publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/395170
while maintaining a profit margin that makes business sense. While technology can address many of these new requirements, it is costly and cumbersome without corresponding improvements in procedures that support the new systems. It takes law firm staff significantly longer to process an electronic bill than it did to print a bill, put a stamp on an envelope and drop it in the mail. Many law firms did not identify the need to re-engineer their processes, and over the years they have been addressing the growing demand and requirements with additional staffing, rather than with improved procedures. E-billing can extend the time it takes to get bills out to clients and cash in the door. In some cases, it compromises payment altogether, because firms lack a process or system to identify when a bill has not been successfully submitted and the window of allowed billing has expired. Time is not the only factor law firms must grapple with in e-billing. The skill level required to handle electronic billing efficiently and accurately is much higher than with manual processes. Skill needs require more extensive training for new billing staff, so they can properly use the technology clients have chosen and mandated to be used on their files. Without a billing staff that knows spend management site variations and client-specific requirements in and out, law firms can grossly compromise their bottom lines. In addition to staffing, training and timeliness challenges, law firms are also struggling with clients' scrutiny of bills, resulting in unprecedented write-offs. Billable tasks that have been improperly worded, coded or deemed as clerical are not paid by these new spend management systems. Appeals represent another addition to the billing team's to-do list. Once a matter has been flagged as non-billable by a spend management system, the burden is shifted to the law firm to try to recover payment, increasing the amount of time spent on making collections. Without knowledge or a process in place to ensure these actions occur within the allotted time frame, the firm can consider that money as good as gone. Aside from these challenges, e-billing can present law firms with many opportunities. Data are now available that allow firms to clearly differentiate themselves from competitors. Firms are accomplishing this differentiation using predictive analysis and data tools, making it likely that billing practices need to be re-evaluated. This need for re-evaluation can become a catalyst for change. Depending on the new direction a firm chooses, the change could be a transition from hourly billing to more task-based billing or to other approaches. Law firms are responding to these challenges in many ways. New positions are now common, such as client compliance specialists. Firms are increasingly adopting modern technology to support requirements. Innovative business processes are critical to success. A mix of staffing, technology and processes is critical. The right mix must be tailored to each firm. HOW ONE FIRM ADOPTED E-BILLING At Bradford & Barthel, LLP (B&B), a firm with 13 offices throughout California, the finance and billing departments look dramatically different from the way they looked 12 years ago when B&B was faced with only three e-billing clients at any given time. These bills were the last to get out — often two weeks after complexity had delayed processing. As the e-billing volume grew, to the point where it now accounts for ILTA WHITE PAPER: OCTOBER 2014 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 34 EFFICIENT BILLING AND FASTER PAYMENTS HELP FIRMS THRIVE Most firms now deal with an average of 15 to 30 different client-driven spend management billing systems.