Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg marked the starting point of the metaverse, the parallel virtual universe that aims to replace the use of smartphones. 

Can you imagine meeting your colleagues in a virtual room and moving around your living room? It will be possible thanks to virtual reality and augmented reality within the metaverse that Facebook will create through Horizon Workrooms.

Many law firms will decide to meet with clients virtually, share their documents and show them the different projects they have been involved in through virtual reality glasses. 

"Workrooms is our flagship collaboration experience that lets people come together to work in the same virtual room, regardless of physical distance," Facebook explained in a press release.

One issue that will be relevant in legal terms is the protection of certain legal issues, such as intellectual property, since within the metaverse artistic creations will be sold, such as virtual paintings, songs, NFTs, among others. 

Another matter that should concern Facebook, or Meta, its new commercial name, is the protection of the image and honor rights of the members that make up the metaverse. In a universe where a large portion of the world's population will be able to interact, it is necessary to guarantee a framework of protection for them, so that no rights are violated.

With regard to firms, cybersecurity, confidentiality and data protection will be one of the main objectives in the metaverse. Now more than ever, law firms need to work together with technology developers, and analyse how to interact with colleagues, clients and competitors.

Artificial intelligence plays now, and will play in the metaverse, a fundamental role. The healthy and safe use of what is known as "machine learning" by companies to avoid infringing any rights, such as copyright, for example. Or that the information provided to a user is not false, or that content made by minors is not publicly disseminated.

Metaverse is not an empty word. What started as a simple abstract concept will end up shaping the way we work and interact with people.