The legal profession may be steeped in tradition, but even the most traditional industries can’t resist the pull of remote work.
In fact, the rise of remote legal billing jobs is quickly becoming one of the biggest trends in the legal industry.
According to a report by FlexJobs, remote work has grown by 159% since 2005, and 4.7 million U.S. workers now work remotely.
With current market trends forcing law firms to re-evaluate their working practices, and technology making it easier than ever to work from anywhere, it’s no surprise that more and more law firms are turning to remote legal billing specialists and other accounting professionals to handle their billing and invoicing needs.
Key Takeaways
- The rise in cloud-based billing software and other collaboration platforms means that remote legal billing specialists and other staff members can now work just as effectively outside of the office setting as they can in it.
- Having employees who work remotely can greatly increase their job satisfaction while also decreasing your overhead expenses.
- There are now more ways than ever to make remote work possible and plausible for any law firm, regardless of size or location.
Historically, law firms have been slow to adopt remote legal billing jobs due to concerns around communication, security, and management.
But thanks in large part to the pandemic, law firms – like most industries – have had to rethink the way they work and interact with staff and clients, with remote work becoming more prevalent.
Law firms are realizing that not only can they allow at least some of their legal billing specialists to work remotely, but that there are some great reasons to do so.
Because of the rise in cloud-based billing software, practice management software legal systems, video conferencing tools, and other collaboration platforms, remote legal billing specialists, timekeepers, bookkeepers and firm accountants can now work just as effectively remotely as they could in an office setting, allowing law firms to expand their talent pool, increase their employee’s satisfaction and hire legal billing professionals from anywhere in the world.
True trust accounting compliance
LeanLaw’s trust accounting engine tracks trust and operating accounts based on industry and state bar compliance standards.
Identification
Assign trust and bank accounts for each client trust to track incoming and outgoing funds.
Separation
LeanLaw helps keep client funds separate from your law firm’s operating funds.
Accounting
Create client ledgers and maintain appropriate bookkeeping of account balances with LeanLaw’s automated trust reports.
If your law firm has yet to embrace the idea of hiring remote workers for your billing and accounting needs, it’s time to reconsider. Let’s look at why.
Remote Billing Jobs Expand a Law Firm’s Talent Pool
By being able to offer remote jobs for a variety of positions throughout your law firm, a managing partner or practice administrator can significantly increase a law firm’s talent pool.
Whether the position calls for a CPA, a bookkeeper, a timekeeper or a legal billing specialist, being allowed to hire the best legal billing team from anywhere in the world means that your staff will not be limited to a specific geographical area.
And nor will their talents.
With remote billing jobs, law firms are no longer limited to hiring locally, which can sometimes be challenging, or asking employees to relocate, which can be both costly and time-consuming.
Instead, law firms can hire talented billing specialists and other accounting team members from across the globe – team members who will have the skills and experience needed to work in their specific field of law.
This increased pool of talent can make it so much easier to find the right people for the right position.
Not only that, but by embracing the idea of hiring people remotely, law firms can also gain a competitive edge in the legal industry with the right people on board.
Remote Billing Jobs Increase Employee Satisfaction
Another huge benefit to a law firm hiring employees remotely for billing positions is that remote work can greatly increase employee satisfaction by providing them with more flexibility and autonomy over their work.
Remote billing specialists, CPAs, timekeepers, and even practice managers can work from the comfort of their own homes – and oftentimes on their own schedule – which eliminates the need for long commutes and provides them with a greater work-life balance.
Additionally, remote billing jobs can help reduce stress levels, as legal billing specialists can better manage their workloads and avoid office distractions in a remote setting.
In recent studies, researchers have found that 98% of remote workers would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers.
By embracing remote billing jobs, law firms can create a more positive and fulfilling work environment for their billing specialists, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both the firm and its clients.
Remote Billing Jobs Increase Accuracy
Any legal professional knows that accounting accuracy is high priority.
From client invoices to trust accounting statements, a law firm’s reputation is highly dependent on its ability to keep accurate financial records and accurate client invoices.
Whether it’s billable time not being captured correctly or statements being sent out with the wrong information, inaccurate billing can cause clients to lose trust in their attorneys as well as cause payments to be delayed while errors are being ironed out.
Remote billing jobs can increase an employee’s accuracy by providing legal billing specialists with a quiet and distraction-free work environment when they are creating invoices, processing payments, applying incoming deposits to the right account,s or engaging in a multitude of other administrative tasks.
Schedule a demo
Remember, in an on-site office, a legal billing specialist may be subject to constant interruptions when an office is busy and/or short-staffed, such as handling incoming calls, scheduling appointments, or even having to help with in-person clients, all of which can make it difficult for the billing specialist to concentrate on their daily work and stay on task.
From making sure deposits are put in the correct accounts to making sure that incoming payments are handled correctly, your e billing team needs to be able to work in an environment where accuracy is prioritized and of the utmost importance.
Remote work can give them exactly that.
Working remotely allows your entire legal staff – particularly your billing department – to create an environment that is conducive to focused and accurate work.
And as long as a remote biller has access to a range of software tools and technologies, then they can streamline their work and reduce the risk of errors.
For example, law firms that have implemented a cloud-based billing software system can automate many billing tasks, which reduces the chances for human errors even more.
Remote Billing Jobs Decrease Overhead Costs
There is no doubt that remote jobs decrease the overhead costs for any business that chooses to consider them as part of their staffing needs.
Remote billing jobs can significantly decrease a law firm’s overhead expenses by eliminating the need for a physical office space and all the costs associated with it.
Even if your law office doesn’t decide to go fully remote, less space will be needed for the employees that are working within the office, or taking turns trading off.
Three-way reconciliation
Bank accounts, trust accounts and QuickBooks Online are in continuous sync and in-line with state bar standards, so you are well positioned for your weekly or monthly three-way reconciliation. That’s less time spent on your law firm’s end.
Request a Demo
Additionally, law firms can save money on commuting expenses, such as company-owned vehicles and/or parking, both for their billing specialists and for other employees who may need to travel to meet with clients or attend meetings.
In fact, a report by Global Workplace Analytics found that if the U.S. workforce shifted to remote work for at least half the time, companies could save almost $11,000 per employee per year, (plus reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons annually.)
Clearly, remote work is not only good for your employees’ morale, your billing accuracy and your budget but it can also be good for the environment as well.
Want to Learn More About How to Help Your Law Firm Embrace Remote Work? Reach Out to the Experts at LeanLaw Today
LeanLaw is a legal billing software company that was designed by legal professionals to help law firms everywhere streamline their billing practices.
Schedule a demo
It was also built with a desire to make it easier than ever for billing attorneys, practice managers and anyone who is working in a law firm’s accounting department to be more effective and more efficient in their jobs.
Our team of legal professionals and technical experts can help your team decide what areas of your firm would be best suited for remote work and help implement a custom cloud based billing software system that is going to work best for you, your staff and – ultimately – your clients.
Reach out and request your free demo today!
