When it comes to business, one of the things that we learned from the pandemic is that law firms can work remotely and use digital tools to serve their clients. Although this may have been a response to the situation, the reality is that being a virtual lawyer has advantages both for your clients and practice.
Here are the reasons why:
1. Reach more clients
Although it may seem a confusing and intimidating term, a virtual law firm is a legal practice where lawyers use internet-based and telecommunications tools to operate and offer their services. This does not change the services you offer, but rather the way you deliver your services.
Of course, you can still have your physical office if you want to. But because you’re using technology to deliver your services virtually, you are no longer constrained to serve clients within a specific location’s radius.
2. Time and location flexibility
Another benefit of having a virtual law firm is that this model allows you to work remotely from wherever you are, while it also gives you more time and flexibility. Since you are serving clients over the internet rather than at a physical office, you may not need to go to the office all the time. This can save you from commuting every day. It can also improve your work productivity since you are not interrupted by the usual distractions that come with an office.
3. Reduce your costs
One of the most important advantages of having a virtual law firm is that lawyers can reduce their costs. By going virtual, you might only need to invest in:
- Computers
- Internet
- A website for your law firm
- Cloud software and computing services
- Software and tools to run your practice (i.e., call service, payment processor, etc).
If you run a virtual legal practice, you do not need to pay a premium for rent because you do not need to be in a good and competitive location.
Reducing your costs with a virtual law firm is not only good for your finances but also gives you the chance to start growing your presence in other locations.
4. It is convenient for your clients
One of the main characteristics of virtual law firms is that most of the communication and services are delivered over the internet. This means that clients can go online and comfortably schedule a Zoom, Skype or GoToMeeting call with you or someone in your firm when it is more suitable for them (and you). There are plenty of ways that clients can benefit from a virtual law firm. For example, if you need your client to send you documents, they can upload them to your cloud storage. The results? Everyone involved saves time and money.
5. It makes your law firm more innovative
As you can see, being a virtual lawyer allows you to offer the same legal services that a regular, brick and mortar law firm does while it creates a lot of new opportunities for your practice:
- Offer high-quality video calls.
- Accept payments online.
- Move from on-premises to cloud software.
- Book consultations and appointments online.
- Ability to work from anywhere.
Lawyers that go virtual are leaning towards new and innovative products that can make their work and their client’s experience more efficient and enjoyable.
6. It is attractive for your employees
Most employees want a job that gives them enough time for themselves. For that reason, virtual jobs have been evolving and developing over the years, and the pandemic has accelerated this trend.
If you think about it, there are plenty reasons why a remote job may be attractive for your employees:
- Saving time and money on commuting
- Having more flexibility over their schedule
- Increasing productivity
- Having the flexibility to use more casual dress attire
7. The ability to find and attract more talent
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, a physical office can have some location constraints. These limitations also apply to the pool of people that you can hire. Think about it. With a physical office, you cannot consider candidates who are too far away to commute to your office. With virtual law offices you have the flexibility to look at a broader pool of candidates since location is no longer a significant constraint. Now, you can focus on finding the best people for the job rather than making sure to find someone that can get to your office.
8. Online businesses are growing
The truth is that people are relying more and more on the internet to find their service providers, including Lawyers. So, it is not a surprise that many law firms are starting to implement and offer some virtual features to their clients. Although many of these features were a response to the pandemic, they proved to be cost-effective and time convenient for clients.
The way law firms operate is changing. And even though you may not want to go virtual, there are some things that you can add to your law firm to make your clients’ experience more enjoyable.
9. Environmental friendliness
Going virtual can help reduce your firm’s carbon footprint in multiple ways. Without a daily commute to the office, you can cut your emissions from driving. By digitizing document management and client intake forms, you can also significantly reduce your paper usage.
10. Efficiency
Technological infrastructures now help you practice more efficiently and more effectively. Having a virtual law firm means embracing and utilizing technology in an effective way. Virtual law firms use various functions such as online calendars for consulting services, video conferences, document sharing and storing through cloud systems, online payments, client portal management, virtual reception services, encrypted messaging, and management services. By using these technologies virtual law firms manage to have lighter, flexible, and safer legal practices.
11. Being pioneers
The generations that grew up with the internet want more access to lawyers online. These generations already shop, book travel, entertain themselves, and often work online, so they want a lawyer who’s willing to embrace technology in the same way. This is true of both business clients and consumer clients.
Have a look at Axiom. Axiom is a global leading alternative legal services provider (ALSP), supporting virtual law practices with a high-caliber virtual legal team online in every major city in the United States: https://www.axiomlaw.com/virtual-law-firms
Also have a look at our article on Lawbots at https://buenosabogados.es/what-are-lawbots/
What is TeleLaw? – https://buenosabogados.es/what-is-telelaw/
