Law is argued in the court but cases are prepared outside the court. When the number of works and type of materials involved in the preparation of cases is considered, it is easier to conclude that the practice of law is one of the most sensitive occupations. Within a few minutes, a client’s fate is determined by how well a lawyer was able to argue the case.
As a lawyer, it is important to fully focus on the case at hand but just as it is with most professional occupation, there will also be need to take care of other things such as administrative tasks and also driving or flying out to meet clients.
In an effort to reduce all of the stress which the normal office is not helping with, most lawyers are now moving to virtual offices. It is not unusual to visit a law firm and discover most of the lawyers are nowhere to be found. This does not mean they are not performing their tasks accordingly.
What is a Virtual Office?
A virtual office is in no way different from a standard office only that in this case, you only pay for what you use. The benefits and accessible resources offered by a virtual office is dependent on the package you subscribe to.
However, a virtual office may give access to the official use of its address, office space to work and receive clients, receptionist and other administrative services.
Lawyers may decide not to rent an office space but only pay for the use of the virtual office corporate address. It is this address that all mails and other information will be sent to after which the lawyer can easily walk in to pick it up when they find most convenient. In some regions, it is mandatory for lawyers to present a corporate address of the business to be allowed to practice.
If you are a lawyer still debating on whether to move to a virtual office just as your colleagues are doing or you are a client wondering why virtual offices are great for lawyers, below are some of the reasons;
Budget-Friendly
The cost of renting an office space is evicted from the budget if a lawyer decided to use a virtual office address only. The lawyer may decide to work from home and only come in to the virtual office any time he/she deems fit. This simple act saves the cost and stress of driving to a normal office daily.
Looking beyond that, the cost of a virtual office is also budget-friendly. The lawyer only pays for the used space. When renting a normal office, lawyers are made to pay forspace they may end up not using. This is because there is no office structure that could be as small as the size they actually need.
Cost Effective Service
Since a lawyer will be busy preparing a case or drafting a contractual agreement depending on the task at hand, it is a common practice to hire a receptionist. They usually go by the title “Personal Assistant” or “Secretary”. These people are to be on payroll and irrespective of how much they worked for the month, they have to be paid in full.
In a virtual office setting, a lawyer only needs to pay when he/she needs the service of a receptionist. This saves cost and gives a maximum return on every dime spent.
Of course! It is another reason why virtual office best for lawyers.
Easy Expansion
Virtual office allows law firms to open new offices anywhere without any concern of losing present clients. A 17-year-old law firm company that is popular for this strategy is Fisher Broyles which has no centralized office but employs more than 200 lawyers. These lawyers are spread across more than 19 areas of the United States, thanks to the virtual office concept.
Within 2014 and 2016 alone, the company revenue surged by 65-70 percent. Such could be accrued to its reduced rental fee as real estate cost has been discovered to accrue for more than 5 percent of most law firm’sbudgets.
Flexibility
Lawyers can work wherever they want when they are not confined within the four walls of the normal office. They may decide to work at home any day without the pressure of the use of their office. This is because when they pay for a normal office, there is a pressure of wanting to effectively use the office to match up the payment.
As virtual office is pay-as-you-use and also requires a small amount to subscribe for a plan, lawyers can plan their day without any pressure.
Lawyers can decide to move their practice to somewhere else without much worry on the lease contract. They will also worry less about securing a place in their new location because virtual offices are readily available.
Work-Life Balance
The flexibility offered by the use of virtual office gives lawyers more time to focus on other important things in their lives different from work.
In a survey, lawyers are among the 44 percent of workers that travel at least 100 milesto get to work. In the words of researchers at CreditDonkeythat gathered the statistics of commuters;
“If you feel yourself tensing up behind the wheel, just turn up the radio and remember, there’s no place like home.” Working from a virtual office does not make lawyers remember “there is no place like home”. Instead, it allows them to really be at home and at the same time feel at home instead of being caught up in traveling miles to work or getting worried on how to get to the office early morning the next day.
A lawyer who runs his business from a virtual office when interviewed by The Atlanticsaid; “Instead of spending two hours commuting, I spend that two hours with my family,”
Larger Pool of Client
Here is another reason why virtual offices are great for lawyers. Lawyers spending most of their time in the office are only sure to be able to get clients through other attorney’s recommendation. Others with more time socializing like attending dinner have more time in meeting more people and thus wider connection. This wider connection gives more job opportunities than that of other attorney’s recommendation.
The use of a virtual office allows lawyers to attend social activities. Since they are not restricted by a normal office work hour or commuting time.
A virtual office will also have different companies notably startups around, it is very easy for these startups to walk up to the lawyer’s office space to ask for advice on a problem. After a few encounters, they are more likely to hire the lawyer to represent them.
Well Furnished and Equipped Office
One thing clients are sure to psyche the worth of a lawyer is not only how good the lawyer is professed to be, but also how well-dressed and the presentation of the office. Due to cost, there might be some reductions in how well a lawyer’s office is furnished.
This is eliminated in a virtual office. The providers always make sure the office spaces are well furnished and equipped as much as possible. With this, lawyers moving to virtual office worry less about how to change the table to a better one or the repair of the AC and other amenities.
The professional decorations of virtual offices are already taken care of by virtual office providers and the lawyer only needs to invite clients over and watch them awe at the beauty of the office.
What if it is an open office and the lawyer shares with other people?
One concern of lawyers considering if they should move to a virtual office or retain their high-cost normal office is that clients will be worried about having other people around in the office. This situation is likely if the lawyer will prefer to share the same office with other people who are usually tech guys. Some lawyers prefer private virtual office though.
In a post published on Lawyerist, a lawyer’s view was asked of this and below is the response;
“I thought investor clients would think I was eleven years old,” Mr. Gershburg said. “But, they love the concept and idea. A few of them have said ‘I couldn’t care less where you practice. I know that the fees I pay go to your office space.’ Clients want the work done, they don’t care about the space.”
Is Virtual Office Really Working for Lawyers?
Most lawyers are skeptical of how professional and effective a virtual office will be compared to a normal office. Truly, if it is not better, more lawyers would not have been making the decision lately.
A law firm, VLP Law Group chronicled by The Atlantic, was described to be a successful young law firm that has employed about 50 attorneys. The company’s clients include Fortune 500 companies and startups. That is not the interesting part of the company. The article dedicated a paragraph just to say “And its lawyers never go to an office.”They all work from a virtual office!
It is very possible most of its startup clients are gotten from their virtual offices (the article did not start such though.)
Cost savings, good work-life balance and other points discussed so far are some of the reasons why virtual offices arebest for lawyers. Another reason is that if there is a reduced cost of operation, a lawyer is more likely to reduce service fees. And this is why moving to a virtual office benefits both lawyers and clients.
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