Attorneys face a difficult decision when charting their careers: struggle as a solo attorney or lose identity by joining a major law firm? Today that decision is not as hard as it once was. A new generation of law office management software has leveled the playing field, making small firms as good as or even better than Biglaw. The Challenge … Read More
Retainers: The Not-So-Secret Secret to Positive Cash Flow
Virtually all experienced attorneys insist on upfront payment, either by charging a flat fee for a case or by asking for an evergreen retainer to cover billable hours and expenses incurred while handling the matter. New attorneys are often reluctant to ask for money up front, and as a result end up with a lot of unpaid accounts. Using a … Read More
How To Deal With Bad Debt In Your Law Practice
Wouldn’t it be nice if all of your clients paid on time? Unfortunately they don’t. A few are dishonest, more are forgetful and others simply don’t have the resources. According to legal consultant Art Italo, “bad debt can run as high as 30% of total billings for small firms and solo practitioners, and up to 15% for large firms”. Can … Read More
4 Steps To Defend Against Billing Disputes
Matter decided, case closed, final billing mailed, account settled, done. Then six months later you get a letter that your client is filing a fee dispute with your bar association. You didn’t even realize the client was unhappy, but now you have to back up your invoice. A legal billing program like CosmoLex can be your best defense against these … Read More
Professional Attorney Invoices: It’s Not Just A Good Idea– It’s The Law
Comprehensive, accurate and uncluttered invoices increase the likelihood of collection, which is important for maintaining the cash flow of your law firm. However the kind of high-quality invoices produced by legal time and billing software such as CosmoLex may not just be smart; they are arguably required by the American Bar Association. Your Obligation To The Client In the article … Read More
Keep Cash Flowing With Active Retainer Management
Getting an evergreen retainer is a common tactic used by attorneys to ensure there is money available from the client when invoices come due. However some law firms don’t manage their retainers and when the funds run out, they have to bill clients and wait for their money. Version 1.5 of the CosmoLex cloud-based legal billing system has added low … Read More
Build A Mobile Office And Work From Anywhere
Wouldn’t you love to practice law while sitting on a beach and sipping a tropical drink? Well that’s probably not going to happen. However with a mobile office you can work from home, a coffee shop, the courthouse…and yes, maybe occasionally while sitting under an umbrella watching the waves crash against the shore, as long as you can get a … Read More
Save Time On Check Printing With Default Settings
Check printing with CosmoLex is painless, but it can be even easier if you take the time to set up the system correctly. A minute spent tweaking your default settings in the law office billing program will save you time and headaches later. Click on Setup, then on the Settings tab, and finally on Default Settings on the left side … Read More
Keep An Eye On Yourself With Automatic Audit Logs
Version 1.5 of CosmoLex brings our subscribers a number of new features, but one of the most useful is the automatic audit log. This display shows a list of which law practice management software users performed which activities and when, so you can easily produce an audit report in case a mistake is made. To view the audit log, click … Read More
Boost Your Income with Value Billing
Attorneys work with three basic billing structures: hourly rates, flat fees and contingency billing. CosmoLex legal billing software for attorneys can handle all three. However there is a fourth type of billing that is common among various consultants and contractors: value billing. Value billing on the surface seems similar to a flat fee: the attorney charges a predetermined rate to … Read More