The lawyering landscape is changing dramatically with the advent of the virtual law office (VLO): a secure Internet portal on a law firm website that utilizes cloud technology to deliver legal services online. The structure of VLOs may vary from firm to firm. Some firms and lawyers use aspects of VLO technology to augment their traditional physical offices, while others have completely abandoned their brick-and-mortar presence by embracing the VLO model. These lawyers and firms may have clients they may never meet in offices they really don’t have.
Physical to Virtual Space
As one writer has asked, “What is the purpose of an office? Is it just an anachronistic throwback to an era when electronic communication did not exist? If I can handle most of my business online, do I need a physical office at all?”1 A key issue for lawyers and firms today is whether VLOs offer the same level of services that most traditional brick-and-mortar law offices provide for competent legal representation: a place for meeting or communicating with clients, opposing counsel and the court system; mail and delivery service; phone service; file storage; and service of process.
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