The National Creditors Bar Association Law Practice Management Blog

One of the most common law firm issues  you’ll  come across, in businesses of all sizes and stages, is that there  are  multiple online (and, yes: offline) drives, where  client  (and, yes: firm) documents are stored .   That’s  a disaster, frankly – because it means that every time an attorney or  staffperson   can’t  find a document someplace,  it’s  a virtual fire drill, to  locate  the object of desire.     The simplest solution to this risky and time-consuming  strategy,  is for law firms to aggregate all firm files in a single place .   Doesn’t  matter  what  place  it is ,   so long as  there’s  just one of them.   Now, there is a subspecies of this primary issue, to consider, as well .   In some cases, law firms  are using  a secondary drive – that they pay for – when they already have access to another, already...

Sure, lots of attorneys like Google Workspace as a productivity software.     There’s certainly a lot to recommend it as a platform .     But, for attorneys, who love formatting – many of whom can still wax poetic over the ‘reveal codes’ feature in WordPerfect – it’s tough to get used to moving from Microsoft Word to Google Docs .     Google Docs is great, if you don’t care about formatting .  You just type stuff into a document, and share it easily .   But, sophisticated drafters, like lawyers, prefer a more robust package, like the one Word offers .   So, for law firms that opt for Google Workspace, it’s likely that you’ve also got to grab at least a Word subscription from House Microsoft, as well – especially since Google does not appear to be at all interested in building a Microsoft Word competitor.     Now, the real crisis point for formatting fans will come when Microsoft sunsets Word desktop, leaving users onl...

Lots of law firm owners are driven by revenue; and, there’s nothing wrong with that – so are lots of business owners.     But, looking at that top-line number, with such a laser focus, can be problematic. That’s because the number that matters the most, involves an equation: it’s your profitability = how much do you make, minus how much you spend .  That is truly the measure of a successful business.     The problem becomes that, if you’re too focused on what your gross revenue is, your expenses can creep up and up & you’ll lose your safety net (revenue).     Law firm business owners should be looking at their profit & loss statements, at least every month, in order to bring this point home .  And, they should be scrutinizing those reports, with an eye to limiting expenses and increasing profitability, at least every year.     . . .     Let’s talk big picture law firm financial management !  Just reach...