Firm has no offices but a big platform

Some lawyers are starting to take a hard look at what they really need to practice law successfully, and that doesn’t always include an office surrounded by other lawyers.

In addition to clients, lawyers need robust management and a way to provide quality service. Sometimes all of that’s in a laptop.

That’s the philosophy behind VLP, a nationwide “virtual law practice” where attorneys work remotely from individual offices or homes across the country. VLP recently succeeded in recruiting attorney Melissa Krasnow away from Dorsey because she saw it as the best way to provide quality and reasonable pricing to her clients.

As a corporate attorney working in privacy and data security, Krasnow came to believe that VLP, with a connection to Silicon Valley and offices in the Bay area in California, offered the strongest platform for her and her clients. A partner at Dorsey, she decided that being in a technology-based firm afforded her the best opportunities.

On Oct. 31, 2016, she joined VLP as a partner in the Privacy & Data Security, Technology Transactions and Mergers & Acquisitions practice groups. As the first Minnesota attorney to join VLP, she will be based in Minneapolis, in her own home.

Krasnow was unhappy practicing in a way that forced her to raise her hourly rates annually. Clients were unhappy with the increases, and questions about how much time to spend when the clients were watching the dollars became increasingly vexing, she said. “Do you write off time, do you not do some work?” she said. Clients wanted her to do more with less, but she didn’t want to put any constraints on quality. She also was not optimistic about expanding the scope of her practice.

She found a solution at VLP, where she has no billable hour quota and compensation is based on fees actually collected. She works from home, she charges what she thinks is right, and she doesn’t give clients what they don’t need or want.

“Small companies run by 30-year-olds don’t need a lawyer with expensive overhead,” explained David Goldenberg, one of the founders of VLP. Some Fortune 100 corporations might not either. VLP’s website explains, “VLP’s clients include businesses of all sizes, from entrepreneurs and early-stage startups to Fortune 100 companies operating in a wide cross section of industries.”

Goldenberg explained that as VLP got started, the lawyers looked at the tools they needed and found that the basics were the same as other law firms — management, quality, and the ability to practice comfortably without ethical or professional negligence concerns. From that, the lawyers built up as their clients needed.

“We are focused on quality because we are senior attorneys. We are not doing associate development and training. We are ‘hit the ground running’ lawyers,” Goldenberg told Minnesota Lawyer.

They built the technology needed to make the firm cyber-savvy and safe so that lawyers can practice virtually anywhere they have an internet connection.

The lawyers do provide their own equipment, but it has to meet a high level of security and they must have a second computer for backup. They must also have a secure and safe storage system for paper and must not commingle any of that with personal use. The equipment must all be compatible so software can be adapted easily. After complying with the bottom-line requirements, attorneys can add the tech gadgets that they want. The computers aren’t difficult to acquire. “Everything we ask the attorneys to buy is off the shelf,” Goldenberg said.

Firm culture still important

With a staff of people all working remotely, VLP realizes the importance of firm culture, Goldenberg said. The firm uses biannual meetings and biweekly video conferences, and “I think we have a great collegiate culture,” he added.  In many large law firms, attorneys collaborate from various venues, he noted.

Krasnow noted that as a new partner, she was able to establish some relationships at the firm’s recent retreat and will be working with one of those attorneys for an organization client.  “It’s glue that holds,” she said.

She added that many of the routines that govern other firms are followed at VLP.  If she works for other firm attorneys she gets paid. Intake and engagement letters are followed by a conflicts check. Krasnow noted that at the recent retreat there was a presentation on ethics that was not very different from what a lawyer would see working for a firm like Dorsey. She meets with her clients in various places, including restaurants or their offices.

Greatest challenge

VLP has an impressive roster of lawyers, but Goldenberg said they are always looking for more. “Our biggest challenge has been and continues to be finding great attorneys,” he said. At the same time, there is room to grow at the firm and as that happens, the firm will be able to consider lawyers with smaller books of business than it now needs.

It should be obvious that firms want talented lawyers, but it’s not, Krasnow said. “There is fierce competition [among attorneys] for business. The key is talent. An organization should be retaining and seeking talent. You’d think any organization would be seeking talent,” she said.

Goldenberg and Krasnow agree that their firm model fully meets clients’ needs and also provides a sustainable lifestyle for lawyers. “I think you never get a break from work anyway,” she said. “Most of us know clients can’t wait two weeks [for an answer]. You have to be ‘on’ [all the time].”

This way, lawyers aren’t chained to their offices and the firm can encourage lawyers to balance work and leisure, Goldenberg said. Krasnow agrees. “It would take a lot to [get me to] go back to a traditional environment. I have breakfast and dinner with my son.”