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.…

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.

Measuring the productivity and profitability of your timekeepers is rarely straightforward. There is, of course, the hourly rate and total billable hours for any given matter, but that fails to look at all the different variables: differing rates by matter or client and time spent on the matter that can’t be billed to the client (or is eventually written off).

With so much technology at our fingertips, IT professionals always have some sort of new technological advancement to tackle. Any time you undertake a project that involves your computers, it is a good idea to have your IT team involved. Involving them early in the project can help to make the project proceed more smoothly.…

Electronic, or LEDES billing is a necessary, and often dreaded, process at many law firms. Between enforcing timekeeping with the appropriate LEDES codes, generating invoices that are in alignment with the client’s requirements and successfully submitting these invoices to various clearinghouses, e-billing can be time-consuming and downright frustrating for the back-office. With Zola’s advanced LEDES…

Every year, we look forward to heading to Chicago for ABA TECHSHOW to join fellow tech-enthusiasts for new product announcements, informative sessions and panel discussions, and networking with partners, colleagues and clients. Despite this year’s conference being held virtually, we are still excited to share a few of the over 1200 updates that we’ve made to Zola Suite since last year’s event.

Law firms work with dozens, or even hundreds, of different vendors each month. Without the right tools, tracking all of the contracts, invoices and tax information for these companies can be a full time job. Zola Suite’s robust vendor management tools help firms efficiently manage all invoices and outgoing payments (including the ability to cut checks and even associate expenses with a matter). Zola’s dedicated Vendor Reports provide a holistic view of all payments, outstanding balances, expenses to be passed along to a matter and tax information.

Zola Suite’s Split Billing Feature allows users to divide the invoiced amount for services and expenses on a singular matter between multiple parties. Users can set unique rates for each client and split percentages independently for fees and costs. Once Split Billing has been configured on the Matter-level, users can generate invoices as usual. Using the previously-entered percentages, this tool generates a unique invoice for each billing client listed with its own unique invoice number. Each invoice will include the Matter, as well as each individual billing clients’ contact information.

Personal injury cases are complex and so, too, are the workflows involved in managing them. Zola’s Suite’s end-to-end practice management platform is loaded with specialized tools that help personal injury firms streamline processes, increase productivity and maximize profitability. Zola’s Settlement Management tools enable firms to efficiently manage settlement allocations and seamlessly generate settlement memos for all parties, even referring attorneys.