Yesterday, around lunch time, I took part in a twitter discussion on virtual law firms or organizations (VLOs) versus Big Law firms. It was hosted by Larry Bodine, one of the best known names in legal marketing since the late 90s. The twitter handle was #MHVT. It reminded me 90’s AOL chat rooms, where everyone is talking at the same time. It is not easy to follow the threads as the tweets come fast and furious! But I was determined that #The Online Bar (our twitter handle) be present for anything to do with VLOs and big firms!
One participant of note was William Eilers who wrote in his blog about the discussion. He does a good job of summarizing some of the themes covered. What is clear from yesterday is that no one really knows what is going on. This reminds me of that story of the four blind men washing an elephant: Each one thinks the elephant is either the trunk, or the tusks, or the tail, or the huge leathery chest!
Almost everyone in the discussion was focused on what they are seeing right now – a fabulously informative stream of present sense impression. It was truly informative but it’s also what I meant in the title that most are still shooting at the bird. If you spend time and effort doing what’s already being done (aiming at the clay bird in skeet shooting) you will miss the bird – totally! You have to aim ahead of the bird.
For example, one question that intrigued me from @lawbill was, “what is a firm?” Most are earnestly trying to shoot at the bird, or trying to put wings on car so that it flies. You can’t fly into space in a car with wings and a rocket attached. You need to invent a totally new structure. Same with a law firm, if you look at technology and where it’s going. It’s overwhelming to consider the possibilities for what firms will look like in 5-10 years.
Maybe, what we were doing yesterday on twitter is one future of the firm.
Another possibility is what I call the “public law firm” (PLF). A law firm, if you can still call it a firm, which is a meritocracy, totally open and without borders or jurisdiction. I’ll talk more about this tomorrow.…
I love this conversation, because what I discovered on doing some research was that the first “virtual law firm” was a loose affiliation of lawyers from several firms in England who were the best in their field, and wanted to band together to handle a particular matter.
Most of the focus in the US is on creating virtual environments for existing firms & sole practitioners. This is a really important focus, but it is not the only one.
I am no tech expert, but what I’m reading is that in addition to the development of various Saas models, there is big innovation in the use of Iaas & Paas models for larger firms that provide for a continued variety of choices in how you want your virtual platform structured.
What I also see are Saas platforms that include collaborative workspaces. While I’m not sure if there are any that are integrated into a comprehensive virtual practice management model, the creation of such a program would allow sole practitioners or small firms to collaborate on projects and/or representation as co-counsel.
All excellent comments. Thanks.
I’m also not a technology expert. Although I know enough from my tech firm days to observe and evaluate possible outcomes of technology, my focus is more on social organization and cooperation.
I agree! I expect PPMs will be created and mass collaboration will follow on one side and consolidation on the other side. As technology grows so will the pressure for erasing the legal fiction of borders (jurisdictions). Lawyers still working in silos of jurisdictions could be perceived as the problem not the solution. If the pressure to erode jurisdiction prevails, that could open competition on a global scale we would never have imagined when we passed the bar.
But who do we play with when you have the world to play with? More importantly, who wants to play with us?