After lockdown—more virtual law firms?

In brief

• Considers the prospects of lawyers, particularly those working in conveyancing, embracing remote working on a permanent basis.

While virtual law firms have existed for a while, they have been primarily in the corporate sector where lawyers are more accustomed to conducting business online. However, the pandemic has cast the ‘virtual net’ more widely, and one area of law which lends itself more easily than most to flexible working is conveyancing. Secure cloud technology and networking make it less important where work is done. The growth in Fibre coverage, which will speed up home broadband enormously, together with the use of virtual private networks for security, enhance safety and speed, which might encourage law firms to allow more staff to work remotely, and to furnish them with the technology to do so efficiently.

Indeed, might their clients be ahead of them in wanting the speed and convenience it could bring? Richard Birks, real estate partner