> If everything you’re doing is in the VM, what’s the point?

If your goal is to run Linux as your host OS, then it solves the problem of not being able to do X with software Y

You can do everything else in Linux, including looking for alternatives

You can copy/paste files from host/guest, including sharing clipboard

Also using a VM helps you fixes in time your windows install, problems? bugs? shitty updates? destroy that VM image and swap with a copy of the install one, BOOM you are in power

Docker and QEMU stories are the proof that having choice frees and empowers everyone, enables countless of possibilities and options, who would have thought

Most peoples’ goal at work is to do their job, not run Linux as their host OS.

>Most peoples’ goal at work is to do their job, not run Linux as their host OS.

This. I spent six years doing IT infrastructure for a large law firm (~1000 lawyers+2000 support staff).

Legal services are pretty much the same as other professional services (I spent 12 years consulting too), where the goal is to maximize utilization and realization[0].

As has been mentioned by others in this discussion, the work product of lawyers are mostly documents (actual in court activities are a tiny proportion of the work that lawyers do), and in a firm of more than a few people, documents are almost always worked on collaboratively.

There's an entire ecosystem of tools and applications that support such document production, including collaborative redlining tools, document management systems, legal citation tools, workflow management systems and a raft of other tools/systems that enable efficient development, editing and distribution of attorney work product.

Those systems are primarily Windows-based, many of which are Word plugins, and attempting to integrate them all -- even in an all Windows environment -- is challenging.

In fact, until 15 years ago or so, WordPerfect was the tool of choice for most law firms. And migrating to Word was incredibly painful without any changes to the underlying OS.

That said, most of the systems I implemented ran on Linux or BSD, as they were network support platforms (change management, logging/monitoring tools, authn/authz platforms and Internet-facing applications).

However, attempting to move an existing law firm of more than a couple lawyers from the existing ecosystem to one that runs on Linux would be folly. Because of the lack of tooling in the Linux environment (e.g., try running a software development shop using only Nintendo Switches), and, more importantly, the loss of billable hours fighting with such an environment.

There are lots of other issues, but I just tried to hit the high points.

Could Linux be a good platform for law firms? Absolutely. But the workflow and tooling that exists in the Windows environment would need to be replicated first.

It's a chicken and egg problem -- why would legal software developers write code for Linux when the entire ecosystem is based on Windows? And why would law firms use Linux when the tools they require to generate revenue don't exist on Linux?

[0] https://blog.beyondsoftware.com/the-importance-of-measuring-...

OP's title: "Running a Law Firm on Linux"

Why do you want to make it sound like they didn't make that choice?

If you don't want to run as your host OS, you don't

Nobody forces you anything, it's the opposite, GIVE PEOPLE CHOICE

> If everything you’re doing is in the VM, what’s the point?

"Your honor, with all of the evidence we've leveled today, my client would like to motio- hold on, what's this? Wait, no I didn't tell you to install updates now! Cancel, cancel, does anyone here know how to stop a Windows update?"

It happens all the time. In the middle of medical malpractice cases, divorce cases, murder cases - a virus update, an acrobat update, an email notification, etc. Everybody deals.

My favorite was at a hearing where opposing counsel had printed off that morning a copy of a letter he felt was dispositive. Word automatically "update(d) fields" and so the six-month old letter bore the date of the hearing. The judge didn't understand the concept and said the letter could not possibly be accurate; what other content was changed? His motion was denied. Thank you, Word!

Non sequitur - Step 1 with a new Word install should be to uncheck the “Ignore All-Caps Words” in the spellcheck settings. Works well in minimizing section heading faux pas.

> If everything you’re doing is in the VM, what’s the point?

Precisely. When I was new to Linux, trying to figure out how to do things, I was inundated with people telling me to just dual boot or run a VM. The whole point of switching was to be free of other systems.