Madaline Zannes is the founder of Zannes Law in Canada. She provides legal and advisory services to clients across Ontario and internationally. She is a certified trainer and facilitator, speaker, guest lecturer and writer who’s had her work featured in several publications. She’s also a partner of the Metaverse Bar Association. (Source: Zanneslaw.com)

Firm Merges the Metaverse with Real Life Involving Legal Cases, Issues

Even as President Joe Biden’s Administration claims it has created 13 million jobs over the last two years, it appears more jobs are coming. Some are high-paying jobs such as practicing law—though practitioners might not continue to need a license to do so in some areas of law.

An article from MIT’s technologyreview.com describes potential job openings in the Metaverse, including for lawyers and law firms.

Lot #651 on Somnium Space belongs to Zannes Law, a Toronto-based law firm. In this seven-level online metaverse office, principal lawyer Madaline Zannes conducts private consultations with clients, meets people wandering in with legal questions, hosts conferences and gives guest lectures. Zannes says that her metaverse office allows for a more immersive, imaginative client experience. She hired a custom metaverse builder to create the space from scratch—with breakout rooms, presentation stages, offices to rent, an art gallery and a rooftop bar.

The Somnium Space office was Zannes’s first in the metaverse, but the firm now has multiple properties on other platforms, including a penthouse suite in Spatial’s version of New Caledonia.

Is It Legal to Be a Digital Lawyer?

Technically, no qualifications are required to be a lawyer in the metaverse, since it isn’t an actual juris­diction. But those with a law degree can use the technology to stand out.

 “What’s most important is having an open mind,” says Zannes.

Also, it helps to have the funds to hire a tech professional to design and create your 7-level office space.

In real life, lawyers are limited to the jurisdictions where they’re licensed to practice. The downside to metaverse law is the existence of “bad actors” who attempt to offer legal services in virtual spaces without any certification, Zannes said. Some hide their identities.

To help address the problem, this year Zannes and her team created the international Metaverse Bar Association, which aims to provide a registry of verified licensed lawyers who work in Web3.

Commercial Aspects Can Be ‘Real’

Zannes interacts with clients and potential customers in this digital office. And having more than a flat-screen ZOOM meeting seems to provide a little fun for the firm and the clients.

“We can do our meeting while walking through the building. We can chat at our NFT gallery, at the rooftop bar, or in my office,” Zannes says. “There are more ways to find common ground and spend quality time together.”

And Zannes says besides being a great way to gain more exposure for her law firm, she makes a little money by leasing out digital office space in the digital properties she owns.

read more at technologyreview.com