Post by Nuno B.M. Lumbrales, lawyer, partner at Lumbrales & Associados and LawRD user:

Managing time, the time each of us spend on any given task, to be more precise, is key when managing a company for it stands as an indicator of how much is demanded from that company to meet its tasks (namely what concerns human resources, which is usually seen as fixed or a general cost, rather than a specific one related to a client or project).

By managing time, it is possible to spot waste, logistics inefficiency and other obstacles that may stand in the way of productivity, slowing down its pace thus affecting the company’s results.

Paramount as it is for any company management, it is more so for law firms and lawyers at large, since they often run on a hourly cost/pricing model that is directly dependent on the enhancement of individual performance of the employees for being a successful one, when it comes to results.

Three practical tips on this subject:

• Try to limit interruptions to a minimum, there are always to many (i.e. that email that just came in, is it that urgent to the point of interfering in your present task, or any others that have been on hold for quite some time and so became urgent just because they are overdue?)

• Do not keep up for too long on tasks which have a doubtful return (is it worthy to attend every conference, when you know that the benefit you get from them is barely none? Shouldn’t you go only when that amount of time won’t hurt all the work waiting you at the office?)

• Do not tag everything as ‘URGENT’ (if all is urgent then nothing is, which leads to loss regarding work quality and organization, as well as sorting priorities. Attempt to figure when does the client actually need the work done and then ‘negotiate’ with them the deadline. Most of them realize that they will benefit from a better and more careful work, as long as the established deadline is observed).

Post by Daniel Nunes, muchBeta’s Chief Financial Officer:

A client current-account represents the financial situation before a lawyer or law firm.

That being said it’s all very clear: when I (lawyer) issue a billing sheet to clients they owe me money, therefore I will log that debtor position on the current-account. By the time clients pay billing sheets, they no longer owe me any money, i.e. they now have a creditor position before me (lawyer). Thus, clients payments are always credited on their current-accounts. This is why, whenever a money provision is advanced for fees and expenses, I have to credit the client’s current-account.

Yet, a current-account that just reflects financial movements and responsibilities is not enough. A practical example:

A lawyer starts a new matter for a client and asks for a fee provision of $2,000. The current-account shows a creditor balance of $2,000.

Throughout one week, a lawyer has input 20 hours of work into the client’s matter. If that lawyer charges a $150/hour fee, what is the client financial position then?

For any usual billing software the answer would be: the client is creditor of $2,000. According to that application all is OK regarding this client.

But if that lawyer were a LawRD user, when checking the client’s current-account the information would have be:

LawRD displays two balances:

• A green one shows the amount of $2,000 representing a credit to the client, for the advanced provision.
• A red one with the negative amount of -$1,000.

This red -$1,000 stands for the real financial situation of the client towards the lawyer. By the end of the month LawRD will read the client situation as:

$2,000 (provision) - [20 hours input x $150] = $2,000 - $3,000 = -$1,300

LawRD displays two diverse concepts of current-account:

• The traditional, i.e. one that reflects the issuing of billing sheets and the client payments.
• And another, we call Global Current-Account, which mentions tasks and expenses already logged on the matter, but not yet issued  and billed to the client.

Given the scenario on the example, a lawyer faces two options: either a new provision is requested or all debts are billed to the client so that the balance is altered.

Looking at the first option and that a new provision of $2,500 has been added, the current-account will show a positive balance of $4,500, if only financial flow is considered. A positive balance of $1,500 is shown if the total input of tasks already accomplished but not yet billed is taken into consideration, though:

That $1,500 balance equals about 10 hours worth of work ($1,500 divided by $150) that the lawyer may use for that matter. Once that happens, the client will be in debt before the lawyer, again.

Should the lawyer bill all work to the client, the balance in both accounts will be the same: a negative -$1,000:

LawRD displays as negative and in red all the client’s debtor positions. This is a way to red flag the client’s debtor positions to the matter manager or anyone in charge of the administration.

So, what is the upside of showing two concepts of current-account? Here’s one: the client financial situation to the lawyer or law firm is displayed in real time. Billing never keeps up with the work actually done. By using LawRD, users are informed earlier when the client’s financial position is negative… and real time info is valuable for it allows swifter decisions without having to wait on the administrative time it takes for billing sheets to be issued and only then being able to decide.

LawRD is valuable data for your valuable time.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

For quite a long time word of mouth has been the best way of getting new clients. Nowadays, with the growth of social networks, there is a new form of pointing, interacting and gather new clients.

Is it?

Social networks are an excellent means of adding new contacts and followers for our view points, yet this is just a medium, not the core reason for contracting services.

Recommendation results from good work, best client management, fair pricing and perfect service. These adjectives will make your clients to recommend your practice to others.

Adding to good work, client management, pricing, etc, there’s the need for all that to be advertised, i.e. marketing.

How can that be done? There are lots of ways! Some are ethically legitimate, others are not. Publicity alone doesn’t cut it, though. Marketing must walk along side with credibility. Such credibility is gained by stances that reflect our practice, e.g.labour law, just debating or giving tips about it isn’t enough. One must have
effective actions on this law area and its target demographics.

And how can you act toward this?

Through social networking.

Keep up with the times. The younger generation is talking to one another through social networks. Overlooking that is writing a death sentence to your practice.

So, which is best: recommendation or social networking? Recommendation along with credibility, including on the social networks.

To celebrate our presence at London’s European Lawyers event next June 5th, we’re giving a LawRD - Reports on Demand special offer:

• 3 months free trial of LawRD for all European Lawyers fans in Facebook.
• 3 months free use, extra, to all participants at the event.

This means a special offer of, up to 6 months, free use of LawRD.

To access this give away, just click the following fields in LawRD, when signing up for free trial:

We’d like to stress that during free trial, LawRD is fully functional for the better assessment of our app.

This is another initiative in order to strengthen our bond to European Lawyers, just like it happened with the 2009 Brussels event. We’re counting on all of you being there… if the Icelandic volcano doesn’t decided to alter our plans.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

What is your plan B? Usually we call Plan B to an alternative plan other than the main plan, a back up plan.

What’s your plan A? Searching for alternatives in your market share, rekindling contacts with clients, newer products, and so on, all are part of your present strategy and how you approach the market.

And what’s your plan B? None? No alternative?

Not that we are saying your plan B should be a different businness altogether. Not at all. A plan B may not be used at the present, but may come in useful in the future.

For instance: A firm deals with physical individuals, i.e. consumers in colective suites. This is your plan A. The products range from Brasil Telecom shares to fawlty goods. Great; this firm has got a market, its goals are set and it thrives.

What would be its plan B? Sticking to the same businness core (physical individuals), while broadening the product base (to areas such as labour, social security, family) marketing these new offers and by gathering new clients.

Having a plan B doesn´t mean to give up plan A.

A plan B means that you can get more from your practice.

A plan B means to take a chance on new markets.

A plan B means to be aware of market nuances.

Prepare to glimpse an opportunity in all that you do. Be it a chat with a friend, an hearing or a partnership.

That’s where opportunities are. If they don´t interest you, pass them onto whom they might. Become a business reference rather than a mere lawyer (thus adding value to your profession).

The world of business, more than just a lawyer, demands a professional widely connected to  most walks of life and market, not single minded but with broadened knowledge.

What’s your plan B? Share it with us.

Post by Gustavo Rocha, lawyer and consultant in management, IT and quality for law firms. He’s the author of Gestão.Adv.br (content in Portuguese only):

“The client knows best”, this is an adage not always true and ought not to be interpreted in its stricto sensu.

What is the client’s dream is another issue. Dreaming is good, it is free, but one needs to “keep it real” so the dream can come to be. If a client looks for a wreckless quest, should I play along so I can prove him wrong. What about the lawyer’s ethical code, then? Is a client’s dream any good, if it means to work in the German market, which is known for its demands for price and quality, when he is not up to those standards?

We have to put the clients inner yearns and hopes along side with the facts of reality, possibility and professionalism.

Being a lawyer and consultant and psychologist and entrepreneur, is what Being a Lawyer is all about. The market demands for professionals with business strategies, calculated legal risks included. In this mind frame, to be a lawyer is to be a strategist. Not just a petition clerk, but a real Guru for clients.The one they look for guidance in rough moments, through hard times.

The same goes for lawyers who deal with individuals. Employees in any company. To be aware whether  the company they work for is compliant with the legislation, their rights and duties (not only the rights,
like many love to stress) are all fundamental by the time to decide  whether or not to stay working in the present job.

Clients do not always know best.

Dreams do not always come true.

Recurring to the law is not always the best move.

In any of the above cases, a lawyer who has a strategic overview of the market, who is sensible to human interactions and has a good knowledge of the law, can provide an outcome closer to justice and the truth.

Post by Daniel Nunes, muchBeta’s Chief Financial Officer:

Your LawRD account has a preset matter: General Internal Matters.

This matter is devised for logging the time spent on tasks not to be billed to clients. Let’s consider two examples that will show how useful this particular matter can be:

• Lawyers will log here the time spent on weekly firm meetings.
• The partner in charge of back office chores (i.e. overviewing accounts receivable and accounts payable) may log that time spent into this General Internal Matters.

On both cases, by not logging, the data on time spent will not be realistic. This time is actually allocated and is of the firm’s interest. For the weekly meetings instance, it will look as if there is a day in the week that less work is done, whereas the partner in charge of the back office tasks seems to put in less than all the others who just work for the clients matters.

Checking the Status tab within General Internal Matters, allows for consulting data on how do internal affairs affect the overall firm performance as well as, keeping up with its evolution through time.

Following the said example and figuring that we are in early March 2010, we may state that:

• The total amount of time spent on Internal Affairs is increasing by the month (Time chart).
• Consequently to that, losses related to this matter are growing (Money chart)
• The General Internal Matters quota for the Inefficiency Share will rise up to 45% by December 2010 (Productivity chart). The Inefficiency Share is the ratio of the non billed time on a matter and the total non billed time on all the firm’s matters.

In presence of this data, it is up to the firm whether or not to hire to someone to supervise internal affairs, thus freeing lawyers to just working on clients matters. The best first step in order to best go through this issue might be checking reports on the time  each lawyer wastes on internal affairs:

Post by Nelson Teixeira, muchBeta’s Chief Data Officer:

The wage/hour value on LawRD is directly preset on the Users tab. By default, only those who have System Administrator profiles can access it:

In order to check the wage/hour value and fee of any given lawyer, just click their name and then click Change:

The Wage/Hour box displays the firm’s cost per hour for that lawyer and the Client cost box stands for the hourly rate billed to the client that very lawyer has worked on the client’s matters.

The Wage/Hour value is mostly used within reports and on the Timesheet tab within the Matters tab.

In reports, the wage/hour value is key when assessing lawyers profitability. The equation to assess profitability is:

The desired result for this indicator should be over 100%. Values under that bar mean that cost has surpassed gain during the period chosen to assess.

This indicator can be analysed through time for the same lawyer, compared against the same indicators referring to other lawyers and the firm’s global profitability indicators .

Thus, LawRD allows for comparisons throughout time and space!

Post by Braz Pereira, muchBeta’s Chief Commercial Officer:

From its genesis LawRD was devised in close proximity to law firms’ reality, so that their performance and ease of use needs are met.

During the stage of sorting procedures and requirements, the law professionals we’ve consulted were unanimous on the growing level of demand from their clients, regarding client support and on updating them on their matters.

More and more, clients want be informed and updated on the development and what’s being done in defense of their interests. To fulfill such legitimate yearning, they usually contact directly the lawyers or firms they’ve contracted. To keep their trust and satisfaction, one has to display professionalism, control over the matters and the ability to answer issues such as dealines, tasks undertaken, fees and payments.

With this reality in mind, we aim to ease the work of those who have the responsability of keeping updated and supporting clients, enabling, from a simple Internet connection, data related to any given matter thus allowing them answering, on the fly, to most questions clients ask.

Once the Matter is clicked on, the matter in question  selected, the following page opens up:

Besides the header showing the client’s contacts and matter ’s generic info, it is possible to consult immediately reports on: money, time, productivity and profitability. These provide for an overview and immediate grip on the matter’s status.

Questions on tasks already executed or billing sheets, can be answered through the Time tab, wherein one can find about: who, when and what!

Any doubts on matter expenses, a click on Expenses gives way to seeing all expenses, sorting the ones pending on approval, the ones already approved and the ones that have been billed:

The Comments tab gives access to comments submitted by the team working on that matter and other documents related to it:

The Events tab presents dates and events with significance to the matter:

The Billing tab adresses billing sheets, with the matter’s history and the billing sheets already issued:

Gathering all data concerning a matter in a single place, gives way to respond, on the fly, to the majority of concerns by clients, thus conveying professionalism, control over the matters, transparency, service quality and aiming the client’s satisfaction.  This approach ranks high on LawRD’s users degree of satisfaction, namely those who deal directly with client support.

Post by Nelson Teixeira, muchBeta’s Chief Data Officer:

LawRD’s reports are devised so that any law firm manager gets an immediate answer on data submitted to the system.

To that end, we’ve identified in the system, the main Entities to which data is associated to. These are: Clients, Matters, Lawyers, Rainmakers and Performance. These entities can be individually used as value aggregators or combined as data filters.

Next, we’ve also identified all numerical Pointers on: how much we have forecast on costs, how much are we actually spending and how much are we profiting. We have also crossed these basic pointers with invoices status and the partial amonts of these dedicated to expenses and tasks. This data allows us to know, among other important issues, the Net Worth logged in the system the Plan Accomplish Ratio or the Time Productivity.

This data analysis will enable the end user with a tool for spotting, in an analytic fashion,  the causes for an atypical billing period, a decrease on revenue, growth or slowing trends. When examining the issues we’ve mentioned, LawRD’s reports will tell us about: Who, to Whom, What, When, Brought by Whom, under Whose Responsability and the ever wanted HOW.

In order to ease the equation of problems, reports are sorted by Entities, each having four analysis groups: Money, Time, Profitability and Productivity. Every group contains a set of pointers clustered by the entity previously chosen. If willing to do so, users can also filter data through a form containing all six entities.

Example: lawyer John presents a 25% decrease on productivity for this month. Given his quite up to standard and regular performance over the past few months, I’m having some trouble pin pointing what is the cause for that. The issue may present three possible angles:

• John is losing focus and is just not keeping up with his usual performance, as the productivity report states.
• The firm is going through a rough spot. That can easily be concluded by the time line of the report on Turnover.
• Jonh is working on a matter that turned out to be a black hole. To check on this case, I must select the matter entity, the Time analysis group and the filter lawyer John. A discrepancy between the logged time and the billed time will sort the cause for this problem.

Given the large amount of data used in every report, which involves nearly all application’s data structures, we had to devise a strategy of data cache in order to simplify and streamline data selection. The sole minor issue here is that, data is not displayed in real time (updating happens every half hour), but when it is imperative, users can override this by manually updating it in a single click.