Law firms create rooms in the metaverse to serve clients

Brazilian lawyers have hired developers to create versions of their offices in the metaverse, a virtual environment that simulates reality.

The objective is to boost the reputation of its companies in the face of new technologies that have gained strength in the public debate and to draw the attention of customers, as well as ensure the use of a new communication tool.

These reasons led Gustavo Viseu, a partner at Viseu Advogados, in São Paulo, to hire the technology company Kubikz as the developer of the office’s version in the virtual world. The project started in January and, at the end of February, it was published.

Viseu, who presents himself as the first to have adopted the idea in the country, says he tried to replicate the architecture of a law firm. In addition, he decided to offer the possibility of contemplating, inside the digital room, the view of Vila Olímpia, in the south of São Paulo, where his workspace is located.

The desire to enter the metaverse is linked to the intention of the Viseu bank to specialize in legal issues aimed at this new market demand.

By downloading the program selected by the developer, the client registers and customizes his own avatar. Then, you can access the spaces to interact with your lawyer.

This can be done in 2D or using virtual reality glasses, which expand the experience to 3D.

So far, Viseu says he has held consulting meetings with three clients using the tool, as well as conversations with the team, partners and ten other stakeholders.

The platform chosen was Microsoft’s AltspaceVR, where it is possible to create free and private environments — unlike other programs, in which users live in the same space.

The drive to explore this new technology is still not so strong in Brazil, compared to other countries, according to Alexandre Góes, chief technology officer at developer Kubikz. Those who take advantage now have a chance to grow a lot, he says.

In the United States, there are more massive investments by companies to adapt to the universe of virtual reality, such as the acquisition of land on metaverse platforms, for example.

In late 2021, Grungo Colarulo, the New Jersey office, presented itself as the first in the world to embrace the technology. On the occasion, the bank said that the initiative intends to facilitate the access of customers to information.

“It’s a race. Companies are looking to be the first to enter [no metaverso], not only for marketing, but also for being an unexplored area. It’s as if you were on the internet in 1996”, says Góes.

Here’s how office meetings in the metaverse work:

Another Brazilian lawyer who hires Kubikz’s services, Pedro Trengrouse, from Trengrouse.Gonçalves Advogados, from Rio, believes that the metaverse is an evolution of the internet and that, in the future, everyone will be using the tool. Even so, the face-to-face meetings will not lose strength, according to him.

The environment that will house the digital version of Trengrouse’s office was published this week and he believes it will be an attraction for clients.

“We serve a lot of football players who play video games, many artists who already look to the metaverse as a space to make their lives.”

Carlos Affonso Souza, from ITS (Instituto Sociedade e Tecnologia do Rio), says that the metaverse is still not what one imagines.

Virtual reality experiences are not very accessible, with devices that are far from ideal and a quality of interaction below that of the digital platforms already available. He cites, as an example, the avatars, which are caricatured and not very human.

Defining himself as an enthusiast of this technology, the professor and lawyer says that these problems may change with the evolution of virtual reality, but that, for now, the experience tends to be just fun.

“Devices are not yet affordable, comfortable, or widely available to make this more than an experimentalism or a piece of advertising.”

Although the debate is recent, Brazil experienced a similar case in the 2000s, when the game Second Life gained popularity in the country.

As in the metaverse, it was possible to have an avatar and interact with other people. Unlike AltspaceVR, users lived in the same environment, preventing one-on-one meetings.

In 2007, Opice Blum, an electronic law firm, entered the platform, generating a discussion within the OAB-SP (Brazilian Bar Association in São Paulo) about ensuring confidentiality. The entity’s Ethics and Discipline Court then determined that no lawyers would consult or provide services in the game.

According to Renato Opice, this was not a problem for his office, because the motivation for entering Second Life was the dissemination of legal content, without customer service.

Since then, the rules have changed. Last year, provision 205/2021 recognized legal marketing in law, as long as ethical precepts are obeyed, such as sobriety and non-commodification.

This means that a lawyer can use technology as a strategy to consolidate in the market, through the production of content.

Legal consultations in the metaverse are not included in the rule, because it is not about publicity, says Greice Stocker, federal counselor of the OAB-RS who participated in the elaboration of the new provision.

Viseu states that there is no problem with this type of communication, since the platform guarantees data protection and there is no ostensible offer of services, nor the commercialization of legal activity.

Affonso Souza, from ITS, compares the new medium to well-known sites, such as Zoom and Google Meet, and in his opinion, it does not violate OAB rules.

“We are already in a virtual environment. The processes are electronic in Justice, the hearings are done over the internet. Why couldn’t it be done in the metaverse?”, asks Trengrouse.