Cover Story Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms

Law firms generally experience a similar set of common challenges and costs tied to inefficient billing and collections practices. This is a cost no firm can afford; and to that end, this article offers a blueprint for transforming billing and collections

While growing by acquiring lateral partners and practice groups can be lucrative, it carries many risks. Lateral candidates' projections of the revenue they will bring to a new firm can prove inaccurate, or a particular candidate may simply be a bad fit culturally.

More and more, firms are understanding that it's the firm's ability to convert its agreed rates through billing and collections to collection realization that really counts. So why is it such a challenge for firms to solve it?

As the world ushers in a new era post-pandemic of hybrid operations, it's really no surprise that workplace experience is a top, strategic lever law firm leaders are driving in conjunction with re-envisioning the space their professionals are occupying.

Attorneys retiring and succession planning are critical issues are often overlooked at the management level of law firms. A key question arises: What should come first, retirement or succession planning? Although they go hand in hand, many firms avoid addressing both.

Experience management is vital not only in terms of raw time savings and cost efficiencies but is pivotal in the firm's ability to win new business.

Hoteling has a negative connotation in the legal industry as little has been done to make the experience reliable and something to look forward to. The fact is, hoteling has worked very well in other industries for many years, and lessons learned here can help law firms.

Firms with aging managing partners should develop a succession plan for transferring clients and management responsibilities (over a five-to-ten-year transition period) to the firm's younger attorneys.