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Virtual law practices are under attack. Traditional attorneys and large firms with a heavy presence on ethics boards and Supreme Court Administrators are attacking the concept of virtual law firms. Why? money. They are seeing virtual law firms popping up at the courthouse and at pretrial conferences and they sit there and wonder quietly…”how did this guy get all these cases, and where is his office?”

Specifically, states like New Jersey are stabbing at the heart of the virtual law practice’s heart…the “bona fide office rule”. This is a blatant attack on virtual practices as it requires a lawyer to maintain a bona fide office, or brick and mortar physical office where clients can find their lawyer and drop off papers. Hello? These boards and ethics attorneys are not in the real world of today and the advances in technology.

My virtual law practice is a hybrid. I maintain an office in a professional office building where I get a physical address with mail service, a receptionist that answers my phone “McNeil Law Office”, and a nice office or conference room to meet clients in. They can stop by any time between 8 and 5 and someone is always there. In addition, they have my personal cell phone number and I check my email every 5 minutes on my iPhone. How is THIS not a bona fide office?

Lawyers are fond of putting signs up on their offices, “By Appointment Only”. That is my office…how is that any different. In addition, I am a happier lawyer and pass that on to my clients. Does a client really care if their legal work and mindless paperwork gets done in a stuffy office or out in the sun at a coffee shop? I would say NO.

The economy in many states for attorneys is dismal. It will become almost a necessity to operate a virtual law practice rather than harboring ridiculous overhead that comes due every month. Female attorneys in New Jersey have begun to attack back, saying that they do not want their home addresses published to their clients, especially if they have young children they are caring for on a part time basis.

These virtual hybrid offices are perfect for the part time lawyer/supermom. Even a state like Florida tries to implement a bona fide office rule through their advertising rules. However, a call to the ethics hotline will reveal that as long as you say some magic words…available for consultations at_______, then you are covered. How are magic phrases protecting the best interest of the client versus promoting better overall client service. I choose client service over abra cadabra any day.

Visit www.vlawyerconsulting.com for more tips on how to operate a virtual law practice ethically.

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