Solo Practice

Virtual Firms Make House Calls

By Garrett Worley

The overhead of maintaining a fully staffed office has always been a significant barrier to attorneys contemplating solo practice. In other fields, businesspeople have had great success with home offices, but home offices have not often been viewed as conducive to the practice of law. The legal profession has traditionally prided itself in image and reputation and has had a difficult time understanding how a home office (or small office outside the home) could be effective.

Virtual law firms, which primarily conduct their business online, don’t necessarily need office space. Delta Law Group, based in Pittsburgh, is typical of such firms. Delta maintains electronic files, so the firm is completely paperless. Those files are stored on a secure extranet so that lawyers can meet with clients anywhere there’s wireless internet access.

The obvious concern is how clients feel about this. Wouldn’t clients rather meet in a law office where they can gaze at portraits of stoic, long-departed jurists from the comfort of an overstuffed leather armchair? As it turns out, no. Business clients in particular are more concerned with results. Individuals want someone who cares about their legal problem and is dedicated to advocating for them. What shows that you’re more dedicated to achieving results for your client than meeting at their offices? What shows that you care more than meeting your client at their home?

Using available technology allows lawyers to interact with their clients more fully than ever before. Not only are clients kept apprised of pending legal matters, but their lawyers have a quick and effective means to respond to their questions and concerns. The ability to bring the law office with them wherever they go isn’t just efficient. In a world where the internet and other communications technologies are making the global village a reality, face-to-face contact with clients is just as important as ever. While businesses may be perfectly accustomed (and perfectly content) to work with people they never meet in the real world, most individual clients will not be. A virtual law firm provides the attorney with more opportunities to meet with clients.

Although a virtual law firm isn’t necessarily an office-less law firm, it very well could be. Delta Law Group relies on a network of specialist and solo attorneys in their region to perform its legal work. The firm provides them with the tools they need to link into the virtual office and this results in a much more agile practice.

Read the full article about Delta Law Group on Legal Blog Watch here.

Full post as published by Garrett Worley's Blawg on January 20, 2008 (boomark / email).