Stephanie operates a web-based Virtual Law Office (VLO) in North Carolina and will teach about all aspects of a virtual law practice in the 21st century at Solo Practice University®.
Stephanie Kimbro, Esq., MA, JD, has operated a Web-based virtual law office in North Carolina since 2006 and delivers unbundled estate planning to clients online. She is also Of Counsel and the current Director of the North Carolina branch of Burton Law, LLC, a multijurisdictional virtual law firm. She is the recipient of the 2009 ABA Keane Award for Excellence in eLawyering, was named an ABA Journal Legal Rebel in 2010 and has won the Wilmington Parent Magazine Family Favorite Attorney Award five years in a row for her virtual law office. Her book, Virtual Law Practice: How to Deliver Legal Services Online, was published by the ABA/LPM in October, 2010 and her second book, Limited Scope Legal Services: Unbundling and the Self-Help Client, will be published by ABA/LPM in March 2012. She is also the co-founder of Virtual Law Office Technology, LLC (VLOTech), which was acquired by Total Attorneys in the fall of 2009.
Kimbro serves on the advisory board of the International Legal Technology Standards Organization (ILTSO), the board of the Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (NTAP) and is a member of the ABA eLawyering Task Force, the Vice Chair of the ABA LPM’s Ethics and Professional Responsibility Task Force, a member of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) Law Practice Management (LPM) Council, and the NCBA Tech Advisory Committee.
Syllabus
General Course Goal
At the end of this course, my goal is for the students to have the resources that they need to open a virtual law office and to operate that virtual practice with strong ethical and professional standards to provide quality online legal services to the public.
Outline of Course (order may be changed depending on feedback from the students or some topics may be divided into two parts)
What is a Virtual Law Office?
- Discussion from other Virtual Attorneys operating VLOs
- A brief history of virtual law practice
- Where we are today
Understanding the Technology to Run a VLO
- Secure HTTP
- SSL Certificates
- Encryption
- Best Practices
Complying with your State Bar
- Ethics and Professional Rules of Conduct regarding Websites/Advertising/Collection of Data/Online Payments, etc. and how to interpret those rules into a virtual law practice.
- A look at some State Bars’ opinion specifically addressing virtual law practice and the different compliance issues
Remote Lawyering with a VLO
- Mobile Device Options and Secure Practices
Secure Practices with a VLO
- Encryption
- Internet Security
- How to stay safe when you have to use email
- Metadata
Electronic Discovery and the VLO
Creating the Attorney Client Relationship with a VLO
- Clickwrap Agreements
Defining the Scope of Representation
- Engagement and Disengagement Notices
Virtual Law Office Management
- Hiring a VA for your VLO
- Using other software programs with your VLO
- Adding a VLO to a traditional law office
Online VLO Payments
- PCI Compliance
- PayPal vs. Other Credit Card Processing Companies
- General and Trust Accounting Issues
Marketing Best Practices for a VLO
Alternative Billing Methods and the VLO
The Future of Virtual Law Practice
