If these conversations do not take place, how will the working attorney improve their time management and reduce write-downs/write-offs?Ĭlient relations. Additional training, more strategic file assignment, enhanced communication and better delegation can go a long way toward reducing or eliminating unnecessary write-downs/ write-offs. ![]() This is especially true of first-year and junior attorneys. Unfortunately, those conversations are not happening, and time management continues to be an ongoing problem. When reviewing prebills, billing attorneys need to identify and address areas where there is too much time spent on a particular task and then have a conversation with the working attorney. The three most common causes are as follows: Some are well within the control of the firm and others are not. There are several reasons why time is written down or written off. ![]() Clearly, law firms that can make that adjustment differentiate themselves from their competition. Many law firms have not adjusted how they perform legal services to the new realities of the market. This places more pressure on law firms to address the write-off situation in terms of pricing and profitability, both economically and from a business development perspective. What has become more significant is clients now consider pricing alternatives as a critical factor when deciding on a law firm. However, many law firms continue to struggle. Alternative fee/billing arrangements have proven to be effective in achieving the balance necessary, and some law firms have found a way to achieve this balance. While this puts pressure on law firms to aggressively address client billing demands, it also strikes a need for a balance between client demands and maintaining a level of profitability for the law firm. ![]() Law firms have had to develop alternative billing methods through increased budgeting and, in some cases, more commoditization to address cost concerns from clients. Institutional clients are becoming less inclined to pay fees billed by the hour and are looking for more predictability. Clients are also facing financial pressures of their own and have become more demanding with law firms. Since the Great Recession of 2008 and now compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, clients have been in the driver’s seat with respect to pricing, billing and collections.
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