avoiding common legal billing pitfalls
TRANSCRIPT
www.cosmolex.com
Avoiding Common
Legal Billing Pitfalls
Erica BirstlerManager of Client Services
CosmoLex
September 15, 2016
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Seem Familiar?
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Not Using
Matter-Centric
Recordkeeping
Pitfall #1
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Five Pillars of Practice Mgmt.
▪ Legal Time & Billing
▪ Business Accounting
▪ Documents & Emails
▪ Calendar & Tasks
▪ Trust Accounting
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▪ Unpaid Amounts
▪ Unbilled Amounts
▪ Client Funds
●Operating & Trust
Important Matter Balances
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Disconnected Events,Tasks, Emails & Notes
▪ Compliance
▪ Collaboration
▪ Collection
▪ Cloud Access
Pitfall #2
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Poor Handling
of Client Funds
Pitfall #3
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▪ Earned Fee
▪ Unearned Fee
▪ Cost Advances
▪ Settlement Funds
Types of Client Funds
Deposit into Trust Account
or Operating Account?
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Don’t Do This
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▪ Show retainer balances on bills.
▪ Update balance as fees are
earned.
▪ Retainer Replenishment.
Challenges
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Unrecorded
Charges
Pitfall #4
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▪ Completed yet unbilled events & tasks
▪ Outside the office legal services.
▪ Frequent office disruptions.
Challenge - Time Tracking
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▪ Expenses are paid in
variety of ways.
▪ Expenses not allocated to
matters.
Challenge - Expense Tracking
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▪ Keep clients in the loop
▪ Establish primary method
of communication
▪ Ensure confidential
communication is secure
Pitfall #5 Communication Breakdowns
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Late Billing
VS
Pitfall #6
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Weak Collection
Efforts
Pitfall #7
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▪ Timely Billing.
▪ Uncluttered Bills.
▪ Periodic collection notices.
▪ Track retainer balances.
▪ Periodic retainer replenishment notices.
▪ Track unbilled amounts.
Efficient Collection...
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I Love Billing I Love Accounting
Pitfall #8
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#1 - Customization for Legal Accounting
#2 - Double data entry
#3 - Handling Client Funds
#4 - Client costs recovery
#5 - Allocate revenue receipts
#6 - Track income by practice area
#7 - Challenges of Credit Card Processing
Consequences of Isolated Systems
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Consider Cloud Based Application
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Questions/CommentsThank you for joining us!
Erica Birstler
CosmoLex Cloud, LLC
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