Back-office operations are the portions of the company that are generally composed of non-client-facing personnel and functions. Typically, this includes operations related to accounting and finance, technical support, human resources, marketing, document review and production, client relationships, litigation research, litigation support, library services, and information technology.
Yet, although these back-office legal services do not directly create revenue for a law firm, their support is essential to its success. That is why, in this post, we will go over some of the more critical back-office operations of a law firm, how they impact the firm, and what it can mean for your legal team if you choose to outsource these tasks.
On a daily basis, intake forms and phone calls take up a significant portion of a law firm's time. In fact, legal intake receptionists often spend their whole day dealing with customer support inquiries, performing legal intake, maintaining quality control, sending messages to the lawyers in the firm, scheduling consultations and appointments, and assuring new clients that their cases will be handled efficiently and promptly. Unfortunately, these tasks can be a lot for any person to tackle, and the stress can often lead to critical mistakes.
Thankfully, by outsourcing this back-office operation, you can free up your staff’s time to focus on more crucial tasks and relieve them of the immense pressure that often comes with this role. For instance, when you work with a skilled team of intake conversion experts, these individuals can answer calls on your firm’s behalf, complete initial consultations, process new client intake forms, and schedule appointments for you while making sure to keep your law firm’s revenue healthy.
Although collecting payments and delivering invoices may seem relatively straightforward, it often leaves legal teams saddled with tedious tasks, preventing them from providing any strategic value to the law firm’s operations or helping these firms grow their business.
However, by outsourcing this critical task, your firm will work with Accounts Receivable management experts that can streamline and optimize your billing process and operations to maximize your revenue and ensure timely payments by clients.
Trust accounting refers to the need to keep track of your client's funds in a separate trust from the law firm’s operating funds. Even though, conceptually, trust accounting may sound simple, keeping money that isn’t yours in a different account so that you do not accidentally spend it. In practice, it is far more difficult and stressful than it may seem.
Yet, when you outsource trust accounting to a team that has experience dealing with this essential task, you will not have to stress about these trusts being handled inadequately and possibly facing sanctions from the bar or other serious consequences as a result. Instead, you can leave your trust accounting to experts that have the required knowledge to handle these records and ensure that processes meet statutory requirements.
When it comes to a law firm’s business development, it often involves pursuing strategic opportunities for the firm. This means building new relationships and figuring out new sale opportunities as well as new revenue streams.
Yet, many law firms often struggle with this crucial task and look to coaching teams to help them succeed with this back-office task. In truth, no matter if you are just starting out or have many years of experience running a law firm, you can benefit from working with experts that have the knowledge and strategic mastery of law firm management to help you optimize your firm’s operations.
At Back Office Legal, our team of operations experts have been supporting small and large firms for years, taking care of their client management and back-office services to not only maximize operational efficiency but to increase their revenue as well.
That is why, if you are looking for a team to help you analyze your current processes, develop new ones, and review opportunities for improvement, contact Back Office Legal today for a free consultation.
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