Legal Help A Click Away: Technology, struggling economy usher in the virtual law office
Technology has drastically changed many industries over the past decade, including the age-old practice of law, where the Internet and a recession-strained economy have helped create the virtual law office.
“I really think — in terms of why they're getting more popular —is the cost savings are a lot better,” said Gabriel Cheong, who is Law Practice Management Section counsel for the Massachusetts Bar Association (MBA) and owner of Infinity Law Group, of Quincy. “The cost savings are significantly greater than having an office or store front that you need to maintain.”
Cheong said there are two types of virtual law offices, or VLOs. In one, an attorney works from home and does most work virtually, via phone and Internet, but might meet clients face to face, which is what he does.
Cheong has a home office in Quincy but rents conference space in Needham and Boston.
“I don't work out of any one of those offices. Only when clients want to come see me, I make an appointment,” he said.
The other kind of VLO is when an attorney never meets a client in person.
“In some practice areas, that's fine,” Cheong said, but added that because he's a divorce lawyer, he needs to make court appearances and meet with clients.
In 2009, the American Bar Association issued guidelines for law firms wanting to do more online than market their services. They characterize VLOs as having a secure online database that keeps attorney-client information confidential and is accessible only with a user name and password. The issue of ethics regarding client confidentiality over the Internet is a hot topic within the industry. Last month, the MBA issued a decision that each lawyer should decide whether the technology used meets ethical confidentiality requirements.
To achieve security, attorneys can purchase software that stores information and allows clients and attorneys to share documents.
Brian Mekdsy of Burrillville, R.I., is working on marketing and finalizing documents he'll use on the online portal for his practice, which he launched in April. People interested in his services can go to his website and register with basic contact information.
“You don't have to make an appointment and schedule a time out of your day to drive to your attorney's office. You can log into a portal and download documents,” he said.
Attorneys point to that convenience as a client benefit, but say the VLO model offers them benefits, too. In addition to fewer overhead costs, it allows them to have flexible schedules.
Helps With Career ‘Plan B’
Scott van Raalten of Upton went to law school to have a fall-back plan if he could no longer be a police officer. In 2009, he started his VLO because he wanted to keep his full-time job while practicing law.
“It allows me the flexibility to work on (non-time sensitive) client files when it's convenient for me,” van Raalten said. “It also allows me to pass my overhead saving to my clients without reducing the quality of services.”
For Mekdsy, the decision to open a VLO was based on several factors. He graduated in 2009 as part of the class referred to as the “lost generation” of lawyers who earned their degrees, only to find the economy had bottomed out and left their profession with few openings.
So he put off his law career and stuck with his job in information technology, eventually deciding it was time to put his degree to use.
“I said, 'If I'm going to use this degree, this is really the best approach right now,' because it allows me to get into the practice of law, keep my overhead low and get my feet wet,' ” he said.
Mekdsy spent the last three months building his practice and getting his name out. He deals with estate planning, small business and unbundled services, and unlike Cheong, doesn't plan to meet many clients in person. However, his business address is in Marlborough, where he has conference space available to him.
“I think that the online route lends itself more to transactional work because you don't necessarily have to meet directly in person and go to court,” Mekdsy said. “I had never thought of myself as a litigator so it just kind of flowed with my own personally.”
Marketing Challenge
Mekdsy is learning about the best ways to market his practice through its website and social media because he doesn't have an office. Van Raalten said that part, getting exposure without a physical building has been the hardest task. But Cheong thinks VLOs have it easier when it comes to marketing because they can reach a wider range of people.
“No one is going grocery shopping and … pass an attorney's office and say, 'I need to get a divorce today.' They research it. Walk-ins are very rare and far in between, even if you have a storefront office,” he said. He added that clients may not want to commute too far to meet with an attorney they're interested in.
“It actually helps when you have (a) virtual office in that respect,” he said.
Cheong does acknowledge challenges to VLOs though.
He said that if he were to work in an office, he could work until a client meeting. In his situation, he may have to stop working several minutes before so he can drive to the rented conference space. And renting leads to the possibility that space might not be available when the attorney needs it.
Then there's the fact that — although people are becoming more comfortable with managing their lives online — it's not for every client.
“I definitely am cognizant of the fact that this type of site is not going to be attractive to everyone,” Mekdsy said. “My 86-year-old aunt is not going to go online to update her will. But there's a group of professionals who are used to doing everything online. I think that there's a segment of the population that can relate to this and do see value in it.”
Image credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
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