Book Review – The Electronic Evidence and Discovery Handbook by Sharon D. Nelson, Bruce A. Olson and John W. Simek

I was fortunate to win the above titled book as a prize during the Macs Practice Law Week hosted by The Inspired Solo. The authors, Sharon D. Nelson, Bruce A. Olson and John W. Simek, mention in the introduction to the book that when they predicted that all lawyers would need to learn about electronic discovery (ED) in the near future, they were meet with the same remarks from attorneys that I hear about virtual law practices – it’s just a trend and will not have an impact on the way that I practice law.

Until I read through this book, I don’t think I realized either the extent to which issues surrounding ED have crept into every law practice – even solos and small firms. It has gotten me thinking about the ways that I need to counsel my clients, not just my small business clients, but also my family law and estate administration clients. Clients need to be educated about their own electronic activities and how those actions could show up again as electronic evidence in their legal cases.

As the authors make clear in The Electronic Evidence and Discovery Handbook, messages written in an email will hang around longer and have more copies than a contract written on paper and stuck in a file somewhere. Not only is this good evidence, but in some cases, it may be easier to get a hold of.

In this day and age, I find it difficult to imagine that anyone could assume that just because they are communicating by email or text message, that this is somehow not a “real” transfer of information. There have been many articles along these lines in the past few years, especially regarding the inappropriate use of email or the slack way in which even professionals will write messages to colleagues and clients using slang or unprofessional language.

This trend seems to be changing, or at least people are becoming better at determining what e-conduct is appropriate for which e-format. You can disclose TMI or TFS comments on your personal D&D listserv, but BTW you should write in complete sentences when emailing opposing counsel from your law office.

In my virtual law practice, I try to avoid using email because it is unencrypted and therefore, not a secure way to communicating with clients. My VLO provides a secure way to communicate with my clients and I use this as a way to lock down the terms of our attorney/client relationship and the scope of legal services I am providing. As with a traditional retainer agreement, I count on the fact that in the event that I ever need to defend my actions, I will be able to use my e-correspondence with the client as electronic evidence.

The Electronic Evidence and Discovery Handbook is a fascinating book on a topic that affects all attorneys, even solos and small firm practitioners. With useful forms, checklists and guidelines on the included CD, I’d recommend it as a useful addition to any law office library – virtual law offices all the more.

SaaS and the Virtual Law Office

There has been an interesting dicussion on the ABA's SOLOSEZ listserv lately about web-based legal software. Some of it has been a tad hostile with a couple members completely opposed to web-based software and others hailing it as the future of legal software. There have been two fairly recent web-based legal software releases: Rocket Matters and TrialManager. Ken Obel of Nextpoint wrote a guest post on The Inspired Solo this week addressing some of the objections to SaaS. I'm guessing it's the release of these applications that have started the discussions about SaaS, how it works, and all the pros and cons of a web-based application.

I'll have to take the middle road on this discussion. I believe SaaS can be a cost-effective tool that attorneys can use to manage their legal cases (TrialManager) and even operate their law practices online (VLOTech). However, I'm not sure that SaaS is the end-all-be-all for the management of every solo or small firm practice. It doesn't have to be the sole legal software product used by an attorney. It can be effective as a complementary software as well. The web-based product(s) an attorney choses depends on what he or she needs for the individual law practice and on his or her comfort level with SaaS and the company providing the service.

My advice: Before you chose to go with a web-based application, check into the company that will be providing the service and handling your valuable data. If they won't be upfront about all the "what if" situations and if they don't have policies in place to protect their customers, then I wouldn't go with them.

My mind is on this a lot lately because I've been working with Ben Norman, co-founder of VLOTech, to create the content for the company's website which is being professionally re-done. We are drafting a Faqs page that goes into all of the questions we think the customers might have about the Virtual Law Office Technology, SaaS and web-based applications in general. VLOTech really wants the customers to be educated on the topic and to feel like the company is being upfront from the beginning. I think that's the best approach to take with a web-based legal software application because attorneys are in general very skeptical of new products. It will be interesting to get feedback and see if I'm right about this.

Virtual Competition

Roger Glovsky of The Virtual Lawyer sees collaboration as a way for solos and small firm practitioners to compete in a market that gets more competitive every day. He also writes here about how the Internet and technology could be used to level the playing field a bit more:

"The problem for the solo practitioner and small firm is that it will get increasingly difficult to compete. Although the Internet is heralded for leveling the playing field, the rules of the game have changed. The new game is about having real-time, virtual, and personalized access, to people, information and tools that enhance productivity, improve results, and facilitate the practice of law. How will the solos and small firms develop these new resources?"

Virtual Law Offices offer an excellent way for a solo or small firm practitioner to compete with a larger, chain firm. I'm a solo. Do I have the funds to pop up a branch office of my solo in every major city in my state, plant associates and staff in each one and then ad a nice fat advertising budget on top of that to get the clients rolling in?

Of course not. Competition like this hits hard in a small city like mine where the traditional attorneys here are used to competing with other solos or small firms. Then a branch comes in with marketing strategies and huge budgets and it really does change the game.

IMHO, Virtual Law Offices might be one way for solos and small firms to expand their client base to the entire state without having to spend much more than $150-300 a month in cost for the web-based service/vlo website. If you can attract clients from across the state, then the ROI is going to be there and last.

I don't think a VLO is the answer for every solo or small firm. I think for some attorneys like me who want the flexible work/life balance, a completely VLO might be the answer. For others, I think it could be used as a tool to compete with the larger firms who have the resources to pull in more clients. And it's possible that a large firm could do the same thing and incorporate a VLO into their existing law office website and then pour money into online advertising of the VLO on search engines and attorney referral sites. I would be interested to hear what others think about using VLOs as a way for solos to compete with larger firms.

MPL Week - Meet MacVirtual

It's Macs Practice Law Week over at The Inspired Solo and TechnoEsq. They have invited attorneys practicing law with Macs to share their experiences. I'm a bit of a newbie with my Mac, but I'm so enthusiastic about how it is working for my virtual law practice that I thought I'd chime in.

I waited until MacWorld was over this year before purchasing my first Mac. I went live with my virtual law practice as a solo over two years ago and have been using an older PC from my law school days. I had loved using Macs in college but after law school had been using whatever PC was available wherever I happened to be working.

This year I decided to switch back to Mac. My virtual law office is a web application rather than software so it doesn’t have to be PC or Mac compatible, it can run on both. I went with the Mac Notebook. The Mac Air, although very cool, was a bit too pricey for me as a young solo…this year. I’ll stay optimistic about the future.

The nature of a completely virtual law office is that I practice wherever I can securely access the Internet. I live by the beach and the Cape Fear River. Sometimes I like to be outside and sometimes I like to take breaks and walk. My old laptop from law school weighs a ton and the battery runs out too fast. It was time for a change.

Since I have been researching the switch back to a MAC and discussing the vlo technology with other attorneys, I’ve found there is a significant group of Mac attorneys who are eager for law office technology that is compatible with the MAC. I’m hoping to sway more Mac-using attorneys over to the benefits of a MacVirtual practice or at least using it as a client and revenue generating product to build their practices.

My top reasons why the Mac Notebook works great for my virtual practice:

1. Using File Vault to encrypt my home directory so my data is protected even
if my laptop is stolen.

2. Time Machine automatically backs up the system.

3. The Mac goes to sleep better and rarely needs to be rebooted.

4. I can get over five hours of battery time out of it. Great for someone like
me who can’t sit still in one place for very long but wants to stay online.

5. Doesn’t give me a backache lugging it around.

6. Aesthetically pleasing design.

Legal Directories and a Virtual Law Office - What's Your Address?

This week I'm considering giving online legal directories another chance. As more and more attorneys are dropping out of Martindale Hubbell, I recently turned to Findlaw's online directory options.

I formerly had a listing with Lawyers.com and was unhappy with the unprofessional splash page that they insisted on setting up for me. Why they would not link directly to my vlo, I am not sure. Because my vlo is a secure web application and clients can come to me directly through the online office, I did not have a need for Lawyers.com's unsecure "email me" contact form that I was paying for each month. The one benefit was that the listing boosted my ranking in google which initially may have been worth the pricey fee. On to other options as I continue to grow my vlo and learn more law management practice tips along the way.

A basic Findlaw listing that links to my vlo would be great. Except they are not too familiar with a vlo and virtual law is not a separate category of law practice. Even though I work with clients online throughout the entire state, I would have to purchase a listing in each individual cities in the state. The expense here is mindboggling.

What is my address? Well....it's a website address. The online directories have trouble categorizing you outside of the traditional law office setup. As more solos and law firms go online with Virtual Law Office Technology (VLOTech) and use a vlo to practice law, the usual law directory companies will have to come up with a different pricing structure that provides services that fit with a vlo's marketing needs.

One option might be to leave out the physical address requirement and let the vlo link to their vlo for the same price and if they want to add both a physical and a vlo link, then charge for both. I'm not an expert on how online directories operate. The customer reps at Findlaw have been efficient at giving me the information I need as far as pricing and services. However, I think if these companies want to stay on the cutting edge of legal technology trends they should start considering how their services can be useful and affordable for a virtual law practice.