
Written by Anora

Law is in action in Somnium Space. Without borders, and a jurisdiction that defies all odds, Zannes Law Firm has made a name for itself within and beyond the Metaverse. The Firm has grown roots inside the platform to become a fantastic asset to the evolution of Somnium and enriching what the platform has to offer. Truly, the law firm is an incredible feat across metaverse realms and to make an historical mark as the first of it’s kind. Offering accessibility to those seeking legal guidance from around the world, whilst eliminating cost of travel and the stresses of crossing borderlines to meet with the best in the business. A well-rounded firm indeed. It is readily available to clients at the touch of a button on the Somnium Space Platform! To think the world has never seen something like this before. With locations in Toronto, and the “Meta-Firm” within Somnium this firm has shown to be successfully ambitious and one to roll with the changing times!
Such a remarkable endeavor cannot go unnoticed and must be acknowledged for this marvelous business venture and incredible demonstration of just how versatile Somnium Space is! Though incredible things do not take place over night, it starts with an idea and ambition. One such person is Madaline Zannes, the mastermind behind it all. A principal lawyer and the founder of Zannes Law.

Madaline provides legal and advising services to clients both in Ontario and wide-ranging countries. Her firm’s focus is on the areas of real estate, business, IP, entertainment, Web3/Metaverse, and estates. A well -versed individual, she is a certified trainer and facilitator, speaker, guest lecturer, and writer, having had her work featured in an array of publications. Along with multiple opportunities to speak and present at various prestigious places. She was acknowledged as “Greek America’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2018,” a prestigious award that celebrates the community’s top talent in business, arts, sciences and more, for those who flourish professionally and philanthropically. One could draft, write, edit, and publish a book about this world-shaker’s accomplishments. For now, we had the privilege to sit down with Madaline to talk with her and delve deeper into the Zannes Law Firm.
Anora: “Tell me about yourself. How did you decide a career in law was for you?”
Madaline: “Thanks for having me! I run Zannes Law here in Toronto and in the metaverse at our satellite law office building. Our general practice areas include web3, business, IP, entertainment, estates and real estate. I always had an interest in becoming a lawyer for as long as I can remember, although I ended up straying from the area to instead complete my university studies in science. Interestingly enough, I had a few uncanny experiences that led me right back to my original goal of practicing law, with a tech science spin on it. I am an entrepreneur at heart, and originally, opening my own firm was the next natural step – although a challenging one, as most lawyers don’t go solo right out the gate.”

Anora: “What caught your attention in the Metaverse as it pertains to law, and why did you make Somnium Space a home for your virtual reality firm?”
Madaline: “Before becoming a lawyer, I ran my own consultancy in legal tech, starting with assisting lawyers with streamlining their firms through technology and innovation, which later led to working directly with legal tech startups. I’ve generally been an advocate for technology and innovation in law firms for the last decade. Opening a web3 VR metaverse office was initially done to streamline our meetings and team collaborations. I later found out that no one had yet opened a law firm in the VR web3 space – it’s always a nice surprise to find yourself on the forefront of innovation. I chose Somnium Space as our primary metaverse office space for various reasons, one being that at the time when we did this originally, other web3 metaverse platforms did not offer VR capabilities. Also, creating private meetings as you would on Zoom was not available on other metaverse platforms (confidentiality is everything in this line of work). When I discovered Somnium Web I found that we could hold private meetings in the space which was a game-changer. I realized that we had an even easier point of access for clients just hopping on a browser to use Somnium Web. This side of our metaverse space further caught the attention of various media outlets, as well as directors of international law societies, university program directors, and professors who asked me to create courses or moderate conversations for the public to learn more about this sector of business. We have visitors come by our meta-office, as we like to call it, and my amazing law clerk, Ierene Oliva, is there every day while working, to welcome anyone interested in a tour or to gain more information on what we do. Our team holds meetings there as a lot of us work remotely, and we find the space incredibly useful for walking over to a teammate and asking a simple question in real time just as we would in our physical office in downtown Toronto. The level of ease, privacy, and immersion that visitors can experience, just from visiting our metaverse office via browser, has been unrivaled in the web3 space thanks to Somnium.”
Anora: “You practice law both in physical reality, and virtual reality. In your opinion, how are they the same, and how are they different? “

Madaline: “I am enjoying my career, and in running a firm on your own there are challenges to be expected. My thing has always been to find solutions to these challenges using innovation. One challenge revolved around limitations and barriers in terms of client, colleagues and staff travel to attend real world meetings. These limitations can range anywhere from physical accessibility, financial costs of travel, emotional stress of getting somewhere on time, and environmental factors that hang heavy on folks who want to reduce their carbon footprint in the process of attending. Somnium has been invaluable for easing pressure in all the above-mentioned areas. Also, with visitors’ reactions to our spaces, I can tell you from many years of experience in the legal realm that I have never seen people be so excited to visit a law firm office. “
Anora: “What were your feelings as you stood before the revamped Zannes Law Firm? It must have been amazing to see this vision materialize!”
Madaline: “Yes absolutely! I truly was stunned by the work of my amazing builder EVEREXIST who put hours of time into making sure our custom law office building, conference hall and rooftop bar were exactly right before our launch. He actually assisted us with our first office space building on Somnium, before we even moved to the XL-sized parcel. It really helps to have someone with the experience of a metaverse platform as robust as Somnium to build and design it all, just based on various requests made on what we were looking to include.”
Anora: “Lastly, where do you see Zannes Law in the future of this Metaverse platform?”
Madaline: “We have a few plans coming up for our metaverse law office space that we are excited to announce soon. So, without spilling the beans prematurely, I can say that I really appreciate the incredibly kind and energetic community at Somnium, big shoutouts to all my friends on there, especially Artur and Francesco who have played a significant role of support for us in every step – I thank everyone wholeheartedly for elevating our endeavors. I will always be a Somnium fan!”

Noting her ambition to change the game and create a resounding presence in the Metaverse and beyond is the least we could do. This law firm has pushed the boundaries of innovations and made history. A thing that Somnium Space was made to facilitate. An utterly amazing era to watch unfold, readers, pay close attention to the moves Madaline and her team are about to make in the Metaverse. WIth such amazing accomplishments to date, one can only envision the world of possibilities this firm will tackle.
Links
Zannes Law Firm’s Virtual Office in Somnium Space WEB: https://somniumspace.com/parcel/651
Zannes Law Firm website: https://zanneslaw.com/
Zannes Law Firm on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zanneslawfirm
Madaline Zannes on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zanneslaw
Somnium Space website: https://somniumspace.com
Somnium Space on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SomniumSpace
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