Transcript Presentation 03

LAW PRACTICE MANAGEMENT:
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Overview
2 parts of Financial Management:
Financial Planning (budgeting) projecting income,
expenses and profitability in the future. Involves
marketing, personnel changes and other strategic
decisions (downsizing, mergers).
Financial Control (administration) accounting for
daily cash flow, reporting monthly financial results,
billing, collecting fees, and all internal procedures
from controlling expenses to processing invoices.
General Guides
Law Practice Management in a Nutshell (West, 2003) (See Chapter 8)
Accounting & Finance for Lawyers in a Nutshell (West Group, 2002)
Attorney & Law Firm Guide to the Business of Law: Planning and Operating
for Survival & Growth (ABA, 2002) (See Chapter 15)
Financial Statement Analysis & Business Valuation For the Practical Lawyer
(ABA, 1998)
Starting Your Own Law Firm: Costs, Space Alternatives, Client Development,
and Income Techniques (Practising Law Institute, 1992)
The Essential Formbook: Comprehensive Management Tools for Lawyers
(ABA, 2003) (See Vol. 2: Human resources fees, billing, and collection)
Fees/Billing
Attorney’s Fees (West Group, 2003)
Collecting Your Fee: Getting Paid From Intake to Invoice (ABA, 2003)
How to Draft Bills Clients Rush to Pay (ABA, 2003)
Legal Fees: Law & Management (Carolina Academic Press, 2003)
Winning Alternatives to the Billable Hour (ABA, 2002)
Fees & Client Funds (Mass Bar Assoc., 1998)
How to Get Paid for the Work You Do (Mass Bar Assoc., 1992)
Curtis, Dennis; Resnik, Judith, Teaching Billing: Metrics of Value in Law Firms and Law
Schools 54 Stanford Law Review 1409 (2002)
More Billing Resources
Sample Billing Policy I
Sample Billing Policy II
Billing Software
Average Billing Rates by State (Associates)
Average Billing Rates by State (Partners)
How to Set Your Billing Rates
Service Directories
Martindale Hubbell Buyer’s Guide –Services, suppliers and
consultants to the legal profession
Example
Other Resources
Ethics:
The Honest Hour: The Ethics of TimeBased Billing By Attorneys (Carolina
Academic Press, 1996)
Finance/Accounting Textbook:
Financial Accounting (McGraw Hill, 2004)