When to Hire a Legal Marketing Consultant for Your Firm

Marketing your law firm is a critical part of running a successful business. The legal marketing sector is highly saturated, competitive, and constantly changing. So it can be difficult for law firms to keep up with the latest market trends and employ effective marketing strategies to stay competitive.

A legal marketing consultant can provide your firm with the guidance you need to create and implement an effective marketing strategy to enhance your online visibility, grow your leads, and increase your marketing return on investment.

The Importance of Legal Marketing to Stay Competitive 

You need to find a way to differentiate your firm from your competitors because, right now, potential clients have many options. Legal marketing must be strategic, targeted, and tailored to the firm’s target clients’ needs. With the right legal marketing strategy, firms can build a strong reputation, generate new business, and position themselves as leaders in their field. 

What Is Legal Marketing? 

Legal marketing aims to educate and empower the public about legal issues and promote legal services. Legal marketing is a broad term that encompasses various activities, including social media, advertising, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). 

Law firms will run Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns, advertise on social media, or promote their business listing on directories like FindLaw or Avvo. They may focus on improving their website’s SEO to attract more leads from online searches. Firms can use social media platforms like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn to share news and updates about their practice and engage with their followers.

There are many different marketing channels that firms can use to promote their legal services, but the most common channels include the following:

• Social Media: Connect with potential and existing clients, and build your network. 
• Advertising: Reach a large number of people quickly through paid advertising online. 
• Content Marketing: Attract new clients, build awareness, and showcase your thought leadership via blog posts, articles, and eBooks. 
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Local SEO is a process that helps firms rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• Email Marketing: Nurture potential and old clients by emailing helpful information. 

Why Is Marketing Your Law Firm Important? 

In today’s increasingly competitive legal marketplace, having a well-planned marketing strategy is essential for law firms of all sizes. By creating a solid brand and raising visibility, legal marketing can help firms to attract new clients and build name recognition. Legal marketing can also support overall profitability by generating leads and assisting firms in maximizing their investment return. In short, legal marketing plays a vital role in the success of any law firm.

What Is a Legal Marketing Consultant? 

A marketing consultant helps law firms develop and implement marketing strategies. This can involve developing law firm marketing efforts to create branding materials. In addition, these consultants often have a deep understanding of the legal industry and can provide valuable insights into how to appeal to potential clients. As a result, they can play an essential role in helping law firms grow their business.

How a Marketing Consultant Can Support Your Law Firm 

A legal marketing consultant can be a valuable asset to any law firm by providing marketing support without adding additional staff and attracting new clients by increasing visibility for the firm. As a result, a marketer can play an essential role in supporting and improving the operation of a law firm.

From your law firm’s website design and management, and search engine optimization, to social media marketing — a legal marketing consultant can support your firm in building a reputable brand. By outsourcing some of the non-legal work, a law firm can focus on its core competencies and improve its overall productivity. 

Legal marketing consultants can work with you to identify your target market, assess your competition, and develop a plan to reach and engage your target audience. They can also guide branding, website development, social media, and other marketing initiatives. In addition, the consultant can help you track and measure your marketing efforts to ensure that they are effective and produce positive results.

Does My Law Firm Need a Marketing Consultant? 

If you’re not actively working on your firm’s marketing efforts and tracking the progress, then you may need a legal marketing consultant to set your firm on the right track. Marketing is wasted spend if you don’t track your marketing efforts. 

One key indicator you need to bring in a marketing expert is if your firm has experienced a decline in new client intakes. If your firm struggles to generate new leads, you must quickly identify the root cause of your decline in new clients and devise a plan to turn things around. 

Another sign that your firm may need help is if you’ve noticed a lack of online visibility. Maybe your website isn’t driving as many leads, or your advertising campaign doesn’t seem to be working. A marketing advisor can audit the law firm’s website and identify areas where it can be improved. They will also be able to develop an effective digital marketing strategy to help increase your online visibility. 

How to Tell When You Need a Marketing Consultant

Law firms face a unique set of challenges when it comes to marketing. They must be able to differentiate their law firm brand from competitors and reach prospective clients while adhering to strict ethical guidelines. 

Consider your current marketing efforts. If you are not seeing results or meeting your growth goal, it may be time to bring in some outside help. How saturated is your local market? If they are actively marketing their services and winning new business, you’ll likely need to do the same to stay competitive. Working with a marketing advisor can be an excellent way to take your law firm to the next level without hiring more staff or stretching bandwidth. You can keep your costs down while gaining more business. 

How to Hire a Marketing Consultant 

By reviewing past marketing data, creating a needs assessment, and carefully selecting a marketing consultant, law firms can set themselves up for success. With the right consultant in place, firms can see a significant return on their investment.

Review Past Marketing Spend and ROI

Before making decisions about your marketing budget, review your past marketing spend and ROI for trends and patterns. This will give you a good sense of what has worked well in the past and where you might need to make some adjustments. 

If you’re not analyzing your efforts against your business development goals, you won’t know if you’re on track to meet them. Adjustments may need to be made to ensure success. The analysis will reveal the most successful channels, allowing you to allocate spending more effectively in the future. Failing to analyze your campaign could mean wasting time and money on channels that aren’t producing results.

Bill4Time offers expense tracking and reporting functions to track your marketing spending across different channels easily. Use this data paired with conversion data to calculate your ROI on your marketing efforts.

Conducting a Needs Assessment

After reviewing the data, you should create a needs assessment to determine your law firm’s needs. A needs assessment is a systematic process for determining unmet needs and developing plans to address them. This assessment should consider the firm’s current marketing efforts, desired outcomes, and marketing budget. Needs assessments are vital for service providers, as they help ensure that resources are allocated to benefit those who need them the most.

Where Can I Find a Good Law Firm Marketing Consultant? 

Law firms should consider experience, creativity, and availability when vetting potential consultants. Finding someone who is a good fit for the firm’s culture and shares the same values is also important. Search for legal marketing consultants online, check with the legal marketing association, or ask colleagues for recommendations.

Once you have a few options, you can conduct free consultations with different agencies or consultants to see their recommendations, pricing, and how they partner with clients. 

Characteristics of an Excellent Legal Marketing Consultant

When searching for a legal marketing consultant, law firms should consider working with someone who is niched and specializes in legal services. This will ensure that the consultant understands the unique challenges and opportunities of marketing a law firm. 

The consultant should also be aware of the latest trends in legal marketing and be able to provide tailored advice to all of your practice areas. 

Law firms should avoid working with consultants who also work with their competitors. This could lead to conflicts of interest, and the consultant may not be able to provide unbiased advice. 

A flexible contract should be a key consideration, as it will allow you to adapt your marketing strategy as needed. This flexibility is crucial in the ever-changing world of digital marketing. A flexible contract will give you peace of mind knowing that you can make changes as your business evolves. 

One of the most important is the ability to use your website rather than a proprietary platform. Be wary of marketers who want you to migrate your website to a proprietary platform, and ask questions about what happens to your website when/if you cancel your contract. 

A good marketing consultant will deeply understand SEO and how to maximize your law firm’s website. They will be able to work with your website to create a unique online presence that will set you apart from your competitors. 

Increase your Marketing ROI with Bill4Time

To remain competitive, law firms must invest in legal marketing. By building a solid online presence and creating targeted marketing campaigns, firms can reach new clients and expand their reach. In addition, legal marketing can help to build brand awareness and establish a firm as an authority in its field. A legal marketing consultant can assist with creating a law firm marketing plan so your firm can stay ahead of the curve and continue to grow.

Bill4Time offers legal technology solutions like lead nurturing, client management, and expense tracking that helps you stay on top of your marketing ROI and make informed decisions about your marketing. See in action by starting a free trial.

It’s important for law firms to set goals early on and create accountability plans to stay on track. The legal industry is uncertain and rapidly evolving, but lawyers and firms that can adapt can thrive, no matter what the future brings. Use this blog to learn how to set goals for yourself and embark on a successful year.

Set Goals for Lawyers with SMART Goals

SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals are a bit of a buzzword, but that’s because they work! Vague goals, such as increasing revenue or boosting firm awareness, are undefined and difficult to achieve.

The benefit of SMART goals is that they’re defined, clear, and measurable to keep law firms on track.

SMART goals are:

Specific

Broad goals have little to back them up and are even more difficult to achieve. Goals are specific and defined.

The specific goal should include:

• Why it’s a goal
• How it can be accomplished
• Potential challenges or obstacles

A specific goal helps law firms zero in on what they’re trying to achieve and organize the resources and tools necessary to accomplish it.

Measurable

The only way to tell if a goal is on track is by measuring it. Goals should have metrics that track and assess their progress against milestones or benchmarks.

For example, if a goal includes increasing revenue, it should have a percentage of 5 or 10 percent. Then, law firms can verify if they’re on track to meet or exceed this goal or falling behind, so changes can be made to course correct.

Achievable

Lofty goals are great, but they’re difficult to achieve. If unrealistic goals are set and law firms repeatedly fail, it’s easy for them to lose momentum and get discouraged.

For example, trying to set a goal to increase revenue by 1,000 percent is neither realistic nor achievable, and it’s likely to fail. It’s better for firms to have a realistic, conservative goal that can be met, or even exceeded.

Conversely, setting goals that are too achievable isn’t valuable either. For example, increasing clients by two per year isn’t much of a goal, since that’s likely to happen anyway. Law firms should aim for goals that avoid both extremes and fall in the middle.

Relevant

Goals should always be relevant to the firm’s larger business objective and vision. Increasing revenue is a relevant goal for a firm and contributes to long-term success, but setting personal staff goals or goals that don’t serve the film overall is not.

Time-Bound

Every goal should have a time frame that determines whether it’s successful. Like the other elements of a SMART goal, the time frame should be specific and realistic. Trying to accomplish too much in a short period is a setup for failure, but having no specified time frame makes it more difficult to know if the goal is on track to success.

Using the revenue example, law firm goals should be reasonable and relevant to the specific goal. If the goal is to increase revenue by 5 percent, it should be set for a year’s time. Firms can monitor the progress of the goal and determine if they’re underperforming, overperforming, or on track to hit that target by the end of the year.

Some other examples of SMART goals for law firms include:

• Reduce overhead costs by 15 percent in the next financial year by renegotiating vendor contracts, reducing unnecessary subscription services, and implementing energy-saving practices throughout the office.
• Hire three new senior lawyers with expertise in corporate law, intellectual property, and civil litigation by the end of the fiscal year to meet growing client demands.
• Reduce non-billable hours by 15 percent over the next 12 months by implementing a legal time tracking software that identifies and minimizes inefficiencies in administrative tasks.

Prioritizing Goals for Lawyers

Setting too many goals can be overwhelming and hinder success. Especially if your firm doesn’t have a defined task management process. When planning goals, law firms should consider the firm’s biggest pain points and prioritize them to determine the most important goals to focus on.

Law firms should start with a list of pain points ranging from significant challenges to smaller issues that would be helpful to correct, but not vital. The challenges at the top of the list should determine the goals to prioritize.

Smaller goals may be able to be addressed in shorter time periods, such as a month or quarter, and could be considered after the firm has developed goals for mission-critical problems.

Some examples of significant challenges or pain points may include:

• High billable hours missing
• Inaccurate time tracking
• Inaccuracies and corrections on documents
• Inefficient client onboarding processes or billing processes
• Poor time management

Evaluating Last Year’s Performance

Law firms struggling to determine goals can use the previous year for guidance. When evaluating the prior year’s performance, law firms should consider what goals were met, what was accomplished, and what hindered certain goals from being met.

Identifying areas of improvement is the best way to improve performance and set more attainable goals. Not meeting goals shouldn’t be viewed as a failure, but provide insights into how to improve processes in the future. When assessing goals, firms should get a wide range of opinions from everyone in the firm — not just partners or senior attorneys. Different perspectives can provide insights into the full picture and what contributed to the failure in the first place.

Measuring Goals

Measuring goals is vital to their success, and “measurable” is part of developing SMART goals. The specific key performance indicators (KPIs) a firm uses can vary according to goals, but using technology tools can be a big help.

Legal management platforms, like Bill4Time, offer valuable tools for time tracking, reporting, and revenue tracking to ensure firms reach their goals. These tools can be used to track firm performance metrics, such as revenue and billable hours, invoices, number of clients, and more.

Set Goals for Lawyers to Achieve Success in 2024

The legal industry is changing and evolving, so it’s crucial for firms to set goals to make each year as successful as it can be. Whether the goals are related to marketing, client acquisition, revenue, or growth, goals should always be SMART and aligned with the larger vision of the firm. We hope you found this information on how to set goals for lawyers useful and provided actionable steps to get started!

When you become a lawyer, you might not think about all the legal accounting that goes into a successful firm. From handling trust accounts to capturing the revenue you earn, legal billing is essential — but it might seem like the homework your firm is putting off. Every law firm needs to get paid for its services, and billing software is one of the easiest ways to ensure that happens. 

If you’re ready to spend less time staring at the books and more time on your cases, you’re in the right place. Find out how to streamline your billing with this guide to adopting legal billing software. 

What Is Legal Billing Software?

Legal billing software can help you automate the process of tracking your hours, sending invoices, and managing all other billing tasks — with one comprehensive suite of tools. 

With legal billing software, you can:

• Set up custom invoice templates
• Track your billable time
• Automate invoice distribution
• Manage trust accounts, including balance checking and handling retainer payments
• Use financial reporting tools to assess your performance
• Enable clients to pay you online

Of course, all legal billing software comes with unique features. So before making the investment, review your options and ensure that you’re choosing the software with the necessary functionality.

Legal billing software platforms, like Bill4Time, are cloud-based, meaning that the software runs online outside of your firm’s IT infrastructure. This gives firms the ability to access their cases from any device and often comes with lower costs.

Does My Law Firm Need Legal Billing Software?  

If your firm wants to automate and streamline your billing, the answer is yes. Many large and small firms can see significant benefits from the transition to legal billing software. 

With legal billing software, you can see benefits like:

• Reduce time spent on billing. This is one of the biggest perks. With less time dedicated to tracking your hours and expenses, you can devote more time to handling cases. 
• Improved revenue capture. If you have a better, faster way to report your hours and invoice clients, you can see fewer outstanding accounts.
• Increased client happiness. When clients have an easy, convenient, and straightforward way to pay you, they have a better experience.
• Better staff experience. Your staff’s morale matters as much as your clients’ happiness. If your attorneys, paralegals, accountants, and other staff have better systems to do their jobs, they’re more likely to appreciate their work environment. 
• Greater access to financial analysis tools. Some legal billing software comes with built-in custom reporting features. That gives you the power to get quick insights into your firm’s financial performance over time and project where you’ll be in the future.  
• Enhanced compliance. No one wants to let mistakes or oversights compromise their practice. Bill4Time’s built-in payment processor, Bill4Time Payments, can help your firm stay compliant with ABA, IOLTA, and state bar guidelines.

You might think of it this way: Your firm runs certain risks if you don’t invest in tools to help you become more efficient, capture revenue, and remain compliant. After all, if you’re the average law firm, you could face many common issues with billing — and these problems could leave you in financial and ethical high water. For instance, you may be double-billing or failing to capture your actual billable hours. 

How to Adopt Legal Billing Software  

When you’re starting to consider bringing on billing software, you’ll want to think through what it means to implement new software. 

Assess Your Firms Needs

Some legal billing systems will work better for your needs than others. Be sure to review the software to ensure it offers the following:

• The features and functions you need
• Compatibility with your existing software

As mentioned previously, legal billing software can include many features. Determine what’s most important for your needs. For instance, you should ensure that the software you choose includes financial reporting tools or integrations with other legal software. With some legal billing software, you can integrate other legal software, such as case management tools, to create a seamless ecosystem for productivity. 

With that said, you’ll want to invest in billing software that syncs with your existing software. So, if you’re currently running QuickBooks for accounting, purchase software that works with those tools. 

Have Standard Processes in Place

When you’re getting ready to transition to new legal billing software, it’s worth ensuring that all your billing systems are in ship shape. Make sure that your firm: 

• Has a clear fee structure outlined
• Establishes clear legal billing guidelines
• Prepares to set up invoice templates
• Has a plan for invoice review and client follow-up for late payments

If you don’t already have clear billing guidelines, you’ll want to set that up. Your billing guidelines should include how often you bill clients, what you include in invoices, and how you communicate with clients through invoicing. 

Once you determine your billing guidelines, you can also automate many of these standard processes and procedures. Legal billing software allows you to set up when your clients receive invoices, use custom invoice templates, and more.

Prepare to Train Your Team

Of course, ensuring your staff is prepared to work with new software is crucial to your adoption process. Be ready to train any team members who will interact with the billing software. It’s critical to ensure everyone is on the same page and understands any best practices you establish for using these tools. 

Identifying the Best Legal Billing Software 

Beyond ensuring that your chosen legal billing software plays nicely with your existing software, you’ll want to consider your goals, the features you need, and which will be best for your firm.

Some of the most significant decisions that you’ll have to make when you choose the best software for you include:

• Price. Legal billing software comes with a range of prices. Most of the leading cloud-based billing software is priced monthly per user. You can typically also choose between several pricing tiers and select the product capabilities you need.
• Features. The sky’s the limit for the features available in billing software, with everything from time tracking to billing and invoicing to custom invoice templates. Review the software’s capabilities and choose what’s best for your needs.
• Payment function. Some legal billing software programs allow clients access to an online payment system. If you want this feature, look for ePayments or check out how clients can pay with a card, check, or even payment plans.
• Legal software integration. As mentioned, legal billing software can integrate with other legal software tools. However, not all legal billing software offers this functionality. Look for how a company’s legal billing tools work with case management or other software.
• Ease of use. Of course, if it’s not easy to use, you may not feel the benefits of your investment. If possible, try a demo to be sure this software is simple and powerful.

Legal Billing Software by Practice Area 

Legal billing software is an essential resource for managing a law firm’s business, no matter the size. 

For a solo practice, you may have a limited budget for accounting help — and that’s where legal billing software comes in. With automated invoicing tools, you don’t have to worry about when to send bills to clients and who hasn’t paid you. And with compliance features, you can rest assured that you aren’t overlooking details that can be hard to spot with one or a few pairs of eyes.

With small- and medium-sized firms, you may work with more resources and a larger budget for your accounting needs. Still, you can find many uses for legal billing software. Your staff can make more of their time instead of wasting needless hours jumping from QuickBooks to invoice tools to the printer and back again. Instead, your team can use the time you save on accounting to focus on boosting productivity, driving revenue, and optimizing your clients’ experience.

Implementing Legal Billing Software

Investing in legal billing software can pay off in more ways than one. It allows you to improve your firm’s efficiency, offer a better payment system for clients, and gain insights into your firm’s financial well-being. Legal billing software lets you dedicate more time to the things that matter most for your practice. 

If you’re ready to practice more, manage less, and stay competitive, Bill4Time can help. With time and expense tracking, custom invoices, and a full suite of legal software integrations, Bill4Time can help your team streamline your accounting systems. Get a free trial of Bill4Time’s legal billing software today and find out how adopting legal billing software can benefit your practice.

Law firms often require a lot of specialized support staff to keep things running smoothly. A legal billing specialist works closely with lawyers, paralegals, and other staff to make the billing process run smoothly and ensure the firm is getting paid.

Legal billing specialist careers are growing. Find out if this is the right career for you.

What Is a Legal Billing Specialist?

The main job of a billing specialist at a law firm is to prepare and manage billing records for legal services provided. They play a key role in ensuring the firm’s financial transactions are handled properly.

Depending on the firm, legal billing specialists may be responsible for tracking down past-due payments from clients or third parties. This may involve sending letters, making calls, or pursuing legal action for past-due accounts.

Some of the day-to-day responsibilities include:

• Compiling billing statements
• Generating invoices
• Reviewing legal documents for accuracy
• Reviewing past due accounts and setting up payment plans
• Reviewing account status and activity to ensure compliance with state laws regarding lawyer licensing requirements
• Determining whether services have been performed or fees incurred according to legal ethics standards
• Collecting past due accounts receivable by contacting clients or working with a collection agency
• Tracking time and attendance using timekeeping systems
• Managing the process of submitting claims to insurance companies as needed
• Preparing and filing court documents

How to Start a Career as a Law Firm Billing Specialist

Legal billing can be a challenging career to get into. Some law firms require an accounting or business background with a bachelor’s degree. There are still opportunities for legal billing specialists with an associate degree or no degree, however, as long as they have experience with billing.

Some vocational schools offer coursework in legal billing or online courses, which can help you gain the necessary skill set for the job. Some of these skills include:

• Accounting knowledge 
• Computer literacy and the ability to learn a legal time tracking and billing system
• Attention to detail
• Communication skills, both written and spoken
• The ability to multitask and work in a fast-paced environment
• Exceptional organizational skills
• An understanding of the confidentiality and gravity of the legal industry

Legal billing specialists may get their start in an entry-level position at a law firm, but you have the option to open your own legal billing business. Law firms outsource a lot of the administrative work, including billing, and this option gives you the flexibility to choose your workload, hours, and clients.

Running a business isn’t for the faint of heart and requires high attention to detail and organization. You will need business acumen and marketing skills to get your name out there and attract law firms seeking your services.  

Job Market Outlook for Legal Billing Specialists

A legal billing specialist salary can vary according to the experience and education of the specialist, the size of the firm, and the location.

According to ZipRecruiter, the average salary for legal specialists is $63,492 annually, which is approximately $31 an hour. Annual salaries may be as high as $93,000 or as low as $34,500, but the majority fall in the range of $51,000 to $70,500.

The job outlook varies across the country. Like other industries, the legal industry is shifting toward technology to handle repetitive or time-consuming work, including billing.

This can be an opportunity and not a barrier. While the role of legal billing specialists may change and evolve, they still serve a crucial role at medium- and large law firms. Legal billing specialists should become proficient with legal billing software to adapt to the job market changes.

How Legal Billing Software Supports Legal Billing Professionals

As mentioned, legal billing software is essential in automating and streamlining some of a legal billing specialist’s work, but that doesn’t mean the role is being replaced entirely. Instead, it’s changing and offering new and different opportunities.

A legal billing solution like Bill4Time offers an affordable, efficient, and easy process for law firm timekeeping and billing. For legal billing specialists, it can:

Save Time

The most valuable asset in virtually every profession is time — we all want to get more done in less time. Billing and invoicing take a lot of time and require administrative skills, which is why law firms hire legal billing specialists.

These professionals are tasked with filling out invoices manually — a process that’s time-consuming and error-prone. With Bill4Time, you can save client details and create invoice templates to expedite the invoicing process in the future.

Minimize Errors 

The manual process of invoicing is vulnerable to errors that can lead to delays in the payment process, poor relationships with clients, and billing disputes. This often falls on the legal billing specialist.

Effective legal billing software can be used to standardize the billing process and compile all the data — ensuring that there are minimal errors. Invoicing takes less time, clients are happier, and the firm gets paid faster.

Automated Accounting and Payment Reminders

Automation is a helpful resource for law firms to limit repetitive billing procedures. You can automate the billing process for recurring payments, subscription models, or other alternative payment arrangements and free your time to focus on mission-critical tasks.

Streamline the Payment Process

The traditional slow-moving billing and payment process can take a toll on overall revenue and cash flow. Legal billing specialists or other support staff have to create and check invoices, send them to the clients, then wait for the payments to come in.

A faster payment process that caters to client experience means your firm will get paid faster. Bill4Time allows your firm to offer a modern payments solution with our built-in payments solution, Bill4Time Payments. Easily add custom links to client invoices or enable the client portal where they can view and pay their invoice anytime, anywhere.

Simplify Reporting

Reporting is an ongoing process that all law firms should prioritize to make more informed decisions about the health and profitability of the firm. Bill4Time makes reporting simple with exclusive reporting functionality to track billing, cash flow, expenses, projects and matters, billable hours, and more.

Legal Billing Software for Legal Billing Specialists

Whether you’re considering a career as a legal billing specialist or you’re already working at your own firm or a large law firm, learning the ins and outs of legal billing software is a must for the future of your career.

The legal invoice process can be a headache for many law firms. From managing different accounts and payment deadlines to ensuring the time tracking is accurate and the invoice reflects different fee structures, it is difficult to imagine a frictionless version of this workflow. Thankfully, automated legal billing software has made this process seamless for all-sized law firms.

This blog post will further explain how to create a custom legal invoice template and the benefits for your firm. 

How Do Lawyers Track Their Time?

The ways legal professionals track the time spent on a case have evolved over the years. Traditional practices included: 

• Filling tasks and time entries directly in their calendar;
• Cross-checking the time-stamp of a sent email; 
• Monitoring the time spent working on a document; 
• Tracking the history of phone calls; 
• Excel sheets listing their daily activities; 
• Or simply writing down by memory how they spent their time throughout the day or week. 

Though traditional, these strategies have hidden flaws. Besides being inefficient and time-consuming, the human aspect leaves room for error. Today, there are several legal billing software, such as Bill4Time, with time tracking features and additional functionalities that have widespread benefits for firms.  

By using a legal time tracking software like Bill4Time, a lawyer’s hourly rate can be broken down into specific billable slots that can be easily justified on behalf of the client. Automated time tracking also saves time trying to record hours and allows for greater accuracy as a few minutes of responding to an email can be easily captured. 

When Does a Lawyer Bill for Their Services?

Lawyers will generally invoice a client once a month during representation or when their representation is complete. This can vary based on the practice area and the nature of the service. 

For example, in matters involving litigation, attorneys might bill for services at specific stages, such as after the initial pleadings, following major motions, or at the conclusion of a trial. Each of these stages represents a significant amount of work, and billing at these intervals helps manage the financial expectations of both the lawyer and the client.

Some attorneys may offer alternative billing arrangements to meet client needs. These can include flat fees for particular services, retainer agreements for ongoing matters, or contingency fees, where the lawyer’s payment is a percentage of the client’s winnings in a case.

Communicating the billing timeline and policy to a client upfront is essential to mitigating common billing mistakes and unhappy clients. Plus, no one likes receiving an unexpected hefty bill. 

How To Create a Custom Legal Invoice Template

Law firms have unique yet complex billing needs. To address this reality, legal invoicing software has emerged across the market. These resources are an indispensable piece of any firm’s tech stack as they address the complex nature of legal billing. 

Bill4Time comes equipped with features to manage all aspects of the invoicing process. The platform allows you to create custom invoice templates that can be stored for repeated use. 

Invoice templates reduce administrative work as your details, hourly rates, client information, and payment method are included in the invoice. You can also customize the invoice templates to your firm’s brand. Lastly, they can also be used to automate recurring invoices, all while keeping the process professional and organized.  

What Is Included in a Legal Invoice Template?

There are a few common items that are always included in a legal invoice template:

• Contact information: Both the law firm and the client’s contact information should be clearly listed in the heading of the invoice. This includes the company name, their point of contact’s first name and last name, a phone number, an email, and an address. 
• Send date: The date on which the invoice was created and sent should be indicated for accounting purposes, but also to keep in account the payment terms. For example, if the payment is due 30 days after receiving the invoice, the date indication will help better identify the deadline.
• Payment terms: The conditions and expectations around the payment should be identified on the invoice. 
• Hours billed: The total sum owed should be broken down to include the number of hours billed for the services provided. 
• Line items with the service date and associated cost: Details on the services provided should be indicated to provide clarity. 
• Subtotal: The invoice should include the total sum of the different services and taxes if applicable.  
• Due date: To ensure the payment is received within a reasonable delay, the due date should be indicated on the invoice. 

Best Practices for Sending a Legal Invoice

Having a client-focused approach to your firm’s practice applies across all client interactions. From their initial intake to the payment, having a good reputation and repeated business requires clients to feel understood and appreciated throughout their interactions. A pleasant invoicing experience can be an opportunity to distinguish yourself from competitors.  

Before sending an invoice, ask your client who the invoice should be made out to and if they have a preferred payment method — does the client prefer receiving an invoice via email or instead going through the client portal? Do they want to pay by credit card online or by check? These are all factors to consider before sending the invoice. 

How To Get Clients To Pay Their Legal Invoice

Running after a client for an unpaid invoice is never enjoyable. Below are some actionable steps to help mitigate the likelihood of late or unpaid invoices. 

1. Clearly Communicate Your Billing Policy

The initial client intake consultation is the perfect opportunity to clearly communicate expectations around billing and payments. This information should be provided transparently during the first meeting and written in the onboarding documents. 

2. Invoice Your Clients On-Time

The best way to consistently send invoices on time is to set automated reminders. Creating a system of reminders where clients receive their monthly statements three to four days after the beginning of the month can help increase the likelihood of timely payments. Most people set their payroll toward the start of the month, meaning your client invoice would be paid after processing employee payroll. Moreover, having a set schedule crystallizes expectations and minimizes the time between completing and billing for the work. 

3. Offer an Online Payments Option

Every invoice should be clear, concise, and have a simple payment system. To avoid the time-consuming practice of processing paper checks, offer an online payment option to your clients. Through Bill4Time’s built-in payment processor, Bill4Time Payments, you can accept and process online payments right within the platform. You can also create custom payment links to add to your website or even your emails. 

Simply adding this in-demand payment method can get your law firm paid 70% faster than average billing practices. 

Tracking Your Legal Billing and Invoicing

By using automated legal billing software, you get access to comprehensive reporting to view your firm’s financial performance. Data within this dashboard includes accounting activity, the historical activity of accounts, expenses, month-by-month productivity, and user activity. 

With Bill4Time’s exclusive reporting, the types of expenses and time reports can include: 

• Account Activity Report: A general accounting report that reflects payments made from the Trust account to the operating account.
• Account Balance Report: An accounting report with the balance due for each matter.
• Billable Utilization Report: A report outlining targets vs. what was actually billed.
• Client List Report: A report showing various client details. 
• Collections Report: A payments report showing the amount collected for each invoice. 
• Inactivity Report: A report showing how long since a matter has been worked on.
• Invoice A/R Aging Report: A standard accounts receivable aging report. 
• Invoice Email Report: A history of invoices report. 
• Invoice Status Report: A report listing the payments that need to be applied to invoices. 
• Realization Report: A report of the amount billed/finalized divided by the total hours. 
• Resource Utilization Report: A report with the Performance Targets in the User Profile vs. Labor Hours.

By identifying and viewing this data, you can identify trends to achieve success and get insight into the forecasted revenue.

Implement a Custom Legal Invoice Template Process 

With minimal upfront work, your law firm can create a legal billing and invoice process that saves you time and money down the road. Bill4Time offers all of the features your firm needs to eliminate time-tracking errors, streamline your billing, automate your invoices, and process online payments. 

If you’re ready to optimize your firm’s time tracking and legal billing process, you can schedule a demo of Bill4Time or start a free trial to see the multiple timers or online payments functionality in action. 

Did you know that 77% of lawyers have admitted to experiencing burnout? Unfortunately, this alarming statistic isn’t surprising when considering the daily realities many lawyers face.

One of the biggest challenges of life is balancing a career with the desire to live a fulfilling life outside of work. This also applies to lawyers — a career path that’s known for intensive work schedules. Law firms are notorious for long hours, demanding workloads, and competitive environments that aren’t conducive to work-life balance.

Lawyers aren’t immune to the stress of constantly hustling. They are at a higher risk for depression, drug and alcohol abuse, heart disease, divorce, and suicide, according to a study by the American Bar Association.

For lawyers, time — especially billable time — is a finite resource. They may find themselves sacrificing their personal commitments and free time to meet overwhelming demands at the office, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Work-life balance is achievable.

What Is Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance is the ideal state of balance in which a person prioritizes their career demands with the demands of their personal life equally. Some of the common reasons that work-life balance can suffer may include:

• Increased responsibilities at work
• Long hours
• Increased responsibilities at home
• Having children

A good work-life balance has numerous benefits, including lower stress levels, less risk of burnout, and a strong sense of well-being. While it will never be perfect, you can find better ways to achieve work-life balance and take care of your professional and personal responsibilities.

Why Do Lawyers Struggle with Work-Life Balance?

Every size law firm faces its own unique challenges when it comes to managing operations, staff, and workload. Lawyers often double as managing partners or managers on top of their own caseload. 

This is how lawyers may find themselves working a few evenings or weekends. Before they know it, there’s no separation between work and home. 

For young lawyers, this problem can be more pronounced. They work hard now in hopes that it will pay off later, whether that’s making partner or having a smooth-running practice. But there will always be more clients, more cases, and more work, even if they can no longer work at the same volume and pace.

How Can I Help My Law Firm Staff Have a Better Work-Life Balance?

Work-life balance isn’t a box you can tick off as completed. It’s an ongoing process that should evolve with your firm. 

An important place to start is by documenting what work-life balance looks like for each staff member. You can then use this information to determine a course of action that’s flexible but committed to achieving that goal. It may not be perfect to start, but small steps and consistency can lead to results.

Here’s how each staff member should approach work-life balance:

Outline Personal and Professional Goals

Work-life balance is an individualistic process. Lawyers need to determine what’s working and what isn’t to identify patterns and develop concrete goals. These goals should be written down to keep them top of mind.

Promote Accountability

For your staff to achieve their goals, they need to be accountable to someone. Have your staff share their goals and meet with them once a month to discuss their progress. This will allow you to assess any bottlenecks in their progress and support them as needed. 

Consider Alternative Work Schedules and Styles

Not everyone is suited for a traditional 9-5 schedule, and more and more lawyers are seeing the value in hybrid schedules. Part-time and flex work are also options to give staff more control of their workday. They’ll be more productive when they are working but still have the freedom to balance the responsibilities in their personal lives.

Provide Time for Rest and Relaxation

Making time for self-care can minimize the effects of lawyer burnout. Self-care looks different for everyone, but the general needs include activity, good nutrition, and adequate sleep – all the elements of taking care of yourself.

For this to happen, staff may need some time away from work as needed. Give your staff time off to travel or engage in hobbies or family events. While they may be out of the office, they will come back with new perspectives and renewed focus.

Designate Time for Different Tasks

Few things are as disruptive to productivity as checking your email or phone every few minutes to stay on top of communications with clients or case developments. This not only hurts productivity in the office, but it can seep into personal time and prevent them from being in the moment.

Make sure each lawyer strategically organizes time for emails, case correspondence, and client communication. Instead of responding to each message or email individually, lawyers should set aside an hour or two each day at specific times to address any correspondence. 

Here are some more quick tips for managing tasks:

• Block off focus-time
• Learn strong time management
• Prioritize tasks with deadlines
• Avoid overcommitting to tasks

Ditch the Electronic Leashes

Most everyone carries a digital device that keeps them tethered to work, blurring the boundaries between work time and free time. As more firms embrace digital transformation and automation to make running a law firm easier, less expensive, and more efficient, the downside is that it keeps lawyers “always on,”

Instill boundaries to allow your staff to truly unplug. It’s common for lawyers to sneak in some time on weekends or during vacations to get ahead, but it’s important that they understand that they need some distance in their personal lives.

Use Legal Technology

Cloud-based technology like Bill4Time can help law firms reduce the time spent on administrative tasks and keep everything in one centralized location. Having law practice management software can help you maximize billable work, automate the client intake process, and obtain electronic signatures to get more done in less time.

Achieve Work-Life Balance at Your Firm

Improving work-life balance not only benefits your lawyers, but it can have tremendous advantages for your firm. It’s a work in progress with small steps toward prioritizing work and personal lives equally for more satisfaction and fulfillment.