(Webinar Slides) The Virtual Firm

The Virtual Firm#GoVirtualLaw

About MyCase

Built as a complete platform, MyCase offers features that seamlessly cover all the daily functions that a modern, small law firm requires in one place at an affordable price.

MyCase Web-Based Legal Practice Management Software

Just $39/month per attorney

$29/month per paralegal or staff

About MyCase

•Modern and professional design built for your firm•Social media and blog integration•Complete integration with MyCase practice management software

MyCase Websites

About Our Presenter

Stephanie Kimbro, MA, JD, is a Fellow at Stanford Law

School Center for the Legal Profession in Palo Alto,

California. She is the author of several books including

Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online

(2010, 2nd ed. forthcoming 2015), Limited Scope Legal

Services: Unbundling and the Self-Help Client (2012),

Consumer Law Revolution: The Lawyers’ Guide to the

Online Legal Marketplace (2013), and Online Legal Services

for the Client-Centric Law Firm (2013). Her current research

at Stanford involves the use of gamification to increase

productivity in law firms and to improve online engagement

between lawyers and the public.

Stephanie Kimbro, M.A., J.D.

http://www.abanet.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=main&fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=5110707

http://apps.americanbar.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=main&fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=5110740

http://apps.americanbar.org/abastore/index.cfm?section=main&fm=Product.AddToCart&pid=5110753

http://www.managingpartner.com/bookshop/online-legal-services-client-centric-law-firm

Overview

• Market for online legal services

• Virtual law firm business models and delivery methods

• Marketing a virtual law firm

Stephanie Kimbro (c) Copyright 2014

The U.S Legal Services Market

• American consumers spend

approximately $43 billion to $56

billion annually on personal legal

services

• Latent legal services market adds

another $45 billion to the

potential market

• $145 billion market in total

Size of the market for legal services

What consumers spend now $43 billion

Estimated value of under-served

consumers or latent market defined as

the value of legal problems that are not

serviced.

$45 billion

Total market $88 billion

6


Market Metrics

• 78% of Americans do not have a will or updated will.

• 50% of all marriages end in divorce.

• Personal Bankruptcy filings have almost doubled since 1990.

• More than 10 million American are victims of Identity Theft each year.

• Nearly 9 our 10 employees experienced at least one legal concern

during the past year. (Legal Needs Study).

• In fact, seven out of 10 Americans said they experienced a legal event

within the past year*, according to a recent survey conducted by ARAG,

a legal solutions provider. (Legal Needs Study). Data also supported by

American Bar Association Legal Needs Study.


Clients are online, lawyers aren’t

Pew Research Center: 3 out of 4 consumers seeking an attorney over the last year used online resources at some point


Empowered

Consumers

Stephanie L. Kimbro - Copyright (c) 2014

Good Customer Service =Communicating and being accessible using methods that

are currently embraced and relied upon by clients.


The public conducts

the following tasks online:

Shop

Sell

Bank

Invest

Trade

Pay Taxes

E-file

Obtain degrees

Work


Here come the “Digital

Natives”.


Poll #1

• As my law firm’s main method of legal service delivery

• An amenity for my firm’s existing clients

• A way to inject additional revenue into my firm by providing unbundled services online

• A competitive advantage over other traditional law firms

• My clients are requesting online services

What is the primary reason you are interested in delivering legal services online?


Designing a Virtual Law Firm

• Business Models

• Unbundling

• Design Thinking

• Creating a Business Plan


Fundamental Questions

• A good business model defines:

• Who is the client?

• What does the client value?

• It also answers the fundamental question everymanager must ask:

• How do we make money in this business?

• What is the underlying economic logic that explains how we can

deliver value to customers at an appropriate cost?

Source: Joan Magretta (2002, Harvard Business Review, Why Business Models Matter)


https://hbr.org/2002/05/why-business-models-matter

Business Model Questions

• How Does Your Law Firm Create Value?

• How Does Your Law Firm Deliver Value?

• How Does Your Law Firm Capture Value?

The reason why people or businesses seek out your law firm is because they have a problem and they are asking you, “Do you have a solution?”

They are not interested in your laundry list of services.


Examples of Law Firm Business Models

• Legal Subscription Plans

• Full Service Law Firm

• Limited Legal Service Law Firm

• Brick and Mortar Law Firm

• Virtual Law Firm

• General Practice Law Firm

• Niche Practice Law Firm

• Fixed Price law firm vs. billing by the hour


Most Popular Virtual Law Firm Business Models

• Completely Web-based - “pure-play”

• Unbundled or limited legal services

• Integrated into a traditional law office

• Unbundled and full-service


Unbundling


Sample Unbundled ServicesDrafting pleadings, briefs, declarations or orders

Document review

Conducting legal research

Negotiating

Making limited appearances

Advising on court procedures and courtroom behavior

Coaching on strategy or role playing

Preparing exhibits

Organizing discovery materials

Drafting contracts and agreements

Providing legal guidance or opinions

Online dispute resolution


Design Techniques

• Analyze legal projects into their component tasks.

• A task becomes a project that you price separately.

• It should be a stand-alone project or process that you can put a boundary around so that the service is limited.

• Can you digitize it? Make it into a digital application? Deliver it online?


Stephanie Kimbro (c)

Copyright 2014

Multijurisdictional Virtual Law Firm


Virtual Law Office - Home Office

Hybrid Model

Multijurisdictional Virtual Law Firm

Poll #2

• Establishing attorney/client relationships online

• Determining authentication of client identity

• Security and confidentiality concerns

• Making the determination of when unbundling is appropriate or not

• My state bar’s position on cloud computing

What Potential Concerns to you have about online delivery?


Marketing a Virtual Law Firm

• Branding and Positioning Strategy

• Online Marketing Methods

• Branded Networks


Online Legal Conversations


Where are the lawyers?

Consumers

LegalZoom

Rocket Lawyer

Pearl.com

Other Branded Networks

Press

Bloggers

Engagement Comes First

How?

Educational, self-help resources available online

•Web advisors, web calculators

•Expert systems, checklists

•Document Automation and Assembly

• Free legal forms with instructions

•Video tutorials

•Online tri-age methods to identify

the existence of a legal need

•Matching legal need of consumer with appropriate service – whether

that’s the law firm, unbundled, self-help, legal aid, etc.


What We Know

• Easier with a personal or law firm brand in place and an online presence

• Human contact is still necessary

• Middle-person, virtual assistant or receptionist

• Minimal handholding before transfer and/or conversion from lead

to paying client

• Consumers still prefer to find lawyers by referral from friends and family


Marketing Strategy – Build a Brand

First: Who are your clients?

Second: Where are they online and off? How

do they communicate with friends and family?

Third: How are they finding you?

Fourth: What content are they looking for?

Tailor to let prospective clients know what services you provide and how your firm’s services are unique.

Key Factors that Differentiate

Identify the key legal and non-legal needs that prospective clients are looking for in their selection process. Express these:

• I understand what you are going through

• I understand the questions you have about this process and

can listen effectively to you

• I have the experience to help with the substantive, legal

aspects of the problem

• I won’t be judged and you will help me get my life back on

track

• I understand the payment structure and how to budget for my

legal needs.

One Unique Thing

Select one great, interesting or unique thing about yourself.

More than one and you’re bragging.

Can use this to get the initial attention, tell your story, relate.

Doesn’t have to be related to your law degree.

You sang backup with Aerosmith

You run the Boston Marathon every year

You have a PhD in physics

You are a Girl Scout troop leader

You were the star quarterback in college and almost went pro

What is a Lead?

Lead Generation = Prospective Client Development

Cold vs warm leads

Lead “nurturing”

Lead conversion

Lead conversion is still your job no matter who you pay to generate the leads or how much.

Visitors Leads Clients

What is a Branded Network?


Online Marketing Tools

• Q&A sites, Forums

• Online profiles

• Hosting and sharing content

• Online brand building

• Secure online communication space

• Video conferencing tools

• Document automation and assembly systems and document libraries

• Expert systems to advise decision making

• Matching services to connect the user to a consumer


Adding Branded Networks to Your

Marketing Strategy



Be Selective

Which branded network and marketing tools are appropriate for:

• Your practice areas

• Your client base

• Your (and your clients’) comfort level with tech

• State RPC


Future innovations in the delivery

of legal services will include more

applications to allow the public to directly interact with a lawyer online.


Other Resources

My Books:

• Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online, ABA/LPD

(2010, 2nd edition forthcoming spring 2015)

• Limited Scope Legal Services: Unbundling and the Self-Help Client,

ABA/LPD (2012)

• Consumer Law Revolution: Lawyer’s Guide to the Online Legal

Marketplace, ABA/LPD, (2013)

• Online Legal Services for the Client-Centric Law Firm, Managing Partner,

Ark Group Publishing, 2013

ABA Unbundling Resource Center

http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/delunbund.html


http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/delunbund.html

Contact Us

Stephanie Kimbro, M.A.,J.D.

[email protected]

virtuallawpractice.org

@StephKimbro

MyCase.comMyCase.com/[email protected](800) 571-806230-Day FREE Trial

MyCaseWeb-Based Legal Practice Management Software

Get 10% Off Your First 6 Months With

MyCase Using Promo Code: 10VIR14

mailto:[email protected]

Thank You