Most legal matters involve hundreds of documents, many of which have numerous iterations along the way. Zola Suite’s robust document management system not only helps firms efficiently manage these files, but also offers interoperability with Zola’s other native matter management tools, maximizing efficiency and productivity. With Zola Suite’s Document Management tools, firms can easily store…

When a law firm hires an attorney from another firm, certain challenges need to be addressed. It is prudent to address these issues prior to day one, before the lateral attorney becomes an entrenched member of the firm. It is equally important to recognize that each attorney is unique and may have unique needs, therefore each onboarding situation should be tailored to the attorney.

The goal of all law firms is to be profitable, but achieving that goal can be difficult for some lawyers. Generating income is, obviously, the first step towards making a profit; of course, income can only be generated if billable hours are accurately recorded and invoiced to clients, and if payments for those invoices are collected. Moreover, all firms, no matter their size, must spend money to make a profit. The transactions of money flowing out of the firm are recorded as expenses in the firm’s accounting system. Profit is determined by the amount of income that exceeds a company’s expenses incurred to generate the income itself. Therefore, it is important for all businesses, especially law firms, to control operating expenses, which in turn requires timely and accurate accounting, organization and analysis of financial information.

Picture this: a new client retained the firm, timely work was performed, invoices were prepared and sent to the client and yet those invoices remain unpaid. Sound familiar? Many law firms have very high accounts receivable balances that are aged over 120 days and these high and aged invoices directly affect the firm’s overall financial health. While it may be daunting to try and collect payments that are long overdue, many times, it requires no more than a simple conversation or the adoption of credit card payments.

In most law practices, a qualified professional can predict the costs associated with operating a firm relatively accurately. Most expenses are easily forecasted including salaries, facilities and technology. However, revenue is a bit more difficult to predict. Maintaining and attracting clients is key to increasing revenue. Revenue is also associated with time entry, realization, and collections. Both revenue and expenses can be improved by optimizing operations.

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, it is imperative that firms proactively improve internal and external security protocols. Keeping confidential information and sensitive client data secure means extending such protocols to each software vendor. It’s important to check the data security protocols of the software you’re evaluating before you make any decisions that can have a long-lasting impact on your firm.

Legal professionals use a wide variety of tools and methods for tracking time spent on billable matters. Some are sophisticated, while others are more problematic and error-prone; for example, lawyers who use giant spreadsheets that are updated at the end of each day or week or sticky notes to jot down each task by hand.…

Organizational change is the only way to be proactive, rather than reactive, in continuing to develop your firm from the ground up. Krystal Champlin, the CEO of RJH Consulting, discussed taking steps to grow your law firm in a Zola Suite-sponsored ALA Webcast on April 14th. The webcast explored the five stages law firms commonly…

When considering a lateral move to another firm, it is important for an attorney to make the appropriate inquiries into each potential firm. A thorough investigation into any potential new firm is necessary, now, more than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the practice of law. Remote work is very common and will continue to exist. A prudent potential lateral will examine the new firm’s financial documents and meet with firm leaders to gauge the firm’s overall health. A lateral candidate does not want to join a firm that is not financially sound or has not adapted to the current environment. By doing so, attorneys risk losing their clients, who are more likely to seek new counsel with a more stable firm, if they feel their current attorney has not performed proper due diligence when moving the practice.