Legal entrepreneur Jeremy Szwider is the brainchild behind the innovative Bespoke Law. With global headquarters in Melbourne, this is the first virtual law firm of its kind to hit Australian shores.
Bespoke Law provides a platform for a new third tier of the legal profession. Without real overheads, it operates as an “outsourced extension” to in-house legal departments and business units. It does this via an Outsourced In-House Counsel service and alternative fee arrangements. With its virtual platform Bespoke Law significantly reduces client’s legal spend by approximately 30-50 percent.
With the luxuries of technology and online applications, Bespoke Law fosters communication channels with clients that are superior to traditional law firms. According to Jeremy, “in addition to emails and mobile devices, clients can communicate with their lawyers via skype, twitter and instant messenger, and the boardroom concept is easily re-created with a mouse click. This is a much more cost effective and efficient process, and by not watching the clock, lawyers become even more approachable.”
With devices such as blackberries, iphones and laptops, virtual lawyers no longer need the permanency, or cost, of a formal office environment. Rather, clever use of technology allows them to collaborate and communicate online with clients, other lawyers and assistants, irrespective of their physical distance.
The Bespoke Law experience is influenced by the successful business models of Amazon and iTunes which have dramatically changed customers’ practices of buying books, music and rental movies online because of the wider selection they can offer and the lower price point. As virtual law firms, such as Bespoke Law, grow and develop, their success stories are sure to have a similar viral effect to these online stores which have changed the face of consumer shopping habits.
Against this backdrop of efficiency is the concept that virtual law firms remove unnecessary overheads. Traditional law firms tend to decorate their high rise (or high rental) offices with fancy boardrooms, artwork and branded stationery. Clients are now demanding more cost effective legal services. With high quality lawyers from top tier law firms, Bespoke Law is meeting such demands by removing overheads and administrative infrastructure leading to lower costs for clients for the same services provided by traditional law firms.
