Dennis+Greene

=Homework Assignment #1= http://tdlp.wikispaces.com/Dennis+Gree Five good things about running a virtual law practice are: 1. An attorney has a greater time flexibility; 2. A client has the ability to get access to legal representation more easily; 3. The attorney will be able to reach a broader base of clients; 4. If legal fees depreciate, more potential clients will be able to afford legal representation; 5. With online practice has developed increased pro bono legal information on law firm sites, which is socially empowering for the client base.
 * THE VIRTUAL LAW OFFICE**

Five things that can go wrong are: 1. A lawyer is underfunded and can't afford enough marketing to draw clients; 2. A lawyer can do the wrong marketing and fail to draw clients; 3. A client can engage with a lawyer who is dishonest or incompetent, as well as virtual; 4. A lawyer can find that the online practice overwhelms their time and they are unable to properly service their clients; 5. A lawyer works in an area which has few clients in the online community.

ABA Law Practice Management Section- What is eLawyering?
eLawyering is doing legal work - not just marketing - over the Web. Pioneering practitioners have found dramatic new ways to communicate and collaborate with clients and other lawyers, produce documents, settle disputes, interact with courts, and manage legal knowledge. ELawyering encompasses all the ways in which lawyers can do their work using the Web and associated technologies. Think of lawyering as a "verb" - interview, investigate, counsel, draft, advocate, analyze, negotiate, manage, .. - and there are corresponding Internet-based tools and technologies.

**Wikipedia-**
A **virtual law firm** is a group of lawyers with diverse expertise that are banded together through technological means to provide a suite of services to its clients.
 * 1) **Has a stable core group of attorneys;**
 * 2) **Has established collaborative relationships with other, specialized law firms that possess expertise that’s occasionally needed;**
 * 3) **Is glued together with appropriate computer and telecommunications technology such as [|project management software] or a Virtual Law Office (VLO)**
 * 4) **Expands and reduces personnel as needed.**

**Stephanie Kimbro- Michigan Bar Journal Sept. 2010**

 * The Door to Your Law Office**

Think of a virtual law office as another door to your traditional brick-and-mortar law office or your home office. This door exists online through a secure portal and is accessible to both the client and attorney anywhere either party may access the Internet. You and your clients have the ability to securely discuss matters online, download and upload documents for review, prepare for trial, calendar tasks and deadlines, create legal documents, and handle other transactions related to the clients’ case matter in a secure digital environment, including online invoicing. A law firm may also use virtual law practice to communicate and collaborate between the firm’s associates and staff who may engage in discussions related to case files. Each technology provider focuses on different aspects of practice management; your selection of software to implement a virtual law practice depends on which services you will be delivering to clients online or if your focus is on back-end administrative and management features.

Homework Assignment #2 Five Benefits to Document Automation Five Problems with Document Automation
 * EXPERIENCE DOCUMENT AUTOMATION SYSTEMS **
 * PART 1 **
 * 1) Enables documents to be accessed more easily
 * 2) Enables documents to be produced less expensively
 * 3) Enables some documents to become more standardized
 * 4) Enables non-lawyer users to have easier access to documents
 * 5) Enables greater empowerment and less expense for non-lawyers
 * 1) Impacts revenue models for many lawyers
 * 2) Enables non-lawyers to move into legal practice
 * 3) Documents may not be sufficiently legally effective
 * 4) Non-lawyers could develop even greater legal problems
 * 5) May give problematic cues to non-lawyers regarding their need for legal representatio n

Part Two The first company that I utilized was Goodwin Founder’s Work Bench. As a system, it is user friendly for our client. I feel that the client will have to be walked through the steps of the program, in order to most effectively convey the consequences of the questions and the choices that they will be making.

The second company that I utilized was WSGR. Their forms were very specific about dollar information that they desired. They also provided good guidance on the norms of practice as to how these documents are filled out. However, I have strong concerns about our clients using this system of document production without our guidance and discussion. The choices involved in how the document should be filled out is so critical in terms of potential liability, I don’t believe that the client should be left to their own devices in preparing this document.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Homework Assignment #3

1. The court supports e-filing.: https://efiling.mcohio.org/
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, General Division **

2. The court does allow e-filing for self-representing litigants.

3. The court has an online docket, but you must suscribe in order to access it: http://montcourt.org/trialschedule.php?subpage=schedule

4. The court has a site with many online forms: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">http://montcourt.org/forms.php

1. The court does not presently support e-filing. but it is being studied <span style="font-family: 'Garamond','serif'; font-size: 15.3333px;">[]
 * Ohio Supreme Court **

2. The court does not allow e-filing for self-representing litigants.

3. The court has an online docket, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px; text-decoration: none;">[]

4. The court has a site with online forms:

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px; text-decoration: none;">[]

1. The court does support e-filing.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">United States District Court Southern District of Ohio **

[]

2. The court does allow e-filing for self-representing litigants.

3. The court does not have an online docket,

4. The court has a site with extensive online forms:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 18.6667px;">http://www.ohsd.uscourts.gov/forms.htm


 * Homework Assignment # 4**


 * UNBDUNDLING LEGAL SERVICES / LIMITED SCOPE REPRESENTATION**

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A lawyer could represent a client at one single appearance. // //<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A lawyer could also review a mediated agreement for a client and make them aware of their legal options. //
 * 1.Define two (2) discrete tasks that could be “unbundled” from different areas of law practice.**

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A lawyer could provide general information on a website on court procedures and courtroom behavior. // //A lawyer could provide basic legal advice on a website.//
 * 2. Define a task that lends itself to being converted into a “digital application?” such as a website, smart phone app or downloadable program.**

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">A. If the attorney is working for a client in a limited capacity, he could inadvertently be providing representation in a venture which might be illegal or fraudulent. //
 * 3 List some of the risks (at least three) involved in “unbundling legal services?”**

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">B. If the attorney is representing a client in a limited capacity, there may exist collateral issues which the attorney may not be aware of and which the client may not know to bring up. //

//<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">C. ////<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">An attorney may take on a client in an area of law which the attorney does not have any experience, and although the representation is limited, malpractice may occur due to the lawyers incompetence in the subject area. //

//The lawyer could review a commercial realty contract submitted by a client and for a fixed fee discuss the clients negotiation options and negotiate the commercial contract agreement or for a lesser fee, coach the client through the negotiation process.//
 * 4. Think of a “digital application” that could automate a legal task, AND bundled with legal advice to be sold for a fixed fee? (re-bundling concept). Describe it in your homework.**