Managing a Law Firm

So it’s August, and you are sitting down to reconcile your bank accounts for July’s activity.

Getting serious about solving that irritating practice management problem but need a little help? Did you know that you can access — at no charge — hundreds of Attorney at Work daily dispatches by simply searching our archives? There you'll find ...

Lawyer, writer and writing instructor Gary Kinder wants lawyers to get to the point quickly in their communications with clients. “Too often lawyers write a letter to the client and won't tell them the answer to the client’s question,” he says. ...

It's unavoidable. If the goal you and your colleagues have set for your firm is a high rate of growth, you are going to be banging your heads against a wall every day. So it’s important to know up front whether that wall is made of bricks or ...

What’s the biggest predictor of a law firm’s success? Hint: It’s not the firm’s bottom line.  1. Clients are canaries. Research into seven failed professional services firms, four of which were law firms, indicates declining client satisfaction ...

Sometime before the Great Recession (Depression?), there existed a quaint notion that people could stop working — at least some of the time. Over the course of recent years, however, the line of argumentation has advanced, with advocates of a ...

Billing. It’s not something we like to talk about, but it is something lawyers have to do regularly, so it deserves some attention. Making sure you capture all of your billable time and produce clear, coherent invoices for it helps ensure you ...

Let me tell you a secret — the biggest distraction in my life is me. No, I’m not wasting time playing Angry Birds or watching Netflix. My challenge? I’m so well-trained to react the moment my laptop or phone lights up, chimes or rings that it’s ...

So you made the decision to go paperless. You've grasped the concepts and technology you need and your systems are mostly set. But when you need to get someone's signature on a document, your best-laid plans come to a screeching halt. That ...

Nobody likes talking about money with clients. Nobody. But the conversation gets a whole lot easier when you are confident in what you do, and what you're worth. Right? Maintaining the needed level of self-assurance, though, might be the hardest ...