How To Minimize Law Firm Ebilling Write Downs

By Catherine Bell


Law firms face a lot of challenges especially in terms of payment. Though starting your own law firm might seem to be good, to make it a successful law organization is hectic. Almost half of the time spent by lawyers is not accounted for hence every time spend in law courts by the lawyers is important. The following are the procedures that will help reduce law firm ebilling write downs.

Time management in law firms is important. Lawyers might charge the amount they should be paid on two bases. This might be on hourly but some might charge a contingency fee for any case they present in court. They should do a comparison between the two to ascertain which fee is more beneficial to them. They should also factor in the billed and the non-billed time. Though most of them assume that non-billed time, it might assist them in doing productive activities in their lifetime.

The next step is to define a collection policy that provides clients with reliable information of what is expected of them. Clients will not hesitate to ask for write-offs when you present a bill that is high of their expectation. This is often experienced when firms fail to create, define and implement an effective collection policy that defines payment terms and how to solve fee disputes.

Most lawyers prefer working on a contingency fee. If this is the case, they should be needed to have an agreement on the same. This should act as evidence of agreement in case the client rejects to pay the fee. Before agreeing on the fee, it is important to know the budget of the client. Compare the budget with the nature of the case, the time spent in the case and the fee. This will help you to have confidence that the client will pay the fee. It also allows the client to bargain for a fee that he can afford.

Make sure that you provide an invoice that can be understood by your client. You should also know that clients have a clue about how much they should pay for you. If you provide an unrealistic invoice, your clients will automatically ask for water-downs. Complaints can also arise during payment if the invoice does not align well with the client requirements.

It may sound odd, but even with a detailed fee payment agreement in place, a client may request for a write-off. To avoid such instances, it is important to have clients sign fee payment agreements upfront. The agreement should specify the exact fee and collection dates to ensure clients pay on time.

Accepting writedowns is not bad, but the amount you should accept to write-down should not be high. You should charge a fee that matches the value of the case. Always be careful not to accept write-downs easily as this will lower your value in the field. Customers will always come to you because they will pay less fee. This also compromises your career. It reduces the efficiency of your company billing.

Make sure you provide the correct techniques for lawyers. At the time of compliance and accounting, these tools play an important role in the law company. Attorneys will do better with tools designed specifically for their needs/




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