Cost control has been a hot topic in the legal sector at least since the financial crisis of 2008. The economic downturn led many clients to look more closely at their expenditures for legal services. Even after economic conditions improved, many law firms have still seen their realization and collection rates steadily decline. According to a report issued by Georgetown University Law Center and Peer Monitor, realization rates have declined to 84%. This means that…

Entrepreneurs routinely use crowdfunding platforms to help fund their big ideas. When it comes to crowdfunding for lawyers and legal cases, however, the practice hasn’t quite caught on. Concerns about potential ethical and privacy issues have appropriately led to caution and skepticism among legal professional. But there is real opportunity for law firms and clients alike to fund their lawsuits and other legal projects by taking a cue from the tech world and the lessons…

Are you taking “reasonable efforts” to keep your law firm & clients’ information safe from a data breach? In 2017, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 477R, which “explained a lawyer’s ethical responsibility to use reasonable efforts when communicating client confidential information using the Internet.” More recently, in October of 2018, the same Standing Committee issued Formal Opinion 483, providing new guidance “on an attorney’s ethical obligations after a data breach.”…

Since they were introduced over 20 years ago, Uniformed Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) billing codes have brought clarity to billing and related data analysis. In fact, clients are now increasingly using UTBMS billing codes to analyze much more than just the cost of legal services. For those who might not be familiar, UTBMS codes are used to classify legal services and expenses performed by a law firm or other vendor. UTBMS billing codes categorize legal work and…