Long Term Statistics For Lawyers Ensures Productivity

By Essie Osborn


Attorneys have to perform, especially if the work in large firms where the income generated by each associate is measured carefully. They have to be busy but their activities must be billable. That is why legal firms keep careful records of every single action of every single case. They keep track of every telephone call, every email and every consultation. Systems that keep statistics for lawyers aim at maximizing profits.

Legal firms aim to make money. They do this by selling their expertise to their clients. The expertise is sold in units of hours. This is why they need to keep meticulous records of everything that they do on behalf of a client. If they do not keep records, they will not be able to charge the client for every separate aspect of the work they have done.

Most attorneys have teams working with them. The members of the team have various skills and they are paid according to seniority and qualifications. A highly paid attorney will therefore delegate time consuming routine tasks to a junior. This allows the higher paid attorney to work on cases that will earn more money. It is necessary to keep very accurate records when an entire team works on a specific case.

Accurate records are also vital for legal firms when they bid for new business. Potential clients, especially large corporate companies, will want to know what the capacity of the firm is. They will also want to know what the success rate of the firm is, the time that they require to deal with various cases and the experience they have in dealing with the many different types of legal issues.

Legal firms do not only keep records of their own performance. They need to be able to compare themselves with their competitors and the only way in which to do this is to study the performance of those competitors. In many cases this information may lead to the identification and recruitment of particularly promising attorneys. Industry records also help firms to develop operations strategies and long term goals.

Many attorneys accept cases on a contingency basis. This means that they will accept a percentage of the cash settlement if they win the case. If not, the client will not pay any fees. Of course, such cases must be accepted only if there is a reasonable chance of winning. Attorneys use sophisticated industry wide records of similar cases to make a decision on whether to accept a specific case or not.

Many attorneys keep long term records of routine cases. This allows them to opt for quoting a client a flat rate in certain instances. This is especially the case in matters where the attorney can be reasonably certain about the amount of work that will be required to finalize the case. Clients are often apprehensive about being charged hourly rates because the final bill may far exceed their budget.

Accurate statistics can be extremely valuable for any legal firm. It helps them to bill precisely and to measure their own performance. Long term records can also be useful in the marketing of the firm and in determining the exact nature of the contribution made by every member of the firm.




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