Is your virtual lawyer a concept or a reality?

Berlad Graham’s article for the ‘Business Reporter’ magazine, The Sunday Telegraph 

The concept of a virtual business world has been around for many years. It was suggested by some that, by the 1980s, we would all be working at home, no travel to an office, business premises empty and everyone connected via computers.

Certain professions have embraced this new connectedness by allowing their staff to be connected whenever and wherever they are. But why?

Certain other professions – the legal profession is one of the worst – are still in the dark ages in how they “connect” with their clients’ needs. I have a lawyer friend who cannot access any of his clients’ files unless he’s physically in the office! Therefore, the customer’s day can only start at 9am and must finish at 5pm.  Does that fit in with what you want or your business needs?

A law firm based in the cloud has thought about what you, as the customer, want. Your lawyers are not tied to the office nor should they ask you to visit them. Any lawyer who does not ask you, at the outset, how you want to communicate with them and where you want to meet is not providing exceptional customer service.

From our earliest discussions Berlad Graham LLP asked: “What does the customer want? What would suit the customer best?” That level of customer-focused conversation created Berlad Graham and is still at the heart of what we deliver today.

All of our solicitors can access your case across the globe. Outsourced support means we are never “out of the office” wherever we are in the world and there are no delays in your case progressing due to access.

I was at the top of Snowdon and my iPhone pinged. Two emails that needed immediate attention had come in. I accessed the required information, because I could, and sent an instant reply.

Or, 3,000 feet up Scafell Pike, I had an urgent call from a barrister’s clerk. I conference-called to Raanan in Israel, he logged in and provided the answer, from the beach! The customer didn’t know I was on a mountain or that Raanan was in Israel; it didn’t matter because they got an answer.

A law firm that does not have this ability or mind-set is not thinking about what you, the customers, want.