Ride the Lightning

How Law Firms Are Keeping Monies Flowing

July 1, 2020

On June 16, Bloomberg Law reported on some of the moves law firms are making as they attempt to weather COVID-19 and a rocky economy.

Firms acknowledge that they have discounted fees, deferred payments and used alternative fees, often at the behest of clients. As we all know, law firms have instituted furloughs, hiring freezes, layoff and reducing partner draws. The harsh reality is that many companies are keeping more work in-house to keep costs contained, sending work to outside counsel only on matters with the highest priority.

To no one's surprise, firms are tightening spending and taking a more rigorous approach to billing. They are also increasing electronic delivery of bills – I can attest to how much that helps in shortening collection time! When law firms are seeing an 8% lengthening of time in collecting fees, these are good moves.

To add a tip of my own, we have shortened collection times by writing gracious reminder emails as due dates approach (reminding them that interest will be applied if payments are not received by the date due), as well as gracious reminders shortly after bills become past due. I have concluded that as long as you are very polite and friendly, touching clients multiple times not only does no harm, but actively helps to get monies in sooner.

Encouraging credit card payment directly from our website has also helped. Yes, there's an associated cost to using credit cards, but we are seeing more rapid payment – enough to justify the added costs. And someone should be reviewing daily cash flow with a keen eye. At Sensei, that someone is me. One last tip: A cup of soothing tea is an asset for that task, especially these days!

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
Email: Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Cybersecurity/Information Technology
https://senseient.com
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