Growth of Presitigious Virtual Law Firms
The concept of a virtual law firm is gaining a lot of recognition lately in the press. It should be noted, however, that there are two different kinds of virtual law firms: one that is a comprehensive law firm in the traditional sense – only without the brick and mortar and one that allows for solos to pull resources. The latter seems to be sprouting up every week throughout the United States, allowing lawyers throughout the country to act as a cross-referral service and share costs. However, the more comprehensive virtual law firms have a far more ambitious goal that can drastically change the corporate legal profession.
Currently there are perhaps four or five large virtual law firms Rimon Law Group, Paragon Legal, Virtual Law Partners and FSB Legal. Each of these virtual law firms have reported large gains in revenue during the last year, even though the corporate law firms in general have experienced drastic cuts during this Great Recession. These firms also appear to be expanding their client pools. In the last two years my firm, Rimon Law Group, has experienced continued growth in start-up representation as well as financing rounds, technology transactions, and outside-GC work.
Our clients have ranged in size and location – coming from all parts of the United States and several countries abroad. While two years ago clients were more cautious working with a virtual law firm model, now they understand the appeal of the distributive model and the Law Firm 2.0 technology that allows for more efficiency.
From the lawyer side we have also noticed growing interest in join us. The virtual law firm model is especially appealing to experienced lawyers from prestigious big law firms who are looking for more flexibility without the drawbacks of solo practice. They want the camaraderie, depth of expertise, and challenging work that prestigious law firms provide, but are tired of the face time, commute, and arbitrary billable hours that have become the norm at traditional firms.
Big firms are here to stay – someone needs to train the young associates and to do the multi-billion dollar deals. However, prestigious virtual law firms are proving highly effective and are sure to grow and prosper in the coming years.
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