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Get That Bag: How to Build a Collection Process for Your Law Firm

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Law firm account s receivable can be gnarly, sometimes extending into the six figures .     Now, there are a couple of responses to that .  The preferred option is to eliminate accounts receivable altogether, which can be done using epayment options, and potentially evergreen retainers combined with stop work order s .   Of course, you may not ever get to 100% collection rates – that’s a tall order – and, you may have some accounts receivable to deal with already .  And so, you’ll need to establish a collection process – and, that should flow from your engagement agreement.     The components relating to money that you need in your engagement agreement, aside from your rate(s) and/or basis of your rates, would be: An escalating series of penalties for non-payment .  An arbitration clause, potentially including access to a state bar’s fee arbitration board .  That stop work order .  This will allow you to put pressure on non-pay...
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Pick a Winner: Don't Take on Too Many Social Channels At Once

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When lawyers get excited about content marketing prospects, they get really keyed up to add social channels .  And, that’s a great idea .  Because it’s true that, the more social channels you have, the better – since the more places your profile and content exists, the broader your reach becomes.     That being said, you don’t need to add social channels for the sake of adding social channels – especially when you’re getting started.   Instead, focus on the social media programs you already use .  If you’re active on Facebook (Meta) , start there .  Or, if you like X ( Twitter ) best, tweet away .  Even moving forward, if you can identify a primary social channel, that is extremely useful, because you can use it to earmark help ful content f rom others that you can repost later .  That, and you can also reshare your own content to other platforms, by designing your posts in the one platform that you prefer most .  And, with to...
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That's Refreshing: When Did You Last Revise Your Law Firm Templates?

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It’s hard enough running a law firm, without having to schedule time and effort to revise the templates you use in your law practice .  So, most lawyers don’t take the time to do it at all .  Or, they only update their templates when there has been a major statutory change.  Or, they have to do it when they make the (wise) decision to adopt a document assembly program.     Of course, that may mean that there is a large time break between updates, and that your documents may get stale .  Even if you’re not technically misinterpreting the law, because you’re updating for statutory and case law changes, you may not be implementing best practices in document drafting at all times , if you r editing process only comes around every decade or half-decade, potentially via one of the forcing functions described above.   So, it makes better sense to update your substantive legal document templates on at least a yearly or biannual basis, rather than allow...
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Howdy, Partner: What Law Firms Get Wrong About Partnership Agreements

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Oh, this one’s easy.     Law firms don’t often have partnership agreements .  Especially small firms.   Which is kind of shocking , right ?  Because, if a lawyer had a business owner for a client, said lawyer would most stringently advise that business owner to draft a partnership agreement , if that business owner was to enter upon a partnership.     So, why don’t more attorneys follow that sage advice?     Maybe it’s a lack of knowledge about how to draft a viable partnership agreement ?     If that’s why you don’t have a partnership agreement, check out this excellent overview article on the topic from consultant, Arthur Greene, to learn more .     . . .     Then, if you want to talk further about building a more successful law firm partnership, give us a call.   Through a unique partnership between the   Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar   and   Jared Correia ’s   Red Cave ...
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