(Webinar Slides) The Virtual Firm

The Virtual Firm
#GoVirtualLaw

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MyCase Web-BasedLegalPracticeManagementSoftware
Just$39/monthperattorney
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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.
StephanieKimbro, M.A., J.D.

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%ofAmericansdonothaveawillorupdatedwill.
• 50%ofallmarriagesendindivorce.
• PersonalBankruptcyfilingshavealmostdoubledsince1990.
• Morethan10millionAmericanarevictimsofIdentityThefteachyear.
• Nearly9our10employeesexperiencedatleastonelegalconcern
duringthepastyear.(LegalNeedsStudy).
• Infact,sevenoutof10Americanssaidtheyexperiencedalegalevent
withinthepastyear*,accordingtoarecentsurveyconductedbyARAG,
alegalsolutionsprovider. (LegalNeedsStudy). Dataalsosupportedby
AmericanBarAssociationLegalNeedsStudy.

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 reasonyou are interestedin delivering
legalservicesonline?
StephanieKimbro(c)Copyright2014

Designing a Virtual Law Firm
• Business Models
• Unbundling
• Design Thinking
• Creating a Business Plan

Fundamental Questions
•Agood business model defines:
• Who is the client?
• What does the client value?
• Italsoanswersthefundamentalquestioneverymanagermustask:
• 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:JoanMagretta(2002,HarvardBusinessReview,WhyBusinessModelsMatter)

Business Model Questions
• How DoesYour Law Firm Create Value?
• How DoesYour Law Firm Deliver Value?
• How DoesYour 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 Services
Draftingpleadings,briefs,declarationsororders
Documentreview
Conductinglegalresearch
Negotiating
Makinglimitedappearances
Advisingoncourtproceduresandcourtroombehavior
Coachingonstrategyorroleplaying
Preparingexhibits
Organizingdiscoverymaterials
Draftingcontractsandagreements
Providinglegalguidanceoropinions
Onlinedisputeresolution

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?

Multijurisdictional Virtual Law Firm

Virtual Law Office - Home Office

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 PotentialConcernsto you have about online delivery?
StephanieKimbro(c)Copyright2014

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 intheir 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&Asites, 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 toadvise decision making
• Matching services toconnect the user toaconsumer

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
MyBooks:
• VirtualLawPractice:HowtoDeliverLegalServicesOnline,ABA/LPD
(2010,2nd editionforthcomingspring2015)
• LimitedScopeLegalServices:Unbundling andtheSelf-HelpClient,
ABA/LPD(2012)
• ConsumerLawRevolution:Lawyer’sGuidetotheOnlineLegal
Marketplace,ABA/LPD,(2013)
• OnlineLegalServicesfortheClient-CentricLawFirm,ManagingPartner,
ArkGroupPublishing, 2013
ABAUnbundling ResourceCenter
http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/delivery/delunbund.html

Contact Us
Stephanie Kimbro, M.A.,J.D.
stephaniekimbro@gmail.com
virtuallawpractice.org
@StephKimbro
MyCase.com
MyCase.com/blog
support@mycase.com
(800) 571-8062
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PracticeManagementSoftware
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(Webinar Slides) The Virtual Firm

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