FirmVO
Facilitating Virtual Offices in the Legal Sector

Not long ago, virtual offices were just a concept. However, today, the changing dynamics of business have made virtual offices a lucrative alternative to traditional office spaces. As we go forward, more companies are hopping on the virtual office bandwagon, ditching the full-time brick and mortar infrastructure. In the legal sector, many law firms are readily seeking to transition to virtual offices in keeping with the growing trend of remote work and tap into greater flexibility, productivity, and agility. Simultaneously, the proliferation of mobile is transforming how small law firms manage their businesses, customer interactions, and communications applications with on-demand workspace and services. Helping law firms make a shift to virtual offices is NY-based FirmVO, offering turn-key ethical virtual office solutions exclusively for attorneys, including a prestigious office address, professional receptionist, mail and telecom technology, virtual video depositions, and other services.

In a conversation with the editorial team at CIO Applications, Aaron Poznanski, CEO of FirmVO, discusses at length about FirmVO’s hybrid virtual office model of brick and mortar office spaces coupled with technology that helps attorneys reduce office costs and practice from anywhere.

Could you give us a brief overview of FirmVO?

We offer private, on-demand office space and meeting place for attorneys and the technology to practice from anywhere. Our technology enables attorneys to manage their mails and phone calls, and continuing legal education courses, all from a central dashboard. Clients can book meeting space or office space when they need it at a convenient attorney-only office location in central business districts, downtown in prestigious major legal hubs like New York City, Los Angeles, Albany, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, and more. These are places where real estate costs are incredibly high. We provide low-cost office infrastructure for which clients need to pay when they use it. For instance, full-time office space is unnecessary during the pandemic, and this is where we help our clients save nearly 95 percent of the cost of their office space and real estate expenses.

What kind of challenges has the industry been facing during the pandemic?

In the current situation, attorneys and small law firms are incurring heavy expenses for real estate and office space that they are not using. The staff is unable to come to the office and pick up mails or answer phones, and they do not have a system in place that allows them to work remotely. As such, important mails delivered to the office go unattended and essential phone calls, unanswered. Law firms spend approximately 20 percent of their gross revenue on office space and other expenses, including internet, IT, and front office services. This is primarily because most attorneys and law firms are bound by lease agreements or are reluctant to shut their offices. Our solution allows law firms to operate a flexible physical office at much lower costs than traditional office leases.

With our technology, they can receive their mail at home, which we scan for them, and we can also answer their phones. We are integrated with FedEx, UPS, and all the major shipping providers to ensure that the mails reach our clients the next day. This way, they are not exposing themselves to health risks by working from the convenience of their home and saving significant operational costs.
Could you elaborate on how your solutions help your clients?

Our solution allows law firms to operate virtually without having to experience any of the downsides. While our solution enables clients to work from home, it also gives them a physical office, allowing them to maintain a business presence. They have an address on their letterhead and website. When required, they can access their office space but do not have to pay the full rent that they usually have to pay in major cities. We provide 24x7 phone answering services through our portal and technologies. Our clients can seamlessly view their messages and have complete knowledge of everything—when a call comes in, who is calling, and where it is coming from.

We have onsite staff who are legal savvy and are trained to handle critical legal documents. This allows attorneys to operate a virtual office in a legal way. With our comprehensive solutions, clients do not have to bear the full cost of employing staff members and paralegals while receiving help virtually from the comfort of their homes. We are tailored for legal firms, and that’s our niche.

One of the services we recently added is free continuing legal education, comprising 1200 hours of courses. Attorneys can read and watch them for free as part of their membership and acquire continuing legal education credits. It’s an important value add-onto our membership.

Could you share a customer success story where your solution helped a customer?

We recently onboarded a client who operated from 475 Park Avenue, a prestigious building in New York. His annual rent was in six figures. However, since he is working from home, paying such an exorbitant amount was completely impractical. When his lease ended, he signed up with us for a package that cost him just $249 per month, which is inclusive of everything he needs. He may not have a full-time office, but he has a fixed number of office hours each month. The client was also delighted with the mailing system. Before signing up with us, he would have to drive all the way from Long Island to New York City to pick his mails. Now, he receives mail scans and can see them the same day from home, saving a lot of time and money. The client was ecstatic about the benefits of our service; he couldn’t be happier.

What does the future hold for FirmVO?

For the future, we aim to grow our locations and technology to better serve the legal community in all metropolitan areas in the U.S. and allow attorneys to practice from anywhere with our fully integrated technology. We also plan to branch out to major legal hubs internationally to further our offering across the globe.