Stephanie Basalyga, The Daily Record Newswire
For all of their differences, the construction and legal industries share a common trait: They’re both slow to embrace change.
Or at least they used to be. Lately, contractors have led their industry in tapping into ways technology can help them construct buildings in ways that save clients time and money.
Lawyers, too, are realizing that the world in which they operate has changed in more than a few ways — and for more than a few reasons.
Like construction companies, law firms took a hard hit during the recession. As their business clients tightened their belts in order to survive, they began to demand that the law firms they worked with do the same.
“Before the recession, most law firms had carte blanche to charge whatever they wanted,” said K. William Gibson, a former personal injury attorney who now focuses on arbitration and mediation in his Clackamas solo practice. “(Once the recession hit), corporations were saying, ‘Those days are over.’ Because business for (attorneys) had slowed so much … power shifted to the consumers rather than the providers.”
Charging clients less meant that law firms had to find ways to shave the time that attorneys spent with clients, such as cutting down on frequent face-to-face meetings.
“So much of what goes on with an attorney and a client … really doesn’t require a lot of action,” said Gibson, who has written and edited several books for attorneys.
One of the most common solutions has been for law firms to go virtual, saving clients time and money by offering documents and case updates online. The exact definition of a virtual firm, though, is still being shaped by law firms and their clients. In “Flying Solo,” a book edited by Gibson and slated for release in the next month or two, a chapter by contributing writer Chad E. Burton describes the various ways firms interpret being virtual.
For some firms, Burton writes, being virtual means offering every aspect of a practice online using cloud technology and a portal that allows clients to see — and access — virtually everything.
“In that case, a lawyer might not need to have an office,” Gibson said. “But that’s the extreme, and few are going that far.”
Instead, most firms that call themselves virtual are actually a combination of virtual and more traditional models. While they rely on some form of a bricks-and-mortar home base — such as a traditional office space, or a rental conference room for meetings — they also offer clients virtual components.
Embracing the concept of any aspect of virtual is easier for solo practitioners and small firms. Moving a large firm — especially those with a long history in the industry — in that same direction can take more effort, starting with changing the mindsets of attorneys in the firm. But Gibson expects that eventually having a virtual presence to some degree will likely become the norm for law firms.
For one thing, there’s pressure from online sites such as Legal Zoom: They are forcing attorneys to venture into the virtual world in order to compete. For another, younger attorneys entering the field who have grown up with iPhones and cloud computing will likely enter the profession with fewer qualms about trusting technology.
“I see it continuing to gain acceptance…,” Gibson said. “One drawback up to this point was the scarcity of platforms that lawyers could purchase to develop an online presence. Now there are more online legal portals available. Now it’s easier.”
