In recent years, an alarming number of law firms of all sizes have failed. It is important to understand what happened with these firms and install certain procedures to avoid similar circumstances. These procedures should help any firm to thrive in the near-term and long-term future.

Most legal matters involve hundreds of documents, many of which have numerous iterations along the way. CARET Legal’s robust document management system not only helps firms efficiently manage these files, but also offers interoperability with CARET Legal's other native matter management tools, maximizing efficiency and productivity.

When a law firm hires an attorney from another firm, certain challenges need to be addressed. It is prudent to address these issues prior to day one, before the lateral attorney becomes an entrenched member of the firm. It is equally important to recognize that each attorney is unique and may have unique needs, therefore each onboarding situation should be tailored to the attorney.

The goal of all law firms is to be profitable, but achieving that goal can be difficult for some lawyers. Generating income is, obviously, the first step towards making a profit; of course, income can only be generated if billable hours are accurately recorded and invoiced to clients, and if payments for those invoices are collected.

Picture this: a new client retained the firm, timely work was performed, invoices were prepared and sent to the client and yet those invoices remain unpaid. Sound familiar? Many law firms have very high accounts receivable balances that are aged over 120 days and these high and aged invoices directly affect the firm’s overall financial health.

In most law practices, a qualified professional can predict the costs associated with operating a firm relatively accurately. Most expenses are easily forecasted including salaries, facilities and technology. However, revenue is a bit more difficult to predict.

With cybersecurity threats on the rise, it is imperative that firms proactively improve internal and external security protocols. Keeping confidential information and sensitive client data secure means extending such protocols to each software vendor.

Legal professionals use a wide variety of tools and methods for tracking time spent on billable matters. Some are sophisticated, while others are more problematic and error-prone; for example, lawyers who use giant spreadsheets that are updated at the end of each day or week or sticky notes to jot down each task by hand.

Organizational change is the only way to be proactive, rather than reactive, in continuing to develop your firm from the ground up. Krystal Champlin, the CEO of RJH Consulting, discussed taking steps to grow your law firm in a CARET Legal-sponsored ALA Webcast on April 14th.