Virtual Offices
New Jersey Attorneys Barred from Virtual Office Space Use
Published April 1st, 2010 by Jennifer LeClaire
For all the hoopla over virtual offices, there may soon be one group of users who are excluded from claiming them as their primary office space: New Jersey attorneys.
Two court regulatory committees have decided that virtual offices staffed by receptionists that answer phones and forward calls don’t satisfy New Jersey’s bona fide office rule.
Apparently, virtual offices are a popular option for lawyers with home offices. They rely on virtual receptionists to handling incoming calls and use the virtual office provider’s conference rooms to hold client meetings.
But the Advisory Committee on Professional Ethics and the Committee on Attorney Advertising said in a joint opinion that New Jersey lawyers who are using virtual offices are violating Rule 1:21-1(a).
Let’s listen in to the reasoning behind the opinion:
“An attorney’s use of a virtual office is by appointment only. The office building ordinarily has a receptionist with a list of all lessees who directs visitors to the appropriate room at the appointed time. Depending on the terms of the lease, the receptionist may also receive and forward mail addressed to lessees or receive and forward telephone calls to lessees.
“A ‘virtual office’ cannot be a bona fide office since the attorney generally is not present during normal business hours but will only be present when he or she has reserved the space. Moreover, the receptionist at a ‘virtual office’ does not qualify as a responsible person acting on the attorney’s behalf who can answer questions posed by the courts, clients or adversaries.”
What does this mean for the virtual office industry in New Jersey?
It’s hard to tell without knowing how many home-based attorneys are using virtual offices. I don’t think it’s going to put any virtual office providers out of business. But it’s not a good trend.
If states across the country decide to limit the use of virtual offices, and if other industries begin to follow suit, it could slow the skyrocketing virtual office movement. No, I don’t expect that to happen. Apparently New Jersey is one of the few states that adheres to the bona fide office space rule. But who expected virtual offices to make such a splash on the commercial real estate scene to begin with? Few.
Let’s chalk this up as one to watch. One thing is certain: it’s not good news for upstart attorneys who can’t afford traditional office space.
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Don April 9th, 2010 at 6:26 am
This is just another example of the old establishment trying to keep new attorneys from having an address as nice as theirs. What receptionist in any law office can answer questions for any attorney? Answer: None. They put the call through, just like the virtual office staff does. Attorneys only need to be in their office when they are not in court or out meeting with people, and only need to come in when they have to meet with a client. I guess no office is a bona fide office by their definition. The only time an attorney sees his client is in the conference room (or office) and that is usually not very often any more. Beyond that, in the 21st century with everything you research, email, and type being on a computer, you can talk on the computer, or on a cell phone, you can do your work anywhere, even on the beach if you wanted to. Just like your clients do. The NJ Bar needs to come into the modern world.