A Guide to Law Firm Origination Credit Plans

The only way to have an effective business relationship in the digital era is through clear and concise communication, and for lawyers, clear communication has never been more important. From communicating the progress of a case with your client to sending payment reminders — digital communication has broken down barriers and made the attorney-client relationship more transparent than ever before. 

Properly utilizing a client portal for communication can do wonders not just for your client, but for your firm as well — especially when it comes to the billing and payment process. Let’s take a look at what a client portal is, and a few ways your firm can use Bill4Time’s client portal to enhance the communication experience with your clients.  

What Is a Client Portal? 

A client portal serves as a secured communicative bridge between attorneys and clients regarding the status of their cases, acts as a portal to store files and documents, and provides a holistic view of payment history and upcoming payment due dates, and other appointments. 

The Benefits of Bill4Time’s Law Firm Client Portal 

1. Secure Communication Between Attorneys and Clients 

When handling matters and cases, information must always be confidential and secure. According to Rule 1.6: Confidentiality of Information, “Lawyers shall make reasonable efforts to present the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.” 

With an increasing number of cybercrimes, typical methods of communicating with clients through emails and phone calls may pose a concern if extra security measures aren’t put in place. However, using Bill4Time’s client portal can eliminate the worry of unsecured communication of sensitive information. 

Before inviting clients to your client portal, lawyers should configure and modify the settings to their liking. For example, if you’re looking to send an automatic notification email to your client after you send an invoice, simply click “Yes” and then Bill4Time will automatically send the notification email for you. Once the settings are set to what you desire, invite your clients to the portal, and your clients can instantly view their invoices, outstanding balance, and payment history. They can also make online payments from anywhere, anytime, on any device. 

2. Easy Payment Processing 

Lawyers can also provide an easier and faster payment experience for their clients with our client portal. Oftentimes, lawyers receive late invoices due to an outdated and slow payment process, hence leading to a high accounts receivable. The traditional way for clients to pay may pose threats such as human errors, slow mailing time, or potentially lost checks. However, Bill4Time’s client portal allows clients to easily pay invoices at any time with just one click of the “Pay Now” button. 

When making payments on Bill4Time, clients can utilize Bill4Time Payments to pay in multiple ways such as credit cards or ACH. At the same time, lawyers benefit from receiving payments quicker and staying 100% compliant with IOLTA, ABA, and state bar guidelines for accepting ePayments. 

Better yet, Bill4Time Payments doesn’t require third-party services or integrations as it’s built natively in the software. When you activate Bill4Time Payments in your account, you get access to exclusive payment reports so you can stay on top of your cash flow. With Bill4Time Payments, law firms have proven to get paid 7 days faster than those who don’t use Bill4Time Payments.

3. Better Marketability and Brand Presence

While law firms should have an organized internal process to manage cases and matters, implementing marketing strategies and tactics are also important in order to bring in more business. And with 53% of merchants planning to expand their payment methods, upgrading your law firm payment methods may become a matter of marketability. As more and more people are adopting digital solutions, law firms have to keep up to stay on top of the competition. 

A client portal with a law firm’s branding will also set a firm apart from its competition. When law firms implement a client portal, clients will gain a sense that the law firm is tech-savvy, modern, and highly secure. Law firms can extend their brand by customizing their portal and payment gateway with company logos, brand colors, and more. It will look as if your law firm has its own payment processing system, therefore enhancing overall client satisfaction and experience. 

The Benefits of Implementing Bill4Time’s Client Portal Are Endless 

As the world is getting more digitized, law firms need to catch up with the trends in order to scale their businesses. An easy-to-use client portal with the ability to gain a holistic view of payments is just one of the ways to improve client satisfaction. 

If you’re interested in creating a stronger bridge between your law firm and clients, get started on the free trial or book a demo with our team to see what Bill4Time can do for your law firm. 

Lead and client acquisition is a big part of your law firm’s business development strategy. The tactics your firm uses to attract leads are one thing, but converting leads into loyal business is another ball game. 

An effective client interview is crucial for a smooth client intake process and a client-centered experience, and that starts by understanding your ideal clientele and asking all the right questions.

Why Are Lawyer-Client Interviews Important?

Lawyers devote a lot of time and energy to nurturing client leads and attracting clients. If you don’t handle the initial interview properly, you can miss out on valuable opportunities.

Client interviews are necessary to:

• Assess client needs and understand how you can help
• Check for potential conflicts of interest
• Determine the scope of work for the case

What Information Do Law Firms Need from Clients?

Before the interview takes place, it’s important to have a pre-screening process with your intake questionnaire to decide if the client is the right fit for the firm. It’s also crucial to do a conflict check before proceeding with the client as well.

The client intake form also contains contact information, basic details, and supporting documents, which you should be familiar with prior to the interview. The purpose of the interview is for both parties to ask questions and get a clear idea of the legal situation and expectations.

Tips to Prepare for Client Interviews

Here are some tips to prepare for your client interviews and set the stage for the professional relationship:

Standardize the Process

Client intake should be standardized to keep you organized and reduce manual data entry. This should include a pre-screen with online intake forms and a conflict check prior to the interview to ensure you’re not wasting time on a client that’s not the right fit.

Use Technology to Capture Information

Tracking and managing the client relationship with law practice management software provides better service for the client and makes your firm more efficient. Bill4Time’s client management provides a comprehensive view of the client relationship, from the first touchpoint to invoicing, with all the information in one centralized location. You can also gather and manage documents related to the client.

With all this information at your disposal, you can thoroughly prepare for the interview and ensure you and your client get the most out of your time.

Plan Ahead

The interview will be for you to ask questions to understand your prospective client’s legal issue, but it’s also an opportunity for the client to ask you questions. This is important for setting up expectations and communicating clearly with the client.

Generally, the client will want to know what to expect from their case, the anticipated timeline, and their next steps. Another concern is often price, so this is a good time to discuss your law firm’s collections and billing policies to help them prepare. If you offer alternative fee structures, offer them to the client during the interview.

11 Essential Questions to Ask When Interviewing Clients

The questions you will ask may vary according to the client’s specific situation, but these will apply to virtually every client:

1. Could I confirm your contact information and case details?

Mistakes can happen with manual data entry. This is a good time to confirm the client’s contact details and ensure you cover all the basic information. 

2. Can you tell me more about your legal issue?

You will have done the research on your prospective client’s issue in advance, but it’s important to listen to it from their perspective. Ask for clarification where needed and take notes of any flags you may need to address such as conflict of interest or services you may not provide.

3. Have you worked with a lawyer before?

If the prospective client has worked with another lawyer in the past, their answer to this question will give you insights into their expectations of the lawyer-client relationship and whether they’re the right fit for your firm. It also reveals how familiar they are with the legal system. 

Additionally, this question will reinforce the conflict check process to ensure there are no red flags with retaining the client.

4. Have you worked with a lawyer on this specific matter?

If the prospective client has worked with another lawyer on this specific matter, it’s important to know why they are coming to you instead. Be sure to ask follow-up questions if needed to understand their reasoning.

5. Can you tell me why you want to pursue this matter?

This is an opportunity for the prospective client to share their understanding of their legal situation and how they feel about the case. It will reveal how serious they are about the issue and why they’re pursuing it as well.

6. Can you walk me through your legal issue?

This is another question to glean an understanding of how the client views their legal matter and their understanding of the facts. You’ll also gain some insight into what’s most important to them.

7. What are you most concerned about with this matter?

As a lawyer, you’ll likely have a different focus for the case than your client. This is the time to understand what is concerning the prospective client, such as the cost of pursuing legal action or the possible outcome, and how you can best serve them.

8. How can I help you with this matter?

This is an open-ended question that can reveal what the prospective client expects from you and why they’re looking for the aid of a lawyer instead of handling it themselves. It also shows the prospective client that you’re putting their needs first.

9. What is your goal for this matter?

You may have an idea of how you want to handle a case and what you expect the outcome to be, but it’s crucial that you understand how your client sees the case unfolding.

10. Do you have any additional information or supporting documents that I should have?

It’s possible for either you or the prospective client to miss details or documents. Asking this question gives them the opportunity to add any details that may not have come up.

11. Do you have any questions for me?

After you’ve covered all the information you need in the initial interview, give the client a chance to ask questions.

Strengthen Client Interviews at Your Firm

The lawyer-client interview is a key part of your client intake process. It’s best to be prepared with the right research and questions to understand what the client expects of you, whether they’re a fit for the firm, and how you can provide the best service.

Lawyers often struggle with time management because they want to do all they can for those they serve, but that can lead to stress and feeling overwhelmed. Giving everything to your clients is an excellent quality, but you’re not helping them or yourself if you don’t manage your time effectively.

Stay on track this year and beyond with these time management tips for lawyers.

Common Lawyer Time Management Issues 

Why is time management difficult for lawyers? Here are a few reasons:

Overcommitment 

You may want to do all you can and continue to say “yes,” even when you don’t have the time to accomplish a task. This cycle can quickly lead to burnout and can impact the completion of other tasks and the overall quality of work or services.

Quality should always be the gold standard for lawyers, and continuous overcommitting could actually lead to more client dissatisfaction.

Inaccurate Time Estimates

It happens, you thought a task would take 30 minutes to complete and somehow it’s turned into an hour, 2 hours, and so on. While this can sometimes be inevitable, having a holistic understanding of your task list can greatly reduce inaccurate time estimates for a project. 

In these situations, it’s always important to communicate with your staff or even the client if you feel more time is needed that originally expected to complete a task. Especially, it will impact the timeline of a case or hours billed.

Procrastination

One of the key components of effective time management is not putting work off until the last moment. Procrastination is common and it almost always stems from an underlying factor. You may not know what you should do next or you may be dreading the work ahead of you. Either way, understanding the source of your procrastination can help you combat it.

Not Delegating Tasks

Proper delegation of tasks and overcommitting go hand in hand. There are many reasons why lawyers can struggle with delegating tasks, but it’s often rooted in wanting to be in control of the task completion. While understandable, lawyers will find that they can’t do it all and need to have enough trust in their staff to complete tasks. 

While the luxury of having a large law firm that is well-staffed is not always the case for solo or small law firms, lawyers can easily outsource work to virtual assistants or freelance legal professionals.

Outdated Methods

The legal industry can be slow to innovate, leaving law firms with outdated methods of managing daily tasks. Many lawyers rely on traditional methods like timekeeping on paper and filling out forms manually, which only adds to their plate. 

Law practice management software can greatly reduce how much time lawyers spend on administrative tasks by automating them.  For items like time tracking and invoicing, Bill4Time offers multiple timers that accurately capture time no matter what case you’re working on. You can then easily populate your billable time in an invoice template and bill the client. This seamless process can save lawyers hours a week. 

How to Improve Lawyer Time Management

Some simple time management tips can help you balance your workload while taking the time to enjoy the holiday season.

Understand the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule is the efficiency principle – a concept based on the idea that 20% of actions are responsible for 80% of the rules. Though this applies to virtually all industries, in the legal industry, lawyers only spend about 28% of their time on billable tasks and projects.

The key to mastering the 80/20 rule and improving time management is paying attention to the time spent on billable tasks. Your billable work should be a top priority every day, then you can focus on everything else once that’s complete.

Time Tasks Appropriately and Add a Buffer

Though you may not like the idea of timing everything throughout the day, it’s a solid strategy for identifying how you spend your time and taking your efficiency to the next level. Log the time you spend on everything for a full week, specifically administrative tasks. 

With everything in black and white, you may notice that you spend more time doing certain tasks each day than you realize. This is an opportunity to identify areas of improvement to save time without harming your productivity.

Manage Email Carefully

Email is important for keeping up with casework and client communications, but it can be a time trap. Your email inbox can get cluttered with a lot of urgent, non-urgent, and promotional messages that pile up. If you’re checking it every few minutes and answering each individual email, you’ll blow through a lot of time each day. 

Modify your notifications to avoid alerts going off for each message, then block off time on your calendar each day to manage your email. This will be the time to check and respond to all appropriate emails and keep up with your clients, so before that time hits, avoid checking your inbox.

Delegate Effectively 

Time management isn’t just about being efficient with your own workload, but saving time by helping others manage their own. You don’t want to be stuck with the burden of the workload alone, especially with a team of support staff to chip in and help.

Delegation can be challenging, but not impossible. Good project management requires you to determine who is most qualified to complete different tasks and assignments, then let them assist you to improve your productivity while getting the results you want.

Law Practice Management Tools to Support Lawyer Time Management

Law practice management software like Bill4Time has a variety of tools to shave valuable time off your workday, such as organization and time tracking tools.

• Project management features help you manage your caseload
• Time tracking tools ensure you’re keeping up with every billable minute, complete with automated timers
• Custom features allow you to separate time and expenses, add notes or documents, and set personalized notifications to manage the high-priority tasks

Master Lawyer Time Management with Time-Tracking Software

Time management is a key competency for lawyers at every stage in their careers. Small steps may only save a few minutes, but those quickly add up to improved efficiency. Including time-tracking software is the ideal complement to your time management with automated tools that help you streamline your process and stay on track.

Many law firms struggle to get their invoices paid on time (about 59%). There are several situations that prevent a client from paying their invoice, ultimately leaving the firm to chase down bills or send an account to collections, a process that would rather be avoided by all parties involved.

In some cases, law firms can create roadblocks for clients in the billing process that contribute to late payments. Creating an efficient invoice reminder process can help you streamline your law firm billings and collections to get your clients to pay on time and remove the hassle from the billing process.

Why Send Invoice Reminders?

Invoicing regularly — at least once a month — keeps clients aware of the services and fees. Along with that, sending invoice reminders lets clients know when they have an invoice due date coming up to avoid missed payments.

Best Practices for Sending Invoice Reminders

Having defined legal billing guidelines for your law firm can often mitigate any bumps in the billing process. Your billing policy should not only provide standardized processes for internal teams, but it should also outline client expectations. 

You can avoid billing disputes, reduce ethical issues, and maximize revenue capture with some improvements to your invoicing process. Here are some best practices:

Improve Timekeeping

Lawyers often rely on traditionally manual methods to track time. This method is error-prone and can lead to under or overbilling, which puts your revenue and law firm reputation at risk.

Automated timekeeping through legal billing software helps you track your time accurately and transparently to include all the billable time on your invoices.

Use Invoice Templates

Creating a legal invoice is a time-consuming process, but not when you use custom invoice templates available in legal billing software. Invoice templates include all the information you need, such as:

• Firm logo
• Firm contact information
• Date
• Invoice number
• Late payment terms
• Federal employer identification number 

Then, all you have to do is include the specific client information to produce an invoice on time and send it to your client.

Set an Invoicing Schedule

As mentioned, invoicing at least once a month is recommended to keep clients aware of your services, fees, and billing schedule. If you choose to invoice more frequently, it should still be on a consistent schedule to help clients prepare for when their bills may be due.

For reminders, send an invoice reminder a week prior to the due date. If the payment is not received, send another reminder within the following week.

Many law firms create manual calendar reminders for their invoicing schedule. Legal billing software eliminates this process with automated invoicing and invoice reminders. 

Accept Online Payments

Coupled with strategic reminders, the easiest way to get paid on time is by making the payment process as quick and convenient as possible. Offering online payments with an array of payment options can reduce your accounts receivable, reduce payment delays, and increase revenue.

The more flexible and user-friendly you can make the payment options, the happier your clients will be. Legal billing software offers a secure and convenient online payment portal — free of third-party integrations. Bill4Time Payments is 100% compliant with IOLTA, ABA, and state bar guidelines for ePayments and syncs to the billing system to accept payments automatically.

Follow Up with a Thank You 

Each time you receive a payment, it’s recommended to send a follow-up “thank you” message to your clients. This helps you encourage timely payments in the future, nurture your relationships, and confirm the receipt of payment.

A follow-up message is a valuable touchpoint for client feedback. You can ask your clients to rank how likely they are to recommend your firm to a friend or family member and ask for website reviews. You can use this feedback to pivot your firm’s processes and influence your legal marketing strategies.

When Should I Send an Invoice Reminder?

It’s best to send your invoice reminder a week before the due date. This not only gives your client time to look it over and pay, but it keeps the payment fresh in their mind.

After that, the number of reminders you send will depend on your relationship with your client. If you don’t receive a payment by the due date or within the following week, it’s good to follow up with another reminder.

How to Get Clients to Pay Their Invoices on Time

Once you get the systems in place for your law firm billing, you can revamp your processes to get clients to pay their invoices on time.

It all starts with the first client interaction. Set expectations with clients upfront about your law firm’s billing process and policies. Not only will this benefit your firm in the long run, but your clients will also value the transparency and in turn, have a better experience.

Remember, hiring a lawyer may be one of the most expensive services a client pays for. Spare them unexpected expenses by setting up clear expectations for what they can expect to see on invoices, when they’ll receive them, and how they can pay.

Once an invoice is sent to the client, they should have a clear idea of what services they’re paying for. Make sure you have detailed items on your invoice with context to ensure they understand how you spent your time. This nurtures trust and reduces disputes to get your bill paid faster.

Finally, incorporating on-demand services will simplify how clients interact with your firm. Bill4Time offers online payments via custom payment links or a client portal. By enabling the client portal, clients can pay their invoices, review documents, and connect with your firm from any device. 

Get Paid with Invoice Reminders

Regular invoicing is a critical aspect of running a successful law firm. With consistent billing and payment reminders for your law firm invoices, you can decrease billing disputes, improve the client experience, and capture revenue for your firm.