APRIL 1, 2010–A new cloud-based legal site unveiled today, Cloud E-Law, does virtually everything a lawyer could want and does it all entirely for free. The Software-as-a-Service site promises to be a soup-to-nuts, one-stop-shopping site for everything from legal research to social networking to e-discovery.

Among the features offered by Cloud E-Law:

  • Legal research. A comprehensive database of primary and secondary legal materials that rivals anything offered by Westlaw or LexisNexis.
  • Professional networking. A legal vertical networking site that incorporates the best features of LinkedIn, Facebook, Legal OnRamp, Martindale-Hubbell Connected, Twitter and YouTube.
  • Practice management. A full suite of tools for managing your law office and tracking your time, scalable for any size firm, from one lawyer to thousands.
  • E-discovery. A complete e-discovery solution for processing, searching, reviewing and producing electronically stored information.
  • Virtual staffing. Virtual paralegals, legal secretaries, transcriptionists and other support professionals available 24/7.
  • Virtual receptionist. Route all your calls through Cloud E-Law and have online access to voice messages, call logs and other information.
  • Cloud E-Marketing. Chat live any time of the day or night with a virtual marketing and media-relations professional.
  • CLE online. No matter what state you are in, Cloud E-Law offers a full selection of approved courses that you can take right from your computer.
  • Clients on Call. If your firm is short on clients, Cloud E-Law maintains an extensive list of clients in need of legal services throughout the United States.
  • Pro Bono Emulator. For lawyers who lack the time to perform pro bono service, Cloud E-Law’s Pro Bono Emulator uses the power of cloud computing and social networking to make it appear as if you are doing good.
  • Flat Fee Fabricator. Cloud E-Law’s patented algorithm converts a lawyer’s hourly billing so that the lawyer appears to be using a more commercially acceptable flat-fee arrangement.

“We looked closely at the needs of the legal market in order to design an application that would do whatever a lawyer wanted,” said Thomas Clarence, founder of Cumulus Technologies LLC. “And because we have no interest in making money, we wanted to provide these services at no cost.”

The company is awaiting approval from Apple of an app that will allow access to all these features via an iPhone or iPad. An app for the Blackberry is in the works, Clarence said.

“Given our extensive suite of features and our no-cost business model,” Clarence added, “we expect to go completely out of business by next April 1.”

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.