DirectLaw, Inc., a web-based virtual law firm platform that enables law firms to deliver online legal services, has concluded based on its own market research, that solos and small law firms are lagging behind other industries, such as travel, banking, and financial services, in providing a true, online legal services experience for their clients. The American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center also confirms that only 52.2% of solo practitioners even have a web site.
DirectLaw’s market research indicates that less than one (1) percent of solos and small practitioners have “client portals” which satisfy the American Bar Association’s eLawyering Task Force definition of what it means to be a “virtual law firm.” The eLawyering Task Force of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association defines a “virtual law firm” as a law firm that has a secure “client portal” where the client can sign in with a user name and password and work with their attorney securely in a digital environment.
eLawyering expert Richard Granat, CEO of DirectLaw, commented that, “Many lawyers think they are “virtual lawyers” because they use e-mail and don’t see their clients face to face. This is not the case. The next generation of clients who have been raised on Facebook, MySpace, the iPhone and iPad will expect to deal with their lawyers online in the same way they book their travel online, relate to their friends online, network online, and do their banking online. If you don’t have a web site you can’t offer legal services online. If you don’t have a web site you can’t build an online brand. If you can’t build an online brand – no one knows you exist on the Internet.”
Despite the fact that the legal profession needs to play catch-up, an online poll carried out by YouGov* on behalf of Epoq UK, the UK affiliate of DirectLaw, Inc., reveals that nearly half (47%) of consumers would be more likely to choose a law firm that offered the convenience of online access to legal services and documents over one that had no online service capability. Fifty-six percent (56%) said they expected good law firms to give customers the ability to use their services online in the next couple of years.
By Guest Blogger: DirectLaw, Inc.
