For Many Law Firms, Collections Season Is Now 12 Months Long

November 8, 2022
ALM | Law.com

Types : In the News

The ability to duplicate last year’s landmark financial results will likely turn on the success of recent investments in billing efforts.

Historically a fourth-quarter frenzy filled with uncomfortable conversations with clients, collections have become a year-round endeavor for many Pennsylvania law firms, who have made significant investments in finance teams tasked with developing bespoke payment solutions on a client-by-client basis.

But whether firms will be able to match or exceed their revenue and profit gains from 2021 will largely depend on their ability to see a return on investments to their billing and collections functions at a time when many clients are dragging their feet on making timely payments.

“Most of the CFOs and staff beat up on attorneys as the fiscal year comes to a close; we’ve gotten away from the end-of-year collections phase to make it a year-round approach,”

Steven Pachman, managing partner of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads.