As I write this, we’re wrapping up another “Billing Week” – that time of the month when many of our clients call in for assistance and advice to get them through another billing cycle. Increasingly I am hearing the same lament: “We’ve done the work – why can’t we get paid?”
Lawyers and law firms place great emphasis on getting clients and recording time and fees. But for many, the thought process stops there when equal emphasis ought to be about collecting what is billed. A case or matter is not finished and the agreement between attorney and client is not complete until payment is received for work performed. I recall pointing out to one attorney who had a problem with that concept that with the amount of money he was writing off each month, I could buy a Mercedes Benz and drive it off a cliff. Since he owned a Mercedes Benz, that analogy served as a wake-up call.
Pointing out this fact to billing administrators leads to the next response: “But we’re a law firm. We can’t push our clients to pay us as other businesses do.” That may as well be. However, if your practice relies on “pushing” to collect payments, you’re already too late.
Law firms do not have to be victims. Not collecting what is owed to your practice for work performed is due to one of more of the following reasons:
· The Number One reason is fear of loss of business
- Lack of attempt to establish billing and collection policies within a firm
- Lack of attempt to follow through internally with upholding the billing and collection policies of a firm
- Lack of attempt to explain a practice’s billing and collection policies
- Lack of attempt to enforce a practice’s billing and collection policies
- Not reaching out for assistance (e.g. collection agencies) when balances become severely delinquent
This is the first in a series of articles that will address this topic and will be interspersed among the topics you see from us. In this series we will look at the entire cycle (yes, it’s a cycle) of how to establish your policies within your firm, communicate said policies to your clients – and back them up to show you mean business. We hope that it is the beginning of a dialogue with our readers and invite you to post comments about what you see.
If you’d like to get paid, watch this space and stay tuned.
And if you can’t wait long enough to read the future posts to follow on this, give us a call at 877-357-0555 to discuss your situation, and let’s see if we can help you devise some immediate fixes.
Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv. As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.
