In this episode of The Charlotte Business Podcast, host George sits down with Matt Villmer, co-founder and attorney at Villmer Caudill, PLLC, a fully remote business litigation and business law firm serving entrepreneurs in the Charlotte area. With about 18 years of experience, Matt explains how the firm grew from four lawyers and one administrator in January 2022 to 14 lawyers and nearly 20 employees, all without a physical office.
Matt breaks down how a remote law firm actually works: how to build client trust over Zoom, how to keep team culture alive with in-person meetups, why clients can book their own consultation online in minutes, why more clients are demanding flat fees instead of billable hours, and how AI is changing the practice of law. He also shares the surprisingly unglamorous problems of running a firm without an office, from the mail to the fax machine.
“To me, the credibility really is: can I get in touch with my lawyer when I need them, and do I trust the legal advice they're providing?”
Watch the full conversation above, or listen on Buzzsprout.
Matt moved to Charlotte about 12 years ago and has practiced law for about 18. He describes himself as a lawyer second and a business owner first, with a passion for lifelong learning and teaching others about entrepreneurship. His path was not straight: he started as a graphic design major, tried computer science, landed in corporate and organizational communication at Western Kentucky University, and went to law school after a philosophy professor suggested it.
Matt and his partner Bo previously practiced together in a traditional office in downtown Matthews. After COVID forced everyone to figure out how to meet and sign clients remotely, they realized they did not need a building or a conference room. When they started their own firm in January 2022, they simply began without an office, and every year since they have looked at commercial space and decided against it.
The firm started with four lawyers, including Matt and Bo, and one firm administrator. Four and a half years later it has 14 lawyers and nearly 20 employees. Matt believes staying remote is a competitive advantage in hiring, since the firm will never ask people to return to an office, and it lets lawyers build the life they want while serving clients.
All of the firm's lawyers live in the Charlotte area even though they work from home, which allows for plenty of in-person events: team outings, sporting events, escape rooms and other activities that are not about cases. The firm now has an events committee with its own budget. Matt says he did not fully anticipate how important intentional, in-person culture would become in a remote organization.
Culture also starts with hiring. Matt and Bo look for people who are intellectually curious and self-reflective, and the firm's written core values include kindness and respect, which Matt says he has not seen at other law firms. The firm has deliberately built a diverse group of lawyers because different backgrounds lead to more creative problem solving.
Most of the firm's clients are entrepreneurs and business owners, whether they are growing a company, suing someone or being sued. Matt argues that credibility comes from attorney accessibility and trusted advice, not from making clients drive downtown, pay for parking and sit in a conference room.
Matt divides the firm into two parts. The first is litigation: business disputes, defense when a business is sued, and high-stakes governmental and regulatory investigations. The second is everything related to the life cycle of a business, including starting up, growing and scaling, protecting intellectual property through trademarks and copyrights, and protecting a business owner's assets.
Matt contrasts the traditional process of calling a receptionist, leaving voicemails, waiting weeks for a meeting and paying a consultation fee with the firm's approach. Clients can use a short questionnaire on the website to see which lawyers fit their needs, review their bios, check a live calendar, book a time and get a Zoom link automatically. After the consultation, the lawyer explains what is needed and what it will cost, and Matt says the firm will also say so when a client does not need to hire them yet. That honesty is why clients come back.
Matt says law firms are among the last businesses to change, partly because of ego and a culture of making younger lawyers go through the same hurdles older lawyers did. He thinks self-scheduling and fewer layers between lawyers and clients are the future, but that it will take the industry a while to catch up.
Matt expects contract drafting and review to move toward AI tools while experienced lawyers stay essential for transactions and trials. He also sees clients pushing for flat fees, which reward efficiency instead of rewarding more hours. On the question of whether clients should worry about uploading documents online, he compares the firm's secure email and upload links to what doctors and banks use, and notes that the firm will still handle paper documents if a client prefers.
Matt admits that before COVID he looked down on opposing firms without offices, and says the pandemic gave him permission to drop that ego. His advice is to start without an office, see how it goes, and lease one later only if you truly need it. He also points out that being underestimated can be a strategic advantage.
One of the most surprising challenges of an all-remote litigation practice is the mail. Courts have only recently rolled out electronic filing in every county, many lawyers still mail and even fax documents, and someone has to collect and scan incoming mail and send outgoing mail. The firm's administrator drives to the post office every day, scans everything in and makes it available to the right lawyers. Matt says the firm even has a section in its employee handbook asking people to question why they are sending a fax at all.
Every lawyer gets a branded MacBook, an external monitor and a travel monitor, a keyboard and mouse, with Microsoft 365, a case management and CRM system, and QuickBooks Online all working together. Hardware is replaced on a three-year cycle, and Matt believes a slow computer is a real cost for lawyers who bill by the hour. IT is outsourced to a company that specializes in law firms, and vendors use bank-grade security.
Matt says his favorite hobby is karaoke, which he and Bo originally bonded over, and he shares a few of his go-to songs. Looking ahead, he wants to keep growing a regional practice around Charlotte and the surrounding communities with the right number of skilled lawyers for the city's entrepreneurs. To reach the firm, Matt says the easiest thing is to visit villmercaudill.com, where contact information is listed.
If you run a business, are thinking about hiring a lawyer, or are curious about how professional services can work without an office, this conversation is a candid look at what a modern law firm can look like.
Matt Villmer is a co-founder and attorney at Villmer Caudill, PLLC, a fully remote business litigation and business law firm founded with his partner Bo Caudill. The firm handles everything from multi-million dollar finance disputes to federal fraud defense, and has no physical office. Over the last 18 years, Matt has helped business clients navigate complex legal issues with creative problem solving, whether in the boardroom or in the courtroom.
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