Law's metaverse experiment
Firms that see potential in the new digital frontier are preparing by getting immersed.
From attending a concert to shopping for groceries, people roam the metaverse searching for things to buy, entertainment, or in some cases, someone to help them with their legal problems. In DecentraLand, a popular metaverse platform, the offices of Grinhaus Law Firm can be found at -39,121 on the main road near the university. The firm shares its virtual office space with Outlier Solutions, a U.S. anti-money laundering advisory firm, and DGM Financial Group, a financial services firm based in Barbados.
"To have a law firm leap into this world, I think, lends legitimacy to the fact that this place, with over 800,000 inhabitants, is real," says Aaron Grinhaus, founder of Grinhaus law firm, based in Toronto. "It will also give people in the Metaverse a place to come and discuss new legal concepts and problems."
This new digital frontier provides great opportunities for lawyers and law firms to market their services and interact with clients in a new way. As the worlds grow, so does the need for lawyers to pay attention and be aware of the cybersecurity risks.
Let's start with the basics. The metaverse is a catch-all term for virtual and augmented reality platforms using internet technology. The goal of the platforms is to create an immersive experience. DecentraLand, the gaming platform Roblox, and Facebook's Horizon Worlds are some of the most popular platforms.
This past August, the North American Securities Administrators Association issued an Informed Investor Advisory warning investors about scams in the metaverse involving virtual real estate and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). As with most new technologies, regulation hasn't caught up to address the privacy and cybersecurity concerns. The terms of use for DecentraLand, which has more than 800,000 users, absolves the platform of any harm committed while using the program. Brent Arnold, a partner at Gowlings who practices metaverse litigation, says the metaverse is the Wild West, but that shouldn't prevent lawyers from entering it.
"Eventually, you will have to grapple with this technology," says Arnold. "Your competition will be there and you have to be where your clients are." He predicts that clients will seek out services in the metaverse, including those of a legal nature.
Communicating with clients is one of the reasons why Grinhaus and his law firm entered into the metaverse. Since opening their virtual office earlier this year, he describes the "worldwide" interest as something unexpected. "I totally underestimated how receptive lawyers would be to the concept of the Metaverse," says Grinhaus. "As soon as we went public with the DecentraLand office, we received inquiries worldwide from people who wanted to connect with us. In the first few months of this year, I spoke to groups of lawyers about it."
Most companies approach marketing in the metaverse as a way to enhance the shopping experience. Valspur, a paint brand, created a virtual home where visitors can use one of its 12 colours of the year to paint the house. Luxury brands like Gucci have virtual stores where you can buy items for your avatar and purchase items for yourself in the real world. Universities are experimenting with teaching courses in the metaverse. Grinhaus says the concept of interaction in the digital world isn't new.
"People don't realize that they are already engaging with the metaverse on a daily basis, and have been for years," says Grinhaus. "Our long-term plans are to keep using these new technologies to engage with clients and other professionals as the existing metaverse platforms like Facebook/Meta, Twitter, Amazon, etc, slowly absorb the wider global community."
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Entering the metaverse comes with risks. The key is to approach it with the same caution and curiosity as social media. Just as lawyers wouldn't give legal advice on social media, the same holds true in the metaverse. Grinhaus recommends keeping an eye on client communications and confidentiality rules when interacting in the metaverse. Most metaverse platforms take virtual payments using cryptocurrencies. The same rules apply regarding client identification and trust accounting if firms decide to take payments in the metaverse.
The only way to fully understand the metaverse is to step in. Start by creating a guest account on one of the many platforms. From there, you'll create a new avatar. Eventually, people will need to create an account, including a connected crypto wallet. Arnold, whose avatar has a kilt and mohawk, suggests signing up for an account with DecentraLand (which requires having a crypto wallet) and starting slow. For example, firms can create billboards in the metaverse as a marketing tool before deciding to open up an office.
"You're only as secure as the platform you're using," says Arnold. "For a website, we have some control by controlling the server the website is on. But in the metaverse, you don't have control. It's about marketing and outreach. It's another way to be seen."
The key to the metaverse is to be willing to try new things. While the legal industry isn't known to be early adopters of technology, this is a good opportunity for lawyers to try something new. "Be flexible," says Arnold. "You might waste some money. That's okay. We're in the experimentation phase."
