Dennis+Wygmans

Dennis Wygmans' Homework Assignment -1-

THE VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE

Part 1 1. A. If entirely virtual you can work from home, thus saving expenses related to office rent and commuting. B. Clients can meet with you in the comfort and privacy of their own home, thereby limiting the chance of client tardiness, missed meetings, transportation issues, etc. C. You can offer form-based online services whereby your clients "fill in the blanks", thereby streamlining the sharing of information for the purpose of creating legal documents. D. Being online provides for the potential of increasing the geographic scope of your practice. E. You can limit your wardrobe to nice shirts and blouses, because pants aren't picked up by your webcam.

2. A. You are working from home which is isolating, requires a workspace in your home, and can be difficult (potentially expensive and takes time) to promote - as with any web-based enterprise. B. Clients homes are often chaotic places where it is difficult for them to set aside quiet space and time to interact with an attorney online. C. In Vermont, high speed internet is not widely available, older populations (a large sector of Vermonters) have not yet adapted to internet usage, and the poor have limited access to the web. D. Your computer can crash, or your client's computer can crash. E.

Part 2 Define
 * Virtual Law Practice**:

"something less than a real law firm" http://goo.gl/QvFFz

"one that does not have physical office space" http://goo.gl/9wutF

"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" http://goo.gl/XLp27


 * Digital Law Practice**:

"Our attorneys electronically manage and securely store all of their calendaring, email, documents, phone calls, research, billing, contacts, and case information in a single software suite. Our attorneys and staff have universal and simultaneous access to all of this information inside our office or away on the road anywhere with an internet connection." http://goo.gl/nGaqD

"paperless law office" http://goo.gl/dAS2K

"electronic document management and online data backup" http://goo.gl/40P5S


 * eLawyering**:

"a neologism used to refer to the practice of law over the Internet" http://goo.gl/cTT5J

"all the ways in which lawyers can do their work using the Web and associated technologies" http://goo.gl/iDESF

"doing legal work - not just marketing - over the Web" http://goo.gl/EG1SI