Law Practice Management Problem Philip Coffaro, Brad Kimber, Christian Pipas

Billing problems:  Bills do not go out for weeks or months  Billing kept on paper and only done by one legal assistant  Possible ethics problems with the legal assistant doing the billing for the lawyers  Firm is not being paid regularly

Proposed billing solutions: Purchase Billing software such as “CLIO” – web-based law practice management system  automatically sends out billing on a set schedule  Allows for online payment for clients that cannot make it into the office  Designed for small firms and solo practitioners  Data is secure and less issues with the information being compromised  Relatively inexpensive - $50 per attorney and $25 per support staff per month

Proposed billing solutions continued:  Client knows what to expect  Regular cash flow resulting from regular billing  Prevent client shock by spreading out payments  When the client is present, smart phone apps can do credit card billing without an expensive point of sale machine.  By using online processes the firm can save money by doing online billing and not have the expense related to mailing out a bill every month  Online billing also more secure because no loss of information that would lead to disputes with client about the amount of work being done

Future solutions:  If the business makes more money by having better and more accurate billing, the firm could upgrade to more sophisticated internal software like PC Law and Amicus.  Amicus is $600 per person, plus $600 to install and $600 for an Amicus representative to train the firm on how to use the software  If the firm is more established and there is a degree of continuity, this would be a good program to have because of its overall quality and comprehensiveness

Why this would be beneficial?  Using the software will create more profit because of the accuracy of the billing  There will be less issues with the accuracy of billing  Everything recorded as it happens/ reduce ethics issues  Helpful to analyze the performance of each employee  Initial cost for a program like CLIO is relatively low  Can bill when not in the office on phone or computer  Option to outsource workers like a bookkeeper to lower costs  Regular billing more helpful in getting paid and a helpful communication tool for the clients

Changes that would need to happen?  Everyone would need to keep track of their own billable hours on the software  Bills would be sent out by after client consents  Clients would need to be informed of the billing method  Work that is not billed would need to be included on the bill as “free” to build client relations and prevent bill disputes

Website Problem  The website is a written brochure online  No updates  Lack of compelling content  Lack of marketing and client relations strategies being used

Solutions to fixing a bad website  Want to drive traffic to the website  Can start a blog that links to the firm’s website  On s include a link to the firm’s website in your signature  Begin to link Facebook and LinkedIn address to your firm’s website  Include relevant videos to a YouTube page for the firm  Ask other attorney’s with websites to put a link to the firm’s website  Consult with a web developer to improve your search results in search engines

Solutions to fixing a bad website continued  Improve marketing by doing the billing online  Could also improve client contact by sending out birthday and thank you cards when appropriate

How to persuade the lawyers?  Having a better website will bring in more clients, which will bring in more money  Most of the solutions for improving the website are cost- effective  Can help with determining the best clients  Having a better website better represents the firm  By keeping in contact with the clients, there is a stronger likelihood of referral business