Virtual Law Partners hired five new partners this week.
Ari Kahan was previously general counsel at United Microelectronics Corporation and Prophet Financial Systems. He represents publicly-traded semiconductor companies and Internet start-ups.
Michael Powlen was a founder of virtual firm Global Law. He handles federal and state taxation matters.
Andy Toebben joins from Gunderson Dettmer 
, and specializes in corporate and securities law.
Brian Swanson counsels health care and technology clients on domestic and international transactions.
Geoff Ossias joins from Cooley Godward Kronish. He focuses on venture finance and public securities in the technology, biotechnology, and life sciences industries.
The term “virtual law firm” refers to a group of lawyers with diverse expertise, connected via web technology rather than a shared office space, to provide a suite or services to its clients. The term was used as early as 2004.
Founded in 2008, Virtual Law Partners is a distributed, web-based law firm that goes beyond the constraints of brick & mortar law firms to provide legal services at rates lower than those of conventional law firms. Powered by a digital infrastructure, VLP eliminates costly physical offices and minimizes environmental impact, while significantly lowering administrative costs and overhead.
Can you imagine how much more productive all law firms could be if they had the ‘virtual law office’ option? A truly original idea. Having the option to be part of a virtual law firm will increase the likelihood of recruiting top talent in any legal field. The virtual law firm provides small town attorneys with the safety net of income that might not otherwise be available in their own home town practice while affording them the possibility to practice in the area of their choice. A truly innovative idea.
I wonder if the costs really reflect the reduction in overhead or if the profits have just increased? It is a great idea that many businesses are turning to, online organizations, I just wonder if the savings are passed on to the customers, or in this case the clients.
Good news. I used to know mr.Michael Powlen of the Global Low. He is a real professional of the taxation matters. I see all businesses are going into the virtual space and once all the phisycal offices will stay empty…