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.

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)

General Guides

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 Time-Based Billing By Attorneys (Carolina Academic Press, 1996)

Finance/Accounting Textbook:

Financial Accounting (McGraw Hill, 2004)