Technology continues to make new ways of working and collaborating possible.

Working virtually is a fast unfolding trend. Organizations are increasingly aligning their cultures and structures with the goal of becoming networked, global entities. Throughout this process, they are redefining productivity and the meaning of work itself.

——Does this description apply to your law firm or legal department?——

It seems that the legal world is still struggling to some degree to adopt and incorporate the opportunities that come with the latest technology and with the fact that the world is now a fully networked place. Virtual work done right does not only bring advantages for the firm or department but can also bring substantial advantages for paralegals in terms of productivity and quality of life. However, the legal world has never been at the forefront of technological adoption. Yet, in a world of pressure on margins, even at law firms, this may be a great time to propose solutions that can be for the benefit of all.

So what can we do to help convince our managing partners and in-house counsels that their organization has a better chance at creating a sustainable future if they begin now to redefine to notion of collaboration in teams mean?

——What are the barriers to be overcome before an efficient virtual legal team can be built? ——

Technological barriers

Virtual teams need shared and secure databases and documents, with synchronizing and interactive capabilities; project tracking tools; group scheduling and conferencing; email, instant messaging, and list-serves; and search engines. All these tools are now widely available and have substantially matured over the past few years. Some of the best tools are even available for free, provided by the open-source community.

Other barriers

Organizational and cultural barriers are perhaps the most serious impediment to the development and effectiveness of virtual teams, especially when working in a small law firm.

Many lawyers still rely heavily on frequent visual contacts with their paralegals to be reassured that they are working.

Other barriers include the perceived danger of the loss of the paralegal staff's loyalty, as well as the great risks associated with confidentiality breaches.

—— What are the critical qualities and competencies you must possess to be a successful virtual team player? ——

The following qualities and competencies have emerged as essential for navigating the world of virtual teams successfully:

• Excellent communication skills: as important as they are in a traditional environment, they are even more critical in a virtual team environment, where misinterpretations and misunderstandings happen more easily and the glue that hold the teams together is more fragile.
• Job competency: many organization stipulate that employees cannot work in a virtual environment until they have performed their job responsibilities for a minimum number of months and have maintained above average ratings of performance, as your employer must have confidence that you can do your job without continuous coaching or oversight.
• Technical tool competency: you must be versed in all hardware and software tools that will be required for communication and knowledge sharing.
• Organizational and time management skills: they are indispensable in a virtual environment, especially if you are going to telecommute part-time. Setting up a virtual office, maintaining two or more work spaces, and coordinating communication and work flow require a high level of organization and time management!
• Conflict management: the willingness and ability to deal directly with opportunities, issues, challenges, and conflict are even more crucial in a virtual environment where it is too easy to avoid issues until it is too late.
• Knowledge of firm policies, procedures, and cultural norms: essential in order to decrease the likelihood of unintentionally creating a financially risky or unethical situation.
• Ability to set boundaries: management of the boundary between work and leisure within your household, separate telephone lines, set work hours, and a protected workspace are the way to stay productive and focused.

—— What new roles and responsibilities need to be created within your law firm or legal department? ——

• Process manager: in a virtual environment, unless everyone clearly takes full responsibility for full communication and feedback loops, it is easy to leave or be left out.
• Media specialist: the following types of questions must be answered: Who will lead and schedule online conferences? Who functions as the liaison to IT and other media support when needed? Who will arrange conference call bridges?
• Knowledge manager: with virtual legal teams, processes for knowledge capture and sharing are essential. For example, who will manage document versions and make sure that everybody is working on the latest or correct version? How will audio conferences notes be captured, stored and retrieved?

—— Virtual law firms already exist——

If changing how people collaborate in your current law firm or legal department seems to be an impossible journey, there are already truly virtual law firms operating in the US that you can join.

In these virtual law firms, a group of lawyers, who usually practice in a defined field, form a “firm” although they do not share a common space. Many of these firms have a joint marketing arrangement which may also include a sharing of client information, collaborative efforts, and computer linkage, so that the lawyers and paralegals involved can interact freely although scattered across the country.

One such firm is the Delta Law Group. Its partners hold initial, face-to-face meetings with most new clients. After that, most attorney-client communications are conducted through the law firm's interactive website. To work on client matters, the firm relies on lawyers, which are mostly not the ones with whom the client initially met, and paralegals who live around the Pittsburgh area but only telecommute.

—— Virtual offices are here to stay ——

And some among us will probably appreciate the flexibility and work-life balance that a virtual legal team can bring.

In any case, successful legal teams are based on trust, competence, and a focus on performance, this principle applies to the classical brick-and-mortar environment and is not any different in a virtual environment. So, in the end the shift will perhaps not be as dramatic as anticipated after all!

Learn more:

Katherine Brown, Managing Virtual Teams (2007).
Trina Hoefling, Working Virtually (2001).
Chris Kimble, Feng Li & Alexis Barlow, Effective Virtual Teams Through Communities Of Practice, Research Paper No. 2000/9, Strathclyde Business School.
Michael P. Downey, Introduction to Law Firm Practice (2010).