I recently blogged about a new virtual law firm (also blogged about by Gerry Riskin). In article "Virtual law firm casts off tradition" (Pacific Business News), we learn of another. Excerpts from the article (may be subscription only):
Honolulu corporate attorney Greg Kim likes to say he specializes in sweat equity and is working to break the mold of what a traditional lawyer represents.
In the 16 years he spent as a partner with Hawaii’s largest law firm, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, he would go into the office only when it was absolutely necessary and conducted most of his client meetings in restaurants and cafes.
Four years ago, he left the stability and name recognition he had at Goodsill, where he was the firm’s No. 2 in corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions law, to launch his own “virtual” law firm called Vantage Counsel.
Vantage Counsel was created to be the physical and spiritual opposite of bricks-and-mortar law firms. There are no associates, no suite of imposing offices and, most important, no standardized work hours.
Avoiding high overhead
Much of the client interaction takes place over the phone, via e-mail or at a local coffee shop.
“High overhead is a ball and chain and lawyers get stuck in that traditional mind-set,” Kim said. “But we’re more focused on helping people and you don’t want to take more money from them than you need to.”
It’s a model that can be confusing to those used to interacting with traditional law firms, especially when it comes to how the firm charges for its work. Kim concedes it is a challenge to prove to people that a virtual law firm can deliver high-quality legal service without charging by the hour.
By offering legal services on a fixed-fee or success-based price model, Kim said he has managed to expand the practice to the point that it’s bringing in $1 million in annual revenue.
He and his law partner, Elizabeth Lee, each contributed $15,000 to launch Vantage Counsel and broke even within the first year.
...
“I don’t need the big old stuffy chairs, the big reception counter at the front, and I’d much rather meet him at Starbucks than anything else,” said Carnet Williams, CEO of software-technology firm Sprout (formerly ChipIn), which is among the firm’s dozens of clients. “It’s good to see my money go to actual legal work versus big legal offices.”
...
“The billable hours system isn’t satisfying because you do what you can count,” Kim said. “It’s demoralizing and can misalign you with your client and really makes you more inefficient. It’s about how you can make the practice scalable, but you have to be willing to take risks.”
In the 16 years he spent as a partner with Hawaii’s largest law firm, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, he would go into the office only when it was absolutely necessary and conducted most of his client meetings in restaurants and cafes.
Four years ago, he left the stability and name recognition he had at Goodsill, where he was the firm’s No. 2 in corporate securities, mergers and acquisitions law, to launch his own “virtual” law firm called Vantage Counsel.
Vantage Counsel was created to be the physical and spiritual opposite of bricks-and-mortar law firms. There are no associates, no suite of imposing offices and, most important, no standardized work hours.
Avoiding high overhead
Much of the client interaction takes place over the phone, via e-mail or at a local coffee shop.
“High overhead is a ball and chain and lawyers get stuck in that traditional mind-set,” Kim said. “But we’re more focused on helping people and you don’t want to take more money from them than you need to.”
It’s a model that can be confusing to those used to interacting with traditional law firms, especially when it comes to how the firm charges for its work. Kim concedes it is a challenge to prove to people that a virtual law firm can deliver high-quality legal service without charging by the hour.
By offering legal services on a fixed-fee or success-based price model, Kim said he has managed to expand the practice to the point that it’s bringing in $1 million in annual revenue.
He and his law partner, Elizabeth Lee, each contributed $15,000 to launch Vantage Counsel and broke even within the first year.
...
“I don’t need the big old stuffy chairs, the big reception counter at the front, and I’d much rather meet him at Starbucks than anything else,” said Carnet Williams, CEO of software-technology firm Sprout (formerly ChipIn), which is among the firm’s dozens of clients. “It’s good to see my money go to actual legal work versus big legal offices.”
...
“The billable hours system isn’t satisfying because you do what you can count,” Kim said. “It’s demoralizing and can misalign you with your client and really makes you more inefficient. It’s about how you can make the practice scalable, but you have to be willing to take risks.”
I have read both of your posts regarding virtual law offices with interest and wanted to share with you and your readers that there is another option out there in virtual law practice. Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC (www.vlotech.com) sets up virtual law practices for solo and small firm practitioners nationwide. Many of the virtual attorneys run completely web-based VLOs, such as myself, while others operate them in conjunction with a brick & mortar law office.
The appeal is that the VLO expands the attorney’s client base to the entire state where he or she practices law. Clients have their own secure homepages, pay online and handle all of the communication with the attorney through the web-based technology. The attorneys have their entire backend law offices online and accessible anywhere they may access the Internet.
I am licensed in NC and have operated a completely web-based virtual law office powered by VLOTech for two and a half years with success. I regularly blog about technology and ethics issues in virtual law practice on the VLOTech blog and on my own blog, Virtual Law Practice.org.
While VLP and Vantage Counsel may appeal to attorneys in larger firms, the VLOTech software as a service application is geared toward the solo and small firm practitioners as a way for them to expand their client bases across the state(s) where they practice law and in a way, to compete with larger law firms.
Posted by: StephKimbro | August 19, 2008 at 05:26 PM