The Lawyers Weekly - September 3, 2010

THE LAWYERS WEEKLY
September 3, 2010 | 21

BUSINESS
CAREERS

LUIGI
BENETTON
To learn more about elawyering,
visit these sites:
Looking to expand your prac-
tice’s potential market? Consider
adding a virtual office to your
physical one.
The American Bar Association
eLawyering Task Force defines
virtual law firms as “character-
ized by access by the firm’s clients
to a password protected and
secure web space where both the
attorney and client may interact
and legal services are consumed
by the client.”
By the task force’s reckoning,
elawyers must offer a secure web-
site set up for legal services, and
are not merely lawyers who do
without physical offices or handle
their back-office operations using
Internet-based tools.

Task force co-chair Richard Granat marches in the vanguard of the virtual law firm trend. Granat is also CEO of elawyer platform vendor DirectLaw.com.

DirectLaw sprouted from another initiative of his. “I started the first virtual law firm in the state of Maryland in 2003 ( www.mdfamilylawyer.com),” Granat says.

He argues that lawyers should
add a virtual law firm component
to their practices. Central to his
argument is the “latent market”
for legal services, a market Granat
insists no lawyer can access with-
out setting up a “cyber office.”
Statistics used by the task force
state that only 20 per cent of mid-
dle-income Americans with legal
problems seek legal assistance.
Many instead visit “self-help”
online document websites. This
remaining 80 per cent is the latent
market, valued at $45 billion
according to task force stats.
Canadians can use similar web
resources, so Canadian lawyers
may be shut out of a lucrative
market too.
Darryl Mountain says custom-
ers would get better value from
lawyers than from form-genera-
tion websites. “If you do your own
will using one of these sites, it asks
you questions structured in a deci-
sion tree,” says the American Bar
Association (ABA) eLawyer Task
Force member and attorney
behind mybclawyer.com. “These
sites don’t know what they don’t
know. And if you use these sites
and something goes wrong, you’re
on your own.”
While similar document assem-
bly tools sit in the foyers of virtual
practices too, their clients receive
followup from a lawyer who asks
open-ended questions.

“Say somebody with little knowledge of the law needs a will and plans to move to Australia next week,” Mountain offers. “The document assembly sites

American Bar Association
elawyering task force:
 www.elawyering.org
Virtual Law Practice blog:

 www.virtuallawpractice.org

Richard Granat’s elawyering blog:

 www.elawyeringredux.com

don’t ask if you plan to stay where
you live for the foreseeable future.
A lawyer would say there’s no
point in doing your will here. You
might as well do it when you
move to Australia.”
Aside from document assem-
bly, virtual lawyers offer services
like providing legal advice over
the phone or the Internet and
supporting clients who choose
pro se representation.

Being able to skip initial meetings, having rough first drafts of documents handled by a client using web tools and not having to charge for “face time” helps lower a lawyer’s cost of doing business, which enables competition for the latent market.

The task force claims other
benefits from elawyering similar
to those made possible by other
technology, such as better work-
life balance and a more eco-
friendly and paperless workflow.

afield. While lawyer mobility rules and other considerations may apply, lawyers like Granat, who runs his Maryland practice from Florida, have shown that lawyers can clear these hurdles.

Not that all “traditional” law-
yers are geographically con-
strained. “I do trademark pros-
ecution work, and there is a
Trademark Opposition Board in
Ottawa that holds meetings over
the phone,” says Bennett. “If we
oppose a trademark, we submit
evidence remotely, and we can
attend hearings in Ottawa in per-
son or by phone.”
Virtual setups seem a natural
evolution for firms that have
already dipped their toes in virtual
waters. Toronto-based Hull & Hull
LLP, for instance, opened an office
in the online world of Second Life.

SEEKING TOP PROFESSIONALS

DAMAGES QUANTIFICATION AND BUSINESS VALUATION

FTI Consulting Canada requires entry and mid level professionals for its growing domestic and international business valuation and damage quantification practices.

Located in the heart of Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in the country, Ryerson
University is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. The University is known for innovative programs
built on the integration of theoretical and practically oriented learning. Our undergraduate and graduate
programs are distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum and strong emphasis on excellence
in teaching, research and creative activities. Ryerson is also a leader in adult learning, with the largest
university-based continuing education school in Canada.

Our Toronto based group works on some of the largest and most complex cases in Canada and around the world. There are also positions available for our London UK office.

DIRECTOR,
RYERSON LAW RESEARCH CENTRE

Law is an integral part of the professional programs that make Ryerson an innovative, urban, career-focused university. Launched in the fall of 2009, the Ryerson Law Research Centre builds and expands on these strengths by acting as a catalyst for debate, learning, teaching and exploration of the many ways in which issues of law and justice impact our world.

We are looking for a creative, energetic legal professional with 5 years of relevant experience to oversee and coordinate the development, management and growth of the Centre’s research agenda and outreach to the legal profession. You will draw on your directly related background to lead the planning, creation and implementation of the Centre’s brand, including overseeing the ongoing development of its website, implementing strategic communications plans, and managing its outreach initiatives, such as conferences and social media. And, as a natural relationship builder, you are comfortable establishing essential partnerships with key stakeholders. The role requires an LL.B. (JD) degree, plus experience in stakeholder, staff and budget management, seeking and securing funding, and marketing and communication in the legal context.

For a detailed position description, and to apply on-line by September 20, 2010, interested candidates are invited to visit: www.ryerson.ca/jobs. Application reviews will begin the week of September 20, 2010. The posting will remain open until the position is filled.

Ryerson University has an employment equity program and encourages applications from all
qualified individuals, including Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible
minorities and women.

We are looking for independent thinking professionals with a background in accounting and/or economics who are interested in furthering their education through the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (leading to a CBV designation). A Masters in Accounting, Finance, Economics; or a professional accounting designation is required.

Candidates must have problem solving skills, the ability to communicate clearly, and be able to work effectively in teams within a creative environment.