Can the partners live with less space? After payroll, office space is the firm's second highest expense, in most cases eating up from 7% to 10% of the revenues. With the bite that big, every office needs to look for ways to cut the office cost. Here are some good ways to do just that. And along with them are some lease negotiation factors the firm can use. 1 The same … [Read more...] about Paying too much office rent? Try these 7 rent-cutters
Purchasing & leasing
Use weekly financial reporting to keep partners aware of cash flow
A Vermont manager has found that running the financial reports weekly instead of monthly is an easy way for the partners to stay always aware and in control of what's going on. They see every penny that has come in and gone out. They know how each attorney and each practice area is faring. And they know when to expect extra expenses and what the taxes are likely to be. The … [Read more...] about Use weekly financial reporting to keep partners aware of cash flow
Boost quarterly profits with this proven 6-pronged cost cutting plan
Every now and then, office administrators are forced to look for new ways to cut expenses. There are lots of dollars waiting to be saved, but many of them are in places so conspicuous they get overlooked. Go for the obvious. To save the firm money, begin with increasing staff productivity and continue on to reclaiming lost office supplies and capping what the firm pays for … [Read more...] about Boost quarterly profits with this proven 6-pronged cost cutting plan
Buried by paper? Time to crawl out and go digital
In a report dated August 9, 2012, Linda A. Halliday, the Assistant Inspector General for Audits and Evaluations of the Department of Veterans Affairs, called for immediate action to address the “Risks Associated with Veterans Claims Folder Storage, Building Integrity, and Employee Safety at the Winston-Salem VA Regional Office.” In her report, Ms. Halliday described thousands … [Read more...] about Buried by paper? Time to crawl out and go digital
5 purchasing tips that can save your law firm money
Cutting purchasing costs doesn't have to be difficult. Here are five approaches to purchasing your firm should consider. 1. Join other offices and take advantage of group discounts. Because the group represents a lot of business, the group can tell a vendor it will use it exclusively in exchange for an overall, sizeable discount. The group can also get individual discounts on … [Read more...] about 5 purchasing tips that can save your law firm money
A manual that covers the entire administration
A Washington, D.C. administrator has set up an operations manual that covers every imaginable item of managing the firm. It holds the basics of everything so that when she is out, the firm “can be on autopilot and keep the trains running on time,” says Jill D. Hirsch, chief operating officer of Slevin & Hart. And, she says, “it’s for me as well as for someone stepping in … [Read more...] about A manual that covers the entire administration
How document automation can save you thousands
Does your firm use document automation tools? If not, you’re not alone. According to a survey conducted in 2013 by the International Legal Technology Association, a whopping 62% of law firms surveyed reported not using a document automation system. But when you think about how much time your team spends assembling variations of the same documents every day, automating the … [Read more...] about How document automation can save you thousands
Don’t put your vendor contracts on auto-pilot
It's easy, to say nothing of convenient, to get comfortable with business relationships and not to question what the vendors are doing. But in the meantime those vendors have every ability to slip in added costs the administrator does not notice. Don't just renew vendor contracts automatically. The firm can often save money and get better service by putting those contracts … [Read more...] about Don’t put your vendor contracts on auto-pilot
How to make 2018 the year you improve value, cut costs, and increase profits
Are you prepared to handle the competition of 2016? Do you know who's elbowing in on your firm's share of the legal market? Are your firm's partners even aware that there's a risk? Ron Friedmann, a consultant with the legal industry-focused management consulting firm Fireman & Company, has spent over two decades improving law practice and legal business operations with … [Read more...] about How to make 2018 the year you improve value, cut costs, and increase profits
Model Policy: Copyright compliance
Why you need this policy: Copyright infringement has become a serious liability risk for law firms: * In 1991, a mid-sized Washington, DC, law firm was sued for $14 million by a publisher. The case was eventually settled but not until after the firm incurred over $1 million in legal fees; * In 1999, a large Wall Street firm settled a … [Read more...] about Model Policy: Copyright compliance