPhone app and scales to add users when a firm grows.

Another part of the appeal of virtual firms is that they are almost entirely paperless.

“One of the traditional characteristics of a virtual law firm is having a secure client portal to interact and share information,” says Burton, who uses DirectLaw, which can send electronic documents back and forth between client and lawyer in a secure way.

Burton’s firm also uses Box.com, which is essentially a storage space for documents and allows attorneys to quickly pull up files while meeting with a client or even while in court instead of searching through hard copies.

“Having a paper-filled office is inconsistent with being mobile and being able to share information online,” said Burton. “Fundamentally, relying on paper is antithetical to the concept of a virtual firm.”

Still, sometimes a paper needs a signature and, inevitably, the printer will come into play, forcing clients to rely on outdated ink and paper.

In those cases, Burton’s clients need not fret about how much ink they have to spare.

In April, the firm announced on its blog the launch of a new drone program. No ink? Not to worry. A drone will conveniently deliver hard copies.

“We even think the drones can open and place the documents in mailboxes to make sure the documents stay dry during inclement weather,” the blog entry states.

The program is expected to go live later this year.

“The virtual law firm creates a different environment for delivering legal services, by definition it causes lawyers to think differently about client service,” said Burton.

By being creative in their approach, lawyers at virtual law firms are forced to think about the future rather than live in the past, according to Burton.

“In the coming years, it may well be that such firms will not be labeled as ‘virtual’ at all; they will simply be considered to engage in the practice of law,” he said.

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