Lessons from Pursuit Legal’s Billing Transformation

LESSONS FROM CASE STUDY FOR LEGAL BILLING SOFTWARE:

Pursuit Legal’s success with LeanLaw demonstrates the impact of modernizing billing processes on a law firm’s financial performance. By addressing challenges in invoice creation, past due collections, and trust management, the firm achieved significant improvements in efficiency, cash flow, and staff satisfaction. Let’s explore three strategies that contributed to their success and how you can apply them to your firm.

Strategy #1

Streamline invoice creation and delivery 

Pursuit Legal reduced time spent on invoicing by 50% using LeanLaw’s integration with QuickBooks Online. To apply this at your firm:

  • Implement legal billing software that seamlessly integrates with your accounting system
  • Automate invoice creation and delivery to reduce manual work
  • Provide clients with convenient online payment options
  • Train staff on efficient use of the billing software

Potential impact: Reducing invoice creation time by 50% could save 12 hours per month for a firm spending 24 hours on invoicing. At a $75/hour staff rate, this equates to $10,800 in annual savings for the firm.

Increased Profit: $3,600 per lawyer per year (based on a 3-lawyer firm).

Strategy #2:

Improve past-due collections with full balance links 

Pursuit Legal collected $13k in past-due invoices within one month of using LeanLaw’s full balance link. To apply this at your firm:

  • Implement billing software with built-in payment links for full outstanding balances
  • Include clear calls-to-action in invoice emails to encourage prompt payment
  • Set up automated payment reminders for past-due invoices
  • Monitor invoice open rates and adjust email content as needed

Potential impact: Improving past due collections by 30% on $100,000 in outstanding invoices could bring in an additional $30,000. This one-time influx could be reinvested into the firm for growth initiatives.

Increased Profit: $4,300 per lawyer (one time).

Strategy #3:

Simplify trust account management 

Pursuit Legal reduced staff stress by streamlining trust management with LeanLaw. To apply this at your firm:

  • Use legal billing software with built-in trust accounting features
  • Ensure trust account management complies with state bar regulations
  • Provide training and support for staff handling trust accounts
  • Regularly reconcile trust accounts to maintain accuracy

Potential impact: Simplifying trust account management could save 2 hours per week for a firm spending 4 hours on trust-related tasks. At a $75/hour staff rate, this equates to $7,800 in annual savings.

Increased Profit: $2,600 per lawyer per year (based on a 3-lawyer firm).

Elevate Your Firm’s Billing Processes with LeanLaw

Pursuit Legal’s case study showcases the transformative effects of optimizing billing processes with LeanLaw. By streamlining invoice creation, improving past-due collections, and simplifying trust management, the firm realized significant time savings, increased cash flow, and reduced staff stress. Implementing similar strategies could yield annual savings of over $18,000 and a one-time influx of $30,000 for a small law firm.

As you evaluate your firm’s billing processes, consider how LeanLaw could help you achieve your goals. With seamless integrations, automated workflows, and user-friendly features, these tools empower law firms to enhance their financial performance and focus on delivering exceptional client service. Take the first step towards optimizing your billing today and experience the benefits of a modern, efficient billing system.

Categories to think about:

Timekeeping

Accounts Payable

Client / Matter

General Ledger

Reporting

Band Reconciliation

Billing

Conflict Checks

Receivables

IT

Trust and Retainer

Law Firm Accounting Professionals Weigh In

Caren Schwartz
35-45 Consulting-Global

Changing software is not something your law firm does lightly, nor do you want to do it often. It’s important to do your homework and understand your firm’s needs, analyze your choices, and put together a plan, including project management. That’s the best way to get to a new solution that helps your firm move forward.

Lynda Artesani & Sarah Prevost
The Proper Trust

In our experience after numerous law firm software migrations, the key to success in purchasing new financial software is to understand what critical features are MOST important to your business. Understand how it fits with your current (and future) staff and how your current best practices will work within these new tools. Picking a tool and a partner to help you migrate is essential to the success of this journey.