Internet Newsletter for Lawyers
November/December 2006, by Delia Venables

It was also apparent to us that there was strong demand from small and medium sized companies looking for much better value from their lawyers without any compromise on the expertise of the advising solicitors. In fact these companies seemed to want a more personalised and hands-on service which they felt the larger firms often failed to deliver.

The culmination of these two factors combined with the rapid spread of broadband led us to look at home working as a distinct possibility. On the one hand home working would facilitate a flexible arrangement whilst simultaneously reducing costs, but this type of arrangement did not mean that quality of service needed to suffer.

From the moment we placed our first advertisement, applications have flooded in. To date we have received over 2,500 although we have only interviewed a very small percentage of these. Four years on and Lawyers Direct has 65 highly experienced ex-city solicitors. It is the country's leading virtual law firm whilst for the past two years it has been the country's fastest growing law firm of any kind, both in terms of turnover and the number of fee earners. The firm predominantly handles corporate and commercial matters although 4 solicitors specialise in litigation.

Solicitors operate from their own home office which they establish to a certain required standard. A central office in Mayfair, London, currently comprised of 8 people handles the administrative aspects of the firm. A sophisticated IT system ensures that the firm operates in a way that is no less efficient than if everyone worked under the same roof.

Whilst the solicitors are technically self-employed, the work they do is conducted in the name of the firm and covered by the firm's professional indemnity insurance policy.

Following considerable solicitor demand, we established the Just Rewards Programme in July 2003. Lawyers receive 80% of their own fees and generous commissions for introducing client work that falls outside their expertise or capability. This helps solicitors leverage their existing client relationships without the need to establish their own law firm. It has been very well received and has helped fuel the growth of the firm as a whole. We continue to grow at a rate of between 2 and 5 solicitors per month whilst the central office hires one additional person about every two months.

The solicitors that work with us experience all the flexibility and freedom of being self-employed without the downside. Their administration is negligible whilst workflow is maintained at manageable levels. Solicitors that find themselves too busy to cope with client demand are seamlessly assisted by colleagues whilst those looking for more work need only request the same from central office. Personal relationships between colleagues are created at lunches and dinners and maintained through our intranet and discussion boards.

Technology has evolved in such a way colleagues no longer need to co-exist under one roof and there are definite advantages in flexible working. Our clients are delighted with the service and savings whilst lawyers regularly tell us that they have never enjoyed their legal career as much. They say their relationships with clients has never been better or closer and financially they are much better off. We believe the virtual law firm has a good future.

James Knight,james.knight@lawyers-direct.biz.

Back to Contents.