Practice Management

Update: Alabama Ethics Opinion Permits Use of Cloud Computing For Client Data

Posted on December 12, 2010
Alabama State Bar Ethics Opinion 2010-02, ?Retention, Storage, Ownership, Production and Destruction of Client Files? This opinion addresses the following issues: 1) file retention policies; 2) how long a file should be retained; 3) what constitutes a client?s file; 4) what parts of the file can be destroyed; 5) the ethical considerations related to electronic [...

A Revolution that Combines Humans & Computers

Posted on December 07, 2010
Darryl Mountain, a fellow member of the ABA eLawyering Task Force, has just published “An Update and Reconsideration of Chrissy Burns’ ‘Online Legal Services-A Revolution that Failed?’” in the European Journal of Law and Technology, Vol...

Potential New Regulation of Online Advertising Will Negatively Impact Solo and Small Firm Virtual Law Offices

Posted on November 29, 2010
There are two weeks left to submit comments to the ABA Ethics Commission 20/20 regarding its two issues papers related to cloud computing and online marketing.  I wrote about the cloud computing issues paper here, but as several fellow virtual law practitioners have pointed out to me, it is the second issues paper on the use [...

Service of Process in a Virtual Law Firm

Posted on November 29, 2010
More virtual law firms are springing up that combine a traditional litigation practice with the features of a virtual law office.  Members of these virtual firms use the online law office as a way to communicate and collaborate on case matters and to work remotely...

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Adapt or Get out of the Way: Standards to Protect Client Property/Confidentiality Change

Posted on November 22, 2010
Last week during a guest lecture on virtual law practice at the University of Dayton School of Law, the subject of protecting client property and confidentiality of client data in electronic communications came up again.   My prediction (perhaps overly optimistic) is that in the next few years the state bars will recognize that unencrypted email communication between attorney [...

Avvo Webinar Posted: How to Operate a Virtual Law Office

Posted on November 16, 2010
Here is the recording from the webinar I presented on November 9th for the Avvo blog.  It provides an introduction to virtual law practice, looks at some case studies of how attorneys are setting up virtual law offices and then dives into researching the technology, ethics issues and ends with marketing a virtual law office...

WSJ Article Showcases Benefits of Fixed Fees, Virtual Law Practice

Posted on November 15, 2010
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article entitled Legal Advice…on a Budget featured in a special report section about small businesses.  The article discusses how some law firms are offering fixed fees and discounts for start-ups.  Firms that they profiled for the article report growth in small business clients who are attracted to the service...

Massachusetts Lawyers Journal Article on Virtual Law Offices

Posted on November 15, 2010
Check out the latest issue of the Massachusetts Lawyers Journal for an article I wrote about operating a virtual law office.  It covers the basics, ethics issues and marketing and was compiled from three guest posts that I wrote for Mass LOMAP this past summer...

Accepting Nominations for the ABA Keane Award for Excellence in ELawyering

Posted on November 10, 2010
If you are an attorney or law firm that uses technology in innovative ways to deliver legal services to your clients, please consider filling out a nomination form for the ABA’s Keane Award for Excellence in ELawyering.  Or if you are aware of an attorney or law firm that deserves recognition for the innovative use of [...

Free Webinars on Virtual Law Practice

Posted on November 08, 2010
Please join me this week for two different webinars related to virtual law practice.   Both are free sessions that you can register for, but each will take a different approach in covering the topic. How to Operate a Virtual Law Office and Deliver Legal Services Online – Tuesday, November 9, 10:00am PT, AVVO Blog: Register [...

Ethics Opinions Related to Virtual Law Practice: Updates to Book Appendix

Posted on October 29, 2010
Below is the start of a list of ethics opinions proposed or published by different state bars that relate to virtual law practice.  This is meant to update the full list in the appendix to my book which contains state-by-state, topical references to ethics and advisory opinion that involve different aspects of operating a virtual [...

Pro & ?Low? Bono Services Delivered Online

Posted on October 27, 2010
In recognition of National Pro Bono Week, I?m taking a minute to share what pro bono means to me as a solo practitioner and the owner of a virtual law office.   Kate Bladow from Technola pointed me to this report from the Bellow-Sacks Project at Harvard which advocates a holistic approach of applying multiple forms of delivering legal [...

List of Products that Facilitate Virtual Law Practice

Posted on October 26, 2010
In the appendix of my book, I mention a list of current SaaS and other cloud computing service providers with products that may be used in the delivery of legal services online.   I’ve posted some of these companies below.  There are more coming out every month, and I welcome suggestions for new ones to add to the list...

Lawyerist Guest Post: Receiving a Digital Education

Posted on October 22, 2010
The following is an excerpt from my recent guest post for the Lawyerist blog discussing a mini-conference on educating the digital lawyer that I attended last week at Harvard Law sponsored by the Berkman Law Lab.  Below are a few examples of courses or programs that are successfully working to provide a digital education...

Law Society of British Columbia Comments on Virtual Law Practice

Posted on October 17, 2010
The fall issue of the Law Society of British Columbia’s Benchers’ Bulletin published an article entitled “The real world of virtual law firms.”   Quotes from practice management advisers from the Law Society of British Columbia (LSBC) contain misleading assumptions about elawyering and virtual law firms...

Review of PA Ethics Opinion on Virtual Law Offices

Posted on October 11, 2010
Entitled “Ethical Obligations on Maintaining a Virtual Office for the Practice of Law in Pennsylvania”, the PA Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility published its FEO 2010-200 this month.  The opinion is in stark contrast to the out-dated thinking in the ethics opinion discussing virtual law offices published this past spring by its neighboring state of [...

ELawyering and the Future of Legal Work CLE

Posted on October 07, 2010
The ABA eLawyering Task Force will be presenting a CLE at American University Washington College of Law on October 21, 2010 from noon – 1:20pm, entitled “ELawyering and the Future of Legal Work“.  I will be joining co-panelists Blair Janis, Marc Lauritsen and Ronald Staudt in a discussion of elawyering and its impact on the future [...

Pennsylvania Ethics Opinion on Virtual Law Offices

Posted on October 05, 2010
Pennsylvania Bar Association Committee on Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility has published an ethics opinion, FEO 2010-200, which from this Lawyers USA news snip-it apparently approves of virtual law offices.   The ethics opinions accessible online through the PA State Bar site are for members only...

New ABA Ethics Opinion on Websites

Posted on September 30, 2010
The ABA has published a short description of its efforts to examine the impact of technology, including cloud computing & SaaS, social media and websites, and has released a new ethics opinion related to attorney websites.   Last week I wrote a post about the Commission’s call for comments related to cloud computing and protecting client confidences...

No Substitute for an Attorney

Posted on September 29, 2010
During yesterday’s ABA ELawyering Task Force call, we discussed the recent settlement agreement entered into by LegalZoom and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. In an Assurance of Discontinuation, the online legal services company must not state in advertising to the public that its services are less expensive than those of a law firm without [...

Social Media for the Legal Professional

Posted on September 27, 2010
This past weekend I presented a CLE session for the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys (NCAWA) annual meeting on the topic of social media for legal professionals. Anyone involved in virtual law practice needs to understand social media and how it can be used to market a virtual law office, but also about how [...

Call for Comments ? ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission Reviews Cloud Computing and Client Confidentiality

Posted on September 21, 2010
This afternoon the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 sent an email through the listserv announcing a public hearing in mid-October in Chicago.  The Commission is looking for comments on two topics: 1) ?Client Confidentiality and Lawyers? Use of Technology? and 2)  ?Lawyers? Use of Internet Based Client Development Tools...

Volunteer Work Easier With Virtual Law Practice

Posted on September 20, 2010
For an upcoming Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP) webinar, an executive round table discussion, I’m going to discuss some ideas that legal aid organizations can implement that would make it easier for private practice attorneys to volunteer their services...

Technology eReport Features ELawyering

Posted on September 17, 2010
The September issue of the Technology eReport from the ABA GP, Solo and Small Firm Division has a feature article on elawyering written by virtual lawyering pioneer, Richard Granat.  The article is entitled “Doing Law on the Web: eLawyering for Competitive Advantage” and provides an introduction to elawyering or virtual lawyering, but also goes into [...

Landlord/Tenant Requests for Online Legal Services

Posted on September 13, 2010
I’ve noticed an interesting increase in the number of landlord/tenant-related legal issues that are coming into my virtual law office.  Most of the requests have been from landlords who are having issues with collecting rent.  Others are requesting new lease agreements...

Video: Leverage the Internet to Serve Your Clients and Grow Your Practice

Posted on September 10, 2010
At the ABA Annual Meeting last month I participated in the ABA Journal’s Legal Rebel‘s program, “10 Ways to Build Your Perfect Practice & Career” hosted by Matt Homann. The presentation requirement was that I cover 20 slides in 6 minutes...

A Legal Rebel

Posted on September 10, 2010
The ABA Journal has turned its attention to solo practitioners for this year’s group of “Legal Rebels.”   I am pleased to announce that the Journal has bestowed this title upon me for my virtual law office.  The article written by Stephanie Ward for my profile gets to the heart of why I started my virtual law office several [...

Book Release ? Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online

Posted on September 08, 2010
I’m pleased to announce the publication of my book Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online through the ABA LPM Publishing.  The book was written to be a practical, how-to manual for attorneys who want to deliver legal services online by creating a virtual law office...

Michigan Bar Journal Article: Best Practice Tips for the Virtual Law Office

Posted on September 02, 2010
September’s issue of the Michigan Bar Journal features an article that I wrote entitled “Best Practice Tips for the Virtual Law Office.”  The article summarizes some of the potential malpractice risks of using technology to deliver legal services online and then discuss ways to mitigate those risks...

Virtual Law Pratice at ILTA

Posted on August 30, 2010
This past week’s ILTA conference was full of great insight about disruptive technologies, virtual law practice and the changes that are expected in practice management as a result.  I wasn’t able to attend the conference in person, but I managed to collect materials and information presented at key sessions...

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