A virtual law practice doesn’t need to be an online replica of a physical law office. It can be something totally different. We limit ourselves when we try to recreate the offline thing in the online space.

The fact is that creating an online replica of our offline office saves us what? Rent. Who cares. Rent is trivial to a successful practice: it’s a tiny percentage of overhead. What does creating an online replica of our offline office cost us? Lots. It cuts into our ability to meet face to face with our clients. We pay the price in loss of connectedness.

A virtual practice is only valuable if the benefits outweigh the costs for the client.

We’ve got to offer benefits that outweigh the loss of face-to-face time with clients.

These benefits need to be big because face time is big. Big benefits? Better solutions than were possible before. Cheap or free solutions. Faster resolutions of problems. Or a combination of two or three of these benefits. Can you make it better and faster? Better and cheaper? Cheaper and faster? What is it that’s possible in the virtual world that’s not possible in the physical world?

We’re used to copying ideas from other lawyers. However, we can’t copy anyone in the online space because there really isn’t much of anyone to copy. At least, we can’t copy other lawyers because so few of them have ventured into this space.

It’s time for us to create. We’ve got to come up with something new that is better because of the new environment. We can’t give our customers less in the new place; we’ve got to give them more. We’ve got to use the technology, the access, and the opportunity in ways we haven’t yet dreamed up.

Here’s an example of what I mean. Once upon a time, we used maps to get from point A to point B. Then we had websites like MapQuest that gave us directions we could print out and take with us. Then we got GPS systems, and they would show us the way.

In this example, it’s all about getting from A to B. But the technology allowed us to go from a time when we had to figure out where we were and then manually track our progress to the present where the technology talks us through the route step by step. The map people didn’t just put the maps online. They went way beyond what existed and added huge benefits for the consumers because the technology allowed that to happen.

We’re presented with this enormous opportunity online, and we need to do things with it that are tailored to the new environment and not simply the online version of the offline service. We’ve barely begun to figure this out.

So what does that mean?

I wish I knew. I’m one of you. I suffer from that creativity deficit (not you exactly, I mean the other people reading this. You, I’m sure, are a creative genius). I tend to copy others and do things the way we’ve always done them.

We need to confront some of the things customers don’t like about our industry. We need to confront some of the assumptions we make about ourselves. Recently, I heard a story about a new hotel. The management questioned some of the assumptions about the hotel business and decided to change things. For instance, most hotels have a checkout time of 11 AM or noon. Why? Because it’s convenient for the hotel so that the rooms get cleaned while the housekeepers are present on the day shift. Does an 11 AM checkout time work for guests? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, so one chain changed the checkout time and built a housekeeping schedule around the needs of the guests.

The hotel people didn’t do things the way they’d always been done. They questioned the assumptions, and they addressed the issues. That’s what we need to be doing with this amazing opportunity.

What I think it might mean—and this is just a start—is that we should build something very different. We should build something that overcomes the resistance we encounter with our present methods of delivering our services.

Clients feel a loss of control. Can we give them control online? Can we give them far more information than we ever have? Can they really understand what’s happening? Can they really understand the terminology? Can they make informed decisions in a logical manner? In the online world, we can provide education at minimal expense. We can build tools for decision making. We can give people everything they need to completely understand their position.

Clients feel a lack of trust. Can we give them trust online? More education? Transparency for all discussion of their matters internally? Easy access to us?

Clients feel that we increase conflict. I think that comes from the lack of transparency. What if all negotiations are recorded and made available? What if they get simultaneous transcription of everything that happens?

Clients feel that we don’t understand. What if we make it clear that we do? What if we create tools providing charts and graphs helping them see how we’ve grasped the economic reality of their situation and translated it into something easy to grasp?

Clients feel that we overcharge. What if we demonstrated our value? What if we charged less?

That’s just a starting point. We should address all of the things clients don’t like about us. We should go further and find new things for clients to love about us.

The opportunities created by the Internet and the technology are tremendous. Sometimes they’re overwhelming. This is our chance to figure out what to do next. I’m thinking about what’s next. Are you?

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