What is a virtual law firm?

Everyone will have their own idea of what a virtual law firm is, but it suggests a tech-enabled platform, supporting self-employed lawyers who work remotely. Whilst that is true of Keystone, the firm offers so much more.

Keystone is often described as a virtual law firm, but in many ways we are the antithesis of a virtual firm.

Keystone is a very real law firm

People often associate a virtual law firm with an absence of a physical presence, but Keystone has its main office on Chancery Lane which houses a Central Office team of 50 employees, hosts 12 meetings rooms and accommodates 50 hot desks.

Lawyers might assume that a virtual law firm lacks human interaction, but Keystone has built its success on the relationships that exist between its lawyers and the Central Office team and the culture of collegiate collaboration born out of the trust and confidence engendered through lawyers knowing each other so well.

The Keystone Model

The ‘Keystone Model’ is anything but virtual. Its strength lies in how it attracts, facilitates and incentivises collegiate lawyers looking to work with one another to mutual advantage.

The below table explains some of the key differences between virtual law firms and the ‘Keystone Model’.

VIRTUAL FIRMS	KEYSTONE LAW
No physical presence	Central Office on London’s Chancery Lane, with 12 meeting rooms and 50 hot desks for lawyers
Lawyers working without support	A dedicated Central Office team providing all the business services support found at a conventional law firm
No interaction with colleagues	A platform to collaborate with colleagues on work and interact with them at regular CPD sessions and social events

In addition to the advantages outlined above, the ‘Keystone Model’:

Attracts emotionally intelligent, entrepreneurial lawyers who understand how to build trust and confidence with clients and colleagues alike;
Removes the barriers to collaboration created by office politics, through lawyers having economic independence, being remunerated on exactly the same terms and operating in an environment without hierarchy;
Provides a financial incentive to make and receive referrals; and
Brings lawyers together through a wide range of social events and structured initiatives designed to help them curate a team of like-minded colleagues with whom they can present a seamless and full-service proposition to their clients.

Those traits have built a firm with a very distinct and a very real culture. Whilst the ‘Keystone Model’ relies on an award-winning, tech-enabled platform to drive efficiencies and facilitate remote working, it equally relies on the real relationships upon which it has built its success.

For more detailed information on the ‘Keystone Model’, click here.