The Virtual Truth: Seven Factors to Consider Before Opening a Virtual Law
Practice
GPSOLO eReport, American Bar Association, Nov. 2013 - Vol. 3, No. 4 (Reprinted with Permission)
Stacey L. Romberg
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2013/november_2013/virtual_truth_seven_
factors_to_consider_before_opening_virtual_law_practice.html
Stacey L. Romberg is a Seattle attorney focusing on business law, estate planning and probate. For
further information, please see Stacey’s website at www.staceyromberg.com.
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A virtual law practice works best for what sort of person?
How can I make sure that my virtual law office saves me money?
As I write this, I am sitting in my virtual law office—more specifically, a spare bedroom in my townhouse
that has been converted into an office. My attire, admittedly, is quite casual: black running tights paired
with a T-shirt. Tonight, I’m attending the annual Washington Women Lawyers dinner in downtown
Seattle. I’ll need to change clothes at some point, but for now I’m quite comfortable. My cat, Roger,
snoozes contentedly downstairs on the sofa. The tea kettle simmers in the kitchen. And, consistent with
the stereotype of a home office, the washing machine spins away while I work.
I opened my virtual law firm in 1999 after an eclectic first decade of legal work, which included five
years in Washington, DC, writing legislation for the US Senate and working as a registered foreign
lobbyist, and then a move to Seattle to work both in private practice and as a pro-tem magistrate.
When I started my solo practice, a woman operating a law firm out of her home conjured up images of
someone fitting in a few hours of work before picking up the kids at school and driving them to soccer
practice. Some attorneys assumed, and a few verbalized, that my practice was not “serious” and that a
home-based law practice could never survive on a long-term basis.
In reality, a home-based law office is often a smart option for lawyers starting a solo or small-firm
practice, or changing the physical environment of their existing practice. Far from lacking in seriousness,
a virtual practice can be cutting edge, technologically savvy, environmentally conscious, and profitable.
If you are contemplating the merits and drawbacks of a virtual office, you should consider the following.
Factor 1: Legal Requirements
Are there any legal constraints regarding home-based businesses that might impact your decision? To
ensure that your business model is in compliance, it’s important that you check all state and local legal
requirements. For example, the City of Seattle imposes various restrictions on home-based businesses in
order to reduce the impact of commercial activity within residential neighborhoods, such as limiting
business deliveries to one per day on weekdays. Make sure you feel comfortable with any restrictions
before you proceed.
Factor 2: Home Environment
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I do not have children, and I live in a quiet neighborhood. My home offers sufficient space so that my
office is set apart and completely dedicated to my law firm. When guests come, I don’t have to clean out
my office so it can be used as a spare bedroom. If your home environment is noisy, disruptive, or does
not have the capacity for you to permanently and consistently dedicate a specific room as office space,
operating a successful virtual law practice becomes much more problematic.
Factor 3: Practice Areas
My practice focuses on business law, estate planning, and probate. Other than the occasional probate
hearing, my firm does not handle litigation. A transactional practice lends itself to a virtual environment
more readily than a litigation practice, due to the practicalities involved in serving and receiving
pleadings, conducting discovery, etc.
Factor 4: Staffing
My primary office consists of an office administrator/legal assistant, an of counsel attorney, and a
paralegal. Our team has worked together on a long-term basis, always out of our individual home
offices. The larger your team is, the more difficulties you’ll face in implementing a virtual office
structure, due in part to your inability to physically monitor the work being performed.
Factor 5: Costs
I rent a $35-per-hour conference room in an office suite filled with lawyers, located less than a mile from
my home. Additionally, for $28 per month I rent a nearby private mail box so that my home address is
not associated with my law firm, and delivery of office supplies and documents is convenient. In 2012,
my average monthly cost for the conference room and mailbox combined came to $160—undoubtedly,
a tremendous savings over typical office rent! However, you’ll need to budget for additional technology
costs to run a virtual firm effectively.
Factor 6: Time
I create significant time savings for my virtual law firm by avoiding a daily commute, office chit chat, and
the need to dress up on the days without meetings. However, my set up also requires some tasks that a
brick-and-mortar lawyer would not face, including the need to drive to my conference room and private
mailbox, additional organizational time, and time spent communicating with staff by telephone, email,
and instant messaging as opposed to the efficiency of direct in-person communication. In deciding
whether to choose a virtual model, consider which aspects of your practice will be time savers and
which will be time consumers. For example, if you are driving back and forth five times every day to a
conference room to meet with your clients, your virtual law firm will cost time rather than save it. If you
are communicating daily with 10 staff members rather than three, again, the virtual office may not save
time.
Factor 7: Personal Priorities
This tops my list of factors to consider when contemplating a virtual practice. As a former college tennis
player and a lifelong athlete, I currently work out six days a week. My fitness program, although time
consuming, creates a foundation for my life. Having a home-based office allows for the extra flexibility I
need to meet my fitness goals. As an additional component to my law practice, I speak frequently to
groups, teach continuing legal education courses, and publish articles. Additionally, I serve on the Board
of Directors of the nonprofit organization Tennis Outreach Programs. My days tend to be jam-packed
and time pressured. I appreciate every bit of time saved and flexibility achieved with my virtual
structure, and I put it to good use! Spending time commuting or in office chatter would seem
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unproductive and frustrating to me. And despite my outside activities, I’m an introvert at heart. I love
being at home, enjoying the calmness of being around pets during the day, and the luxury of
concentrating on work without continuous interruptions.
Not everyone is wired to work virtually. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Do you enjoy daily
personal interactions with colleagues, or do you often shut the door to your office, hoping to have quiet
uninterrupted work time? If you were to work at home, would you consistently be able to stop working,
shut the office door, and relax when it’s time for your workday to conclude? What are your personal
aspirations outside of work? Would a virtual model help you achieve these goals? Take an honest look at
yourself, and visualize how your life might change—for better and for worse—if you were to have a
home office.
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The Virtual Truth: Taking on Technology
GPSOLO eReport, American Bar Association, Feb. 2014 - Vol. 3, No. 7 (Reprinted with Permission)
Stacey L. Romberg
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2014/february_2014/virtual_truth_taking_o
n_technology.html
Stacey L. Romberg is a Seattle attorney focusing on business law, estate planning and probate. For
further information, please see Stacey’s website at www.staceyromberg.com.
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What type of networking structure should a virtual law firm adopt?
How can remote staff most effectively use technology to work together efficiently?
Although this is probably difficult for many younger lawyers to imagine, I, along with the vast majority of
my law school classmates, graduated from law school in 1987 without ever using a computer. I
considered myself to be fairly technologically savvy by rejecting a typewriter in favor of a new word
processor, specifically a “speedy” Brother WP-500 that allowed me to save my documents onto 3.5"
discs.
In 1987, I could not have successfully operated a virtual law firm using the technology at hand.
Thankfully, now I can. In 2014, technology plays a pivotal role in enabling a virtual law firm to effectively
compete with a brick-and-mortar firm.
Tip #1: Select the Right Networking Structure
Telecommuting involves the ability to perform office tasks without actually being in the office. A
telecommuter can connect remotely to an office computer or network and use it just as if she were
sitting at her desk. A virtual law firm adopts the concept of permanent telecommuting. My staff,
consisting primarily of an office administrator, two of counsel attorneys, and a paralegal, does all of its
work remotely. In establishing a virtual law firm, an initial decision must be made regarding the best
networking structure for your specific staff configuration. I’ve utilized two approaches, both of which
are fairly common.
First, the server model: staff can connect their remote computers through a VPN (virtual private
network) to the main office network stored on a server. Second, the headless work station model:
because my staff doesn’t work in my home, I do not need to provide them with a desk, monitor,
keyboard, or mouse. Instead, each person connects their remote computer to a second, individually
dedicated computer, which in turn is connected to a server.
I originally chose the server model, but last year I switched to headless work stations due to the lower
costs, decreased maintenance requirements, and easier implementation of a standard set of software.
The footprint of each headless work station is smaller than a breadbox. Thankfully, a stack of these small
computers along with a server can easily fit into a closet located in my home office. Common software
programs are installed on each computer, and networked through the server. Thus far, I’m thrilled with
the stability, cost, and ease of the new setup. With a larger staff, storage of the work stations would
become an issue, but with my small staff, this model serves me well.
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Tip #2: Choose to Go Paperless
As mentioned in my first article, I maintain a nearby private mail box so that my home address is not
associated with my law firm. In a typical day, my office mail might include a few checks from clients and
several probate pleadings that need to be filed with our local superior court. In a brick-and-mortar firm,
the secretary or receptionist handles each piece of paper pursuant to standard office procedures. A
virtual firm is no different, except that I’m unable to walk into my administrator’s office and hand her
checks to deposit, and then walk into my paralegal’s office and give her the pleadings to be filed. Many
solo and small firm practitioners are moving to a paperless model, but a virtual law firm must embrace it
from the onset. Unless a document is digital, your remote staff will have no way to work with that
document. Furthermore, most attorneys do not want their home to be slowly taken over by expanding
client files. Scanning and shredding paper is a daily, essential part of operating a virtual law firm. I could
not live without my quick and reliable Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 scanner. As a virtual lawyer processing
the mail, I scan in any documents and then ask my office administrator to deposit the checks via an
online service, and similarly ask my paralegal to efile the probate pleadings. Then, I input the mail record
confirming receipt of the probate pleading into the digital client file by using case management
software.
Tip #3: Rely on Case Management Software
A virtual law firm with staff cannot effectively operate without using case management software. My
office uses Time Matters and the accompanying Billing Matters program. In a brick-and-mortar law firm,
staff will personally communicate about dozens of daily issues, ranging from the attorneys’ substantive
collaboration on a client matter to a request for more paper clips. Case management software provides
a virtual law firm with an efficient way to manage these ongoing communications, so as to avoid getting
lost in a tangled nightmare of countless email messages, phone calls, and text messages. Time Matters
creates a structure for storing digital client files that accommodates all documents, email, contact
records, telephone records (including mp3 files of voice mail messages), mail receipt records, billing
records, outstanding tasks, calendar items, and notes involving research and collaboration. Time
Matters also provides an internal messengering system, file triggers to track key recurring tasks, and
document generation for your firm’s templates; additionally, the most recent version provides an online
client web portal. Other brands of case management software provide a varying array of features that
might uniquely benefit your virtual model. Case management software provides the cornerstone for
enabling staff to work seamlessly in a remote environment, while creating significant time-saving
advantages.
Tip #4: Embrace Mobile Technology
To a much greater degree than in a brick-and-mortar law firm, most attorneys and staff choosing to
work virtually will not be tied to their desks from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For example, on any given work day
my office administrator could be watching her daughter’s soccer game, waiting at the car dealership
while her car is getting fixed, or visiting family in California. Although I (usually!) know where she is, our
clients and other parties with whom she interacts have no knowledge of her physical location. She
continually relies on her smartphone, which contains a Time Matters mobile application, and other
mobile computing devices in order to do her job. All attorneys and staff who work virtually need to be
fully comfortable with smartphones, laptops, and tablets, and willing to use them daily, to create the
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most appealing options for work-life management while enhancing responsiveness to clients and speedy
interoffice communications.
Some virtual lawyers create the illusion that they run their law firms from a physical office, due to fears
that they may lose clients as a result of their office setup. On the contrary, in 2014, a well-run virtual law
office supported by a solid technological infrastructure will actually attract many potential
clients because of the creativity and innovation involved. Invest wisely, from the beginning, in quality
equipment and software that supports your firm’s business model, and then be eager to explain to your
clients how these investments in technology make you the best lawyer for the job.
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The Virtual Truth: Four Tips for Creating and Maintaining an Efficient and
Productive Virtual Law Firm Team
GPSOLO eReport, American Bar Association, May 2014 - Vol. 3, No. 10 (Reprinted with Permission)
Stacey L. Romberg
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2014/may_2014/virtual_truth_four_tips_cre
ating_maintaining_efficient_productive_virtual_law_firm_team.html
Stacey L. Romberg is a Seattle attorney focusing on business law, estate planning and probate. For
further information, please see Stacey’s website at www.staceyromberg.com.
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What unique issues should a virtual law firm expect to address in meeting its staffing needs?
How can remote staff most effectively communicate as a team?
Since opening my virtual law firm in 1999, I’ve found that, more than any other component of running a
small business, developing an effective virtual team has proved challenging. After many mistakes and
hard-learned lessons, along with some sleepless nights and occasional painful dramas, my current
remote team consistently achieves high marks. Each person fulfills a defined function on our team and
contributes positively to the team’s collaboration, work flow, and perhaps most importantly, strong
sense of collegiality and commitment despite the lack of daily in-person communication.
My remote team currently consists of an office administrator, administrative assistant, paralegal, and
two of counsel attorneys. I am the only full-time member of the team (and, as anyone who manages a
small law firm knows, the term “full-time” generally extends well beyond a standard 40-hour work
week!). My office administrator and administrative assistant job share one full-time administrative
position. My paralegal and one of counsel attorney work half time, and the second of counsel attorney
works one quarter time. Each member of my team chooses her own unique work schedule based on her
individual life circumstances, including additional work commitments, family commitments, personal
interests, and time spent giving back to the community. Although previously I’ve had male team
members and worked with team members from out-of-state, my current team is all female and local to
the Seattle area.
Tip #1: Recognize the Uniqueness of the Virtual Model
To illustrate the nuances of staffing a virtual business, let me present two imaginary workers: Joe
Average and Vanda Virtual.
Joe Average, a worker in a brick-and-mortar law firm, typically arrives at his nine-to-five job each
Monday morning wearing an appropriate business-casual outfit. Joe greets the receptionist, several
attorneys, and his secretary on his way to the break room to pour his daily cup of coffee. They exchange
humorous stories about their weekend activities, and also discuss several significant work issues that
they’ll be facing over the coming week. During the day, Joe personally interacts with his coworkers
numerous times on both a personal and professional level, including attending several in-person
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meetings and enjoying lunch with a colleague. He leaves his office at approximately five o’clock,
dreading his one-hour commute but looking forward to dinner with his family and a good night’s rest.
Vanda Virtual, a worker in a virtual law office, enjoys her work and loves her second job as the lead
singer for the Seattle band Meat Market Surfers. She spends about 20 hours a week with the band
including rehearsals, road trips, and late-night gigs. Each Monday morning, Vanda usually wakes up at
about 10 a.m. She eats breakfast, exercises, showers, and then by 1 p.m. is ready to go to work. Wearing
ripped jeans and a gray T-shirt, Vanda opens the door to the spare bedroom that serves as her office,
and settles in for a six-hour workday. By 7 p.m., Vanda needs to sign off so she can make it to the band’s
evening rehearsal.
In all likelihood, if Joe Average worked in a virtual environment, he would feel isolated and miss the daily
routine and personal interaction with his colleagues. And, in all probability, if Vanda Virtual worked in a
traditional brick-and-mortar job, she would feel confined due to her long commute, set hours,
professional dress requirements, and the fact that her lifestyle significantly contrasts with that of her
coworkers.
Of course, in real life, the lines between Joe Average and Vanda Virtual tend to be blurred and often
difficult to discern. In order to develop an effective virtual team, you need to recognize that a virtual
workplace contrasts dramatically with a brick-and-mortar office. Many candidates who may seem ideal
on paper will simply wither and die in a virtual environment. Others will blossom. As a law firm owner, in
addition to spending the time to ensure that potential team members possess the requisite skill sets,
you need to spend an equal amount of time determining, to the best of your ability, whether the
applicant can successfully transition to and thrive within a virtual environment.
Tip #2: Make the Talent Pool Work in Your Favor
The second of counsel attorney to join my team, Sherry Bosse Lueders, boasts a highly competitive
resume including having attended superior schools, earned top grades, and successfully completed her
clerkship with a highly respected King County Superior Court judge. Sherry participates significantly in
various bar groups and stands committed to providing pro bono services. Sherry also enjoys her role as
parent of her two-year-old son and found that the strenuous billable requirements and the need for
physical presence (a.k.a. “face time”) imposed by most Seattle brick-and-mortar law firms stifled her
ability to fully engage as a parent. Recognizing the dearth of part-time law jobs in Seattle, Sherry took
the initiative of starting her own law firm and spent a year gaining additional legal skills and business
acumen prior to becoming a part of my team.
Every member of my team offers a different version of the same story. Each is a highly talented and
attractive candidate—the type of person that most brick-and-mortar law firms would covet. However,
for various reasons, including but not limited to parenting responsibilities, each team member thrives
best in a virtual environment because of the opportunities afforded to achieve professional success
while realizing other meaningful personal goals. By allowing people to work virtually, and according
them flexibility in choosing a part-time work schedule, a virtual law firm often has its pick of the region’s
top talents.
Tip #3: Create Communication Structures
Once your virtual team is in place, how does it become a “team”? Because by definition you will not
personally meet with them on a daily basis to discuss work, you will need to establish communication
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structures that will enable your team to collaborate effectively within a virtual environment. My office
has established the following channels of communication:
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Each day, when either of my of counsel attorneys begins her work, we briefly communicate via Time
Matters Messenger, an instant chat tool, about the day’s work priorities.
Each Monday afternoon, the three attorneys in my office participate in a half-hour teleconference to
discuss the client files.
Each Wednesday morning, I personally meet with the office administrator for a 15-minute
“exchange.” We briefly discuss the upcoming needs of the office, and then she brings documents for
my signature, picks up various items that need to be mailed, scanned in, sorted out, etc.
Each Friday, I send out a team email outlining the week’s successes and opportunities for
improvement. The email also informs the team of various deadlines for the following week. This
weekly email keeps my team informed, in a holistic sense, about firm activities.
Each quarter, I speak with each team member individually, either in person or by telephone, to
provide feedback on work performance and to listen to their perspectives regarding workload,
schedules, and ideas for enhancing the firm as well as their own sense of professional fulfillment.
Tip #4: Promote In-Person Team Building
Because my team members all reside in the Seattle area, we meet as a group several times a year to
personally connect and share a meal. In addition, I truly appreciate having my team members and their
spouses attend the annual auction for the nonprofit Tennis Outreach Programs in support of my work
on its board of directors. These in-person activities create a sense of camaraderie and trust, and help us
to work together positively and collaboratively.
In creating and maintaining a virtual office team, you should expect to work a little harder and apply
much more creativity than you would in setting up an office staff for a brick-and-mortar law firm, but
you can also expect to reap the rewards of cherry-picking highly talented workers and seeing those
individuals thrive within the flexibility and independence offered by your firm.
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The Virtual Truth: Fourth and Final Column Coming Soon! This column is in progress as of "press time" and can be accessed this fall via the American Bar Association’s GPSOLO eReport at http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2014/ Stacey L. Romberg Stacey L. Romberg is a Seattle attorney focusing on business law, estate planning and probate. For further information, please see Stacey’s website at www.staceyromberg.com. 13-21