Trust accounting compliance can be one of the most difficult tasks of running a law firm due to the many requirements and pitfalls, but it’s also one of the most critical. The responsibility of properly handling trust accounts, no matter who in a firm is overseeing the accounting or trusts, falls directly on the lawyer. Non-compliance can result in severe … Read More
13 Ways to Raise the Bar in Practice Management
Practice management is one part of being a lawyer they don’t often teach you about in law school. Thankfully over the years, technology has transformed to offer lawyers robust and continually improving solutions to help them manage their office. As you begin to grow your law firm, take advantage of these tools to implement key strategies that will contribute to … Read More
CosmoLex Spotlight: Onboarding with a Personal Touch
The definition of onboarding is “the act or process of familiarizing a new customer with one’s products or services.” At CosmoLex, we take onboarding seriously. Think about it: You’ve invested a considerable amount of time deciding on a new practice management software. You did research online, gathered information from your peers, and completed product demonstrations. However, picking software and using … Read More
Tech Tip #249: Your Needs Determine Your Legal Time and Billing Software
Choosing the right legal time and billing software is critical to getting paid for the hours you’ve worked. If you choose the wrong program, you may find yourself getting frustrated and failing to use it. To get the software that’s best for your firm think of what features you’d like to see, such as time tracking, expense tracking, payment processing, … Read More
Tech Tip #248: Missed Deadlines Can Kill a Client Relationship
Don’t let missed deadlines ruin your case or client relationship. Use a unified calendar system and integrated event and task tracking for each matter to assure you never miss important items. To make sure items get completed, consider using a team calendar for firm-wide important items like filing deadlines. Mobile tools can also be extremely helpful in making sure you … Read More
Tech Tip #247: Don’t Get Caught Without a Billing Audit Trail
For busy practices with multiple matters and billing logs being entered on a regular basis, it can be very easy to forget the original source of billing. If you can’t substantiate the billing entry, then you are at a disadvantage when it comes to a fee dispute. The best way to qualify a billing entry is to use a system … Read More
Ask an Expert: Digital Marketing for Lawyers in 2019
Digital marketing lets law firms of every size put the internet to work for them to bring in leads. We talked with Brad Poller of Princeton Internet Marketing to find out what lawyers need to know about all things digital marketing, including leveraging digital channels, search engines, social media, email and websites. Brad is the Founder and President of Princeton … Read More
Tech Tip #246: Reduce Data Entry to Save Time and Prevent Errors
Using separate systems for billing and accounting means you need to enter information twice, creating room for human error. You’ll be wasting valuable time not only on double data entry, but also on making sure the books are accurate and correcting any mistakes. This time-consuming process can be resolved by using a legal-specific program that includes both accounting and billing. … Read More
CosmoLex Feature Spotlight: Money Finder
There are thousands of activities you complete as a law firm. Appointments, court appearances, completion of tasks, etc. and in most cases those activities are billable. How do you ensure they are actually billed to your client? Or better yet, how do you know when they have been dropped? Very often, if the item is dropped, it is lost and … Read More
Tech Tip #245: Avoid Client Fee Disputes with Timely, Descriptive Billing
If you want to avoid client disputes altogether and be prepared to address them should they happen, record and show all charges on invoices, including any fees you have waived so they have a full picture of what’s being included. Make these readable, accurate and descriptive to give clients a clear idea of the bill items and avoid vague references. … Read More