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The Ethically Compliant Virtual Office for Non-Resident Attorneys in New York

Presented by Stephen T. Furnari, Esq.

Founder of Law Firm Suites

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About Stephen T. Furnari

Corporate attorney, partner & founder of the New York law firm Furnari Scher LLP. Founder of Law Firm Suites, an operator of coworking spaces for attorneys.

Featured in ABA Journal, Inc., Entrepreneur, NY Daily News, Money, Fox Business and Crain’s. Contact Stephen on social media:

Passion

Admissions

Expertise Self-employed since 2002

Start-ups & Financial Services

New York, Florida, Massachusetts

Helping entrepreneurial attorneys

Employment History

Get this slide deck at lawfirmsuites.com/virtualcle 3

Shared office space exclusively for attorneys Office Rentals | Virtual Office Litigation War Room Rentals NYC Midtown | NYC Financial District

Call: (212) 269-3600 Connect:

Millions in Referrals Each Year Show up to work. Be nice. Get referrals. Subsidize your rent.

Space Designed for Lawyers by Lawyer Your adversaries are difficult, office space shouldn’t be.

A Collaborative Community Like-minded professionals leveraging our legal experience into business opportunities.

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Furnari Scher LLP Has two bricks and mortar offices in Florida, and a virtual office in Law Firm Suites’ Financial District office.

Florida Resident

New York Virtual Law Office

I am also a non-resident virtual lawyer.

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Virtual Office

Picture of businessman in tie can be downloaded here: http://photodune.net/item/cool-businessman-portrait-on-grey-background/3628885 Sorry! I can’t include it in the template; there are copyright restrictions. But it’s super cheap, and a very nice photograph.

All lawyers practicing in New York must have an ‘office for the transaction of law business.’

--NY Judiciary Law s. 470

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Schoenefeld Law Firm LLC Ms. Schoenefeld, a New Jersey resident, is seeking to practice in New York as a Virtual Law Firm (no connection to a bricks and mortar office).

New Jersey Resident

Pure New York Virtual Law Firm (not currently permitted)

What is Ekaterina Schoenefeld seeking to do in New York?

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NYSBA CLE with Ekaterina Schoenefeld

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Using a virtual law office (ethically) in the absence of explicit guidance

Required Features

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Interpreting “an office for the transaction of law business” Does a virtual office meet the definition? Resources to review

NYS Policy Statements

Existing Case Law The ethically compliant

virtual office

Ethics Opinions

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What is an office for the transaction of law business? Applicable to non-residents

A family member’s home

Desk space (including shared)

Case References

Existing Case Law

Austria v. Shaw 143 Misc. 2d 970 (1989) Rosenshein v. Ernstoff 176 AD 2d 686 (App. Div. 1991) Matter of Scarsella 195 AD 2d 513 (App. Div 1993)

Phone & mail forwarding

(even by non-employee)

Shared office space Hotel Room

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01 Attorney can receive in-state service of process

02 Attorney is available for contact

by interested parties

03 Attorney is available for court proceedings

What is an office for the transaction of law business? Applicable to non-residents NYS Policy

Statements

Source: NYS’s brief, Fed. Court of Appeals

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Specially Trained Staff Staff trained in confidentiality and

privilege requirements of attorneys

Privacy A private place to hold confidential meetings

Receptionist A person to coordinate the handling of “pop-ins” (people or packages) when the attorney is not on site

What is an office for the transaction of law business? Applicable to non-residents Ethics

Opinions

“[L]lawyers do not require a traditional office in order to maintain appropriate levels of ‘accessibility.’”

“[E]conomic conditions in the legal world and technological developments persuade us that we should not create obstacles to the use of VLOs.”

“Use of a VLO address is consistent with the evolution of modern law practice”

NYCBA Formal Ethics Opinion 2014-2

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Matching limited

guidance with available virtual

office services

Connecting the Dots

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Features of the Ethically Compliant Virtual Office

For non-resident attorneys with some risk tolerance Ethics Opinions

NYS Policy Statements

Existing Case Law

Desk Space Available for rent when needed

Receptionist To field pop-ins & forward mail

Processes To recognize priority items & notify you

Staff Training On confidentiality & privilege issues

Confidentiality Place to hold private meetings

Service On-site agent for service of process

The Ethically Compliant Virtual Office

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Features of the Ethically Compliant Virtual Office

For the truly risk averse non-resident attorney Ethics Opinions

NYS Policy Statements

Existing Case Law

Service On-site agent for service of process

Receptionist To field pop-ins & forward mail

Processes To recognize priority items & notify you

Staff Training On confidentiality & privilege issues

Confidentiality Place to hold private meetings

Permanent Desk Space

Secure Storage Dedicated place to leave office items

Signage Door signage identifying firm

The Ethically Compliant Virtual Office

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Virtual Office Rentals Exclusively for Attorneys

An affordable virtual office office rental with the potential for referrals and co-counsel opportunities.

Collaborate with other lawyers just like you

Easy networking opportunities

Highly trained staff that makes you look great to your clients

Schedule a Tour

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