Tips for tuning up your firm's finances

By Tony Ogden Dolan Media Newswires BOSTON, MA--Being a successful solo or small firm attorney means focusing not only on practicing law, but also on business and finances. But "law schools haven't done a very good job ... of helping law students know how to do budgeting and finance, and how to treat the firm as a business," said Janis Alexander, Chief Operations Officer at Ambrose Law Group LLC in Portland, Ore., and a frequent speaker and writer on law firm finance, technology and operations issues. Laura A. Calloway, Director of Service Programs at the Alabama State Bar in Montgomery, Ala., agreed. She advises small firm lawyers "to really focus their practice on creating an environment that's very technology-oriented in order to reduce costs, save money and get clients that normally would only go to big firms." Here are some other suggestions for improving your firm's financial health: Billing and timekeeping Infrequent billing is an area where attorneys can get into trouble, said Calloway. When lawyers get "really busy doing legal work, they won't send bills out," she said. "Have a time and billing program. [Attorneys] can enter their time easily, edit it easily and produce a bill easily." She also suggests timing your bills to accommodate your clients. "Ask them when is best," she said. "If you send the bill when the client has the money to pay you, they will pay you." Taking credit or debit cards can also make it easier for clients to pay, Calloway added. Minimize paperwork "For all files you close, scan all documents ... send the originals back to the client and then shred the rest. This saves tons of money by not having to use offsite storage and then take the time years later to retrieve and dispose of files," said Alexander. Automate document production Calloway recommended using programs that do most of the work to create common documents. That frees up your time, and it also frees up your assistant's time to do more than typing. Leverage existing talent Small firms can have the most tech-savvy person handle minor troubleshooting issues and software upgrades without calling third-party vendors, said Alexander. She also suggests offering a regular "tips" presentation, where each employee of the firm presents a small tip on how to improve the firm, such as a new use of existing office equipment or software, or a marketing idea. "At the end of the tips presentation, [pick] the best tip and gives the employee a $20 bill for their efforts," she said. Entire contents copyrighted © 2012 by The Dolan Company. Published: Thu, Aug 2, 2012

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