Many lawyers, particularly young parents, have fantasized about being able to sit at a computer at home and answer clients' legal questions over the internet.  It is therefore, no surprise to learn that those internet-based law practices already exist. Stephanie Kimbro, for example, maintains a web page which identifies her as a member of Burton Law Firm, LLC, "A virtual law firm offering online unbundling and traditional full service representation in North Carolina and Ohio." She has even named her blog, Virtual Lawyering. Similarly, Richard Granat, who publishes the e-Lawyering blog, operates MDFAMILYLAWYER.com, a Maryland virtual law firm, from his home in Florida. One big challenge for these and other lawyers who use the internet, with its global reach, as their primary method of practicing law, is satisfying the ethical requirements of local authorities. Both of these lawyers clearly identify themselves as the provider of legal services and the nature and limits of the legal services that they offer. At least one well known legal media consultant, Robert Ambrogi, considers them to be ethical users of the internet.  

However, South Carolina and Virginia legal ethics authorities have recently identified internet based legal services that they consider to be beyond the limits of ethical behavior. The South Carolina Bar issued an ethics advisory opinion, Ethics Advisory Opinion 12-03, finding that lawyer participation in websites such as Justanswer.com, which allow members of the public to ask experts in a variety of professions to ask questions and receive answers for a fee, is problematic on several levels.  It found the disclaimers misleading; the financial arrangement involve impermissible fee splitting with a non-lawyer; and an unacceptable risk of inadvertently creating an attorney client relationship. 

Virginia recently reprimanded an attorney for posting misleading descriptions of his firm and practice on his web site, as reported by Mike Frisch in Legal Profession Blog. Robert Ambrogi posts a link to the opinion in his article, Virtual Lawyering Earns Lawyer a Bar Reprimand.  The misrepresentations made by the lawyer would have earned a reprimand regardless of the media used. However, it does raise concerns about the prevalence of aggressive marketing. Mr. Ambrogi previously raised warning flags in his post, Multiple Web Sites for a Single Firm: Smart Marketing or SEO Spam?  Therefore, before embarking on, or expanding their virtual presence, lawyers must carefully consider and comply with their ethical constraints.