ABA Journal

Practice Finance

66 ABA Journal Practice Finance articles.

How do firms benefit from hiring a CFO?

It’s a well-worn cliché that lawyers are lousy businesspeople. As a result, many of the larger firms have already turned to financial specialists to help. More than 70% of Am Law 200 firms and over 85% of Am Law 100 firms employ a chief financial officer. The larger the firm’s revenue, the more likely it is to hire a CFO. But what about small firms or solo practices?

50 startup tips to get your practice off the ground

For many, being your own boss is the ultimate dream. But the idea of hanging up your own shingle can be scary and confusing, while others might not know where to start. The ABA Journal asked lawyers, legal professionals, marketers, consultants and other experts what to keep in mind when starting your own practice.

Solo practitioners saw steeper revenue declines amid COVID-19, new report finds

Solo practitioners had a harder time weathering the initial economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic than others in the legal industry, according to a new report that cloud-based company Clio released on Tuesday.

These 7 larger law firms got the $10M maximum in coronavirus pandemic loans

When the government offered forgivable loans to keep businesses afloat and workers on the payroll during the novel coronavirus pandemic, dozens of larger law firms received the money.

As worst-case scenarios for law firms fail to materialize, some trends emerge, new report says

With better-than-expected results for 2020, some law firms are prepaying expenses for 2021 and considering how lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic will apply in the coming year, according to a 2021 client advisory by Citi Private Bank and Hildebrandt Consulting.

Since the pandemic started, contract review software providers have raked in millions in funding

Law school debt is delaying plans for recent grads

Some new attorneys delay buying a home or a new car. Others reluctantly postpone marriage and having children while altering the career plans they had going into law school. These are among the personal and professional sacrifices young lawyers often make due to their sizable student loan debt.

Assistant GC and firm partner discuss the future of client collaboration

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Megan O'Flynn, an assistant general counsel at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association, and Doug Donahue, a partner in the finance practice at Linklaters in New York City, about ISDA Create—a collaboration between the ISDA and Linklaters.

As its workforce shrinks, this BigLaw firm restores salaries and reorganizes

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has cut 4% of its global workforce and reorganized practice groups since undertaking a strategic review last year.

6 key numbers that can diagnose the financial health of your law practice

Do you know how many billable hours you can devote to a new case? Or whether you need to add another attorney to your firm? Can you afford to take time off from your practice, and if so, how much? If you're one of the lawyers who is kept up at night with worries about your firm's finances, you are not alone.

Overbilling suit alleges K&L Gates used these techniques to increase fees

An overbilling lawsuit filed against K&L Gates on Monday alleges the law firm used multiple techniques to increase its fees fraudulently while representing a company in a suit over a failed lease agreement.

How to raise money during a pandemic: ‘These are the days for legal tech,’ CEO says

Ari Kaplan recently spoke with Michael Grupp, the founder and CEO of Bryter, a no-code platform for building digital applications in the legal and compliance sectors, about raising money in legal technology during a pandemic.

Ex-client’s lawsuit alleges DLA Piper revealed ‘strident double-dealing’ in mistakenly sent email

A lawsuit filed by a former client against DLA Piper on Monday alleges that the law firm revealed a conflict of interest in a mistakenly emailed invoice.

Why this lawyer increased his fees during the COVID-19 pandemic

As 2020 began, lawyer Robert Theofanis was hitting his stride and thought it was time to increase his fees. He decided to hold off on increasing fees until after he updated his website with new marketing content. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Law firm revenue takes nosedive during COVID-19, new survey data shows

Roughly 81% of law firms have seen their revenues drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 27% of firms in that category reporting they have seen business decline by more than half, according to a new survey by Martindale-Avvo.

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