Note: This article was originally printed in the November/December 2020 issue of the ABA GP Solo Magazine.
Why and How You Should Get Paid Electronically (from ABA GPSolo Magazine)
Topics: Business of Law
Gravity Legal's Dan Lear on Law Firm Autopilot with Ernie 'the Attorney' Svenson
Ernie “the Attorney” Svenson has been thinking about law, tech, and making law practices work better for lawyers for a long time. So, we were stoked when he invited our own Dan Lear to be a guest on his Law Firm Autopilot podcast.
The occasion was the recent release of Gravity Legal’s subscription legal services white paper and the topic was . . . wait for it . . . subscription legal services.
Dan and Ernie talked about subscription fatigue (fact or fiction?), the importance of a solid value proposition for subscription legal services, how to get started with subscription legal services, how subscriptions can allow you to leverage your highest and best use as an attorney, the economics of law firm subscriptions and how that’s related to niche marketing, and how Gravity Legal is different from LawPay.
Check out the episode here and a big thanks to Ernie for the invitation!
Topics: Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
Virtual Learning: Credit Card Fees for Law Firms
For many law firms, credit card processing fees are a sizeable item on the income statement. Because there are a variety of different types of processing fees, it can be difficult to determine exactly how much a firm is paying and how those fees can be reduced.
This event is designed for accounting and financial consulting professionals who work with and advise law firms. We will cover:
Topics: Firm Financials, Credit Card Fees, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
The Gravity Legal Subscription Legal Services White Paper
We're very pleased to announce the release of our subscription legal services white paper. Six months and over 40 pages in the making, this is every law firm's guide to getting started with subscription legal services.
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
Can lawyers accept Apple Pay?
Getting paid electronically is more relevant than ever in our current pandemic moment. It's no wonder, then, that lawyers have lots of questions about how to get paid without cash or paper checks.
Topics: GPay, Apple Pay, Venmo, Business of Law
Tools for your subscription legal services offering (Part 5)
Note: This is the fifth in a series of posts on the what, why, and how of subscription legal services. You can find our first post “What are subscription legal services?” here. Our second post, "The 'why' of subscription legal services (Part 2)" is here. The third post, "The ethics of subscription legal services (Part 3)" is here. Part 4, "How to launch your subscription legal services offering (Part 4)," can be found here.
We at Gravity Legal recently launched a suite of tools that make offering subscription legal services easy. If you'd like to learn more about the tools we’ve built, contact us.
We also have three episodes of our Financially Legal podcast featuring lawyers who have built and are offering subscription legal services. Check out those episodes with Jon Tobin, Beth Lebowitz, and Kimberly Bennett. You can also hear me and Megan Zavieh discuss the ethics of subscription legal services on her Financially Legal podcast episode.
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
How to launch your subscription legal services offering (Part 4)
Note: This is the fourth in a series of posts on the what, why, and how of subscription legal services. You can find our first post “What are subscription legal services?” here. Our second post, "The 'why' of subscription legal services (Part 2)" is here. The third post, The ethics of subscription legal services (Part 3) is here. We at Gravity Legal recently launched a suite of tools that make offering subscription legal services easy. If you'd like to learn more about the tools we’ve built, contact us.
We also have three episodes of our Financially Legal podcast featuring lawyers who have built and are offering subscription legal services. Check out those episodes with Jon Tobin, Beth Lebowitz, and Kimberly Bennett. You can also hear me and Megan Zavieh discuss the ethics of subscription legal services on her Financially Legal podcast episode.
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
Litigation from the Client's Perspective - An Interview with Dan Price
Recently, our team invited seasoned litigator Diana Siri Breaux, a partner at Summit Law Group in Seattle, to interview Gravity’s founder and CEO Dan Price about this very topic. As a longtime business owner, Dan has his fair share of experience with the legal system. In 2016, that experience reached new levels when Dan’s brother and co-founder, Lucas Price, took him to court after alleging that Dan’s decisions as CEO--including the decision to raise Gravity’s minimum wage to $70,000 a year--had cost him money as a minority shareholder. At stake was not just millions of dollars but the very existence of the company--and the jobs of its 120+ employees.
Topics: Firm Financials, Business and Culture, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
Legal-ize QuickBooks with Gravity Legal and LeanLaw
Many law firms use QuickBooks as their accounting solution. Some firms even use QuickBooks to send invoices. But QuickBooks as a complete time-keeping and billing solution?
Topics: Quickbooks, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
The ethics of subscription legal services (Part 3)
Note: This is the third in a series of posts on the what, why, and how of subscription legal services. You can find our first post “What are subscription legal services?” here. Our second post, "The 'why' of subscription legal services (Part 2)" is here. We at Gravity Legal recently launched a suite of tools that make offering subscription legal services easy. If you'd like to learn more about the tools we’ve built, contact us.
We also have three episodes of our Financially Legal podcast featuring lawyers who have built and are offering subscription legal services. Check out those episodes with Jon Tobin, Beth Lebowitz, and Kimberly Bennett. You can also hear me and Megan Zavieh discuss the ethics of subscription legal services on her Financially Legal podcast episode.
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
The “why” of subscription legal services (Part 2)
Note: This is the second in a series of posts on the what, why, and how of subscription legal services. You can find our first post “What are subscription legal services?” here. We at Gravity Legal recently launched a suite of tools that make offering subscription legal services easy. If you'd like to learn more about the tools we’ve built, contact us.
We also have three episodes of our Financially Legal podcast featuring lawyers who have built and are offering subscription legal services. Check out those episodes with Jon Tobin, Beth Lebowitz, and Kimberly Bennett. You can also hear me and Megan Zavieh discuss the ethics of subscription legal services on her Financially Legal podcast episode.
“Subscription-based legal services? Stop right there.”
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
Gravity Legal Presents at the ABA Dispute Resolution Tech Expo
This September I had the pleasure of speaking to the innovative lawyers, mediators and greater dispute resolution community members at the American Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Tech Expo.
Topics: Firm Financials, Key Performance Metrics, IOLTA, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
What are subscription legal services? (Part 1)
Note: This is the first in a series of posts on the what, why, and how of subscription legal services. We at Gravity Legal recently launched a suite of tools that make offering subscription legal services easy. If you'd like to learn more, contact us here.
We also have two episodes of our Financially Legal podcast on subscription legal services featuring lawyers who have built and are offering subscription legal services. Check out those episodes with Jon Tobin and Kimberly Bennett.
If you bill time on an hourly basis for long enough you begin to ask yourself some troubling questions: Should I DIY remodel my bathroom? Or are those 70 hours better spent billing clients at an exponentially higher rate of return, while I pay a plumber to screw the job up better than I ever could? Should I do my own laundry? Or should I bill another client? Should I walk the dog? Or should I set the dog adrift on an iceberg into the ocean, saving myself countless hours that could be used to bill clients in the future?
Topics: Subscriptions, Business of Law
Webinar: What's your law practice worth?
A couple of weeks back we worked with Tom Lenfestey from the Law Practice Exchange to develop a simple calculator to help legal professionals to estimate the value of their legal practice. We launched the calculator in conjunction with an episode of our Financially Legal podcast in which I interviewed Tom and discussed the whys and hows of law practice valuation as well as buying and selling practices.
Topics: Business and Culture, Business of Law
What's your law practice worth?
TLDR: Just skip the nonsense and give me a link to the law practice valuation calculator.
A few years ago I was trying to figure out what to do with my legal career. I met with a friend and mentor for whose firm I'd worked during law school. Perhaps sensing my trepidation about the future this close-to-retirement lawyer said "I'll give you my practice."
Topics: Business and Culture, Business of Law
How should lawyers think about money? The experts weigh in
Listeners and readers have been pretty interested in our recent podcast on how lawyers talk to clients about money and our recent blog post about how one client (and Gravity Legal team member) wishes lawyers talked to them about money. So, we decided to ask the experts how lawyers should talk to clients about money.
Topics: Firm Financials, Business of Law
Lawyers Putting Clients On Payment Plans
This is a guest post by divorce attorney and firm owner, Russell Knight, of Chicago, Illinois.
Almost all lawyers have a retainer or a large initial payment for legal services. Lawyers and clients enter into engagement agreements which specify how that retainer or payment is to be accounted for. Specifically, the money will be applied towards the lawyer’s hourly billing or specifically itemized tasks.
Topics: Firm Financials, Business of Law
From the Client's Perspective: How I Wish My Lawyer Would Talk about Money
I’ve put it off all week, but the time has come. I need to pay our law firm. They do great work and have helped protect our company during difficult times. But paying their bill is not a pleasurable experience.
Topics: Firm Financials, Business and Culture, Business of Law
Unconventional Tools for Unconventional Times
I've had the luxury of being a member of interview panels for many entry level positions and I absolutely love it. If you set the right tone, ask the right questions, and make sure everyone is comfortable, you end up partaking in a great discourse as opposed to just slamming someone with questions. Because these entry level candidates just want a chance to prove themselves, you end up speaking with a number of creative and clever people. Inevitably the same question pops up in some form or another; "What are you looking for in a hire?"
Topics: Business and Culture, Business of Law
Credit Card Processing for Law Firms
Law firms are unique. They have unique processes and strange, sometimes archaic, rules governing the way to handle money. As a result, it's prudent for a law firm to ensure that any electronic payment processor understands and complies with these rules. Below are the most important items to check.
Topics: Credit Card Fees, Business of Law
How to Boost Your Collection Rate
Collection rate is defined as the revenue you actually collect into your operating bank account divided by the total amount invoiced. Typical collection rates for law firms are around 85%, but they vary markedly by firm. Increasing your collection rate is a great way to earn more without actually doing any additional work.
Topics: Firm Financials, Key Performance Metrics, IOLTA, Business of Law
Dan Talks Law Firm Finances, Company Culture and More with Mark Homer of GNGF
Dan Lear was recently interviewed by Mark Homer of legal marketing firm GNGF. Dan and Mark dove into many different topics including:
- Company culture
- A $70,000 minimum wage
- The Gravity Legal platform
- Law firm finance
- Alternative fee structures
- Expectations of the modern consumer of legal services
Topics: Firm Financials, Key Performance Metrics, IOLTA, Accounting, Business and Culture, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
Simple Strategies To Cashflow Success For Your Law Firm (even during COVID)
Written By Devon Thurtle Anderson, CEO of Financial Consulting Firm, Skepsis
When I first left my law practice to become a law firm bookkeeper and financial strategist, I was shocked to discover how many law firms struggle with cashflow. Even more surprising was that this struggle isn’t just limited to a few seemingly rag-tag solo general practice firms. To the contrary, when I had a chance to look under the hood at dozens of law firms’ books and financial records – including law firms I had always seen as hugely successful – I learned that almost every law firm has a cashflow problem within any given 12-month period. So, as part of my bookkeeping and consulting services, I set out to change that.
Topics: Firm Financials, Credit Card Fees, Key Performance Metrics, IOLTA, Accounting, Invoices, Business of Law
Is Your Firm Ready for Re-entry?
Back in March I shared three things that I learned from the Small Law Firm Coronavirus Growth Symposium put on by How to Manage a Small Law Firm. At that time, when uncertainty and fear about our current predicament were at its peak, the content of the Growth Symposium offered a powerful reminder to stay positive and focused.
As the country begins, at least in some quarters, to open back up the good people from How To Manage a Small Law Firm are back with another program titled (in a very on-brand way) How to Not Screw Up Your Law Office’s Re-Entry.
Topics: Business and Culture, Business of Law
The Most Important Things Lawyers Can Do in the Wake of COVID-19
By Dan Price
This article was originally published on the Attorney Action Club.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the already terrible inequality we have in the United States. Prior to the outbreak, income inequality was the highest it had been in fifty years. Now, with more than 30 million people unemployed, it’s likely to get even higher for the foreseeable future.
Topics: Business and Culture, Business of Law
Two Ways Law Firms Can Reduce the Cost of Accepting Credit Cards
Credit cards are a great way to get paid more quickly. The Clio trends report shows that firms who accept credit cards get paid 39% faster than those that don't.
But credit cards are expensive. For invoice or trust payments where the client enters the card, rather than swiping or dipping, the cost generally hovers around 3%. Furthermore, credit cards are not the only way to provide a high-quality online payment experience.
Shopping around for better rates can save you a few tenths of a percent, but here are two changes you can make to drastically reduce card fees while still getting the benefit of speedy payments.
Topics: Firm Financials, Credit Card Fees, Business of Law
4 Steps to Effective A/R Management
Managing accounts receivable is important when times are good. But when times are tough, how effectively firms turn accounts receivable into cash can be the difference between going under and thriving.
Expert law firm financial consultant, Chelsea Williams of Core Solutions Group has an excellent video outlining four tips for effective accounts receivable management. Below is a summary, but we highly recommend checking out the video.
Topics: Firm Financials, Key Performance Metrics, Business of Law
Three Things I Learned from the HTM Coronavirus Growth Symposium and Why You Should Attend
Starting back on March 23, RJon Robins of How To Manage a Small Law Firm held a series of free daily phone conversations with lawyers in response to the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic. RJon was his typically direct but his message was hopeful: there is opportunity out there for lawyers and law firms .
Topics: Firm Financials, Business of Law, Gravity Legal News
Five Ways to Shore Up Your Law Firm's Finances Now
Our lives and livelihoods have changed dramatically over the last two weeks. We’re all hopeful for a swift and significant rebound, but proactive measures will carry the day. Action in crisis can provide a feeling of purpose and normalcy amidst the potentially overwhelming uncertainty. It can also be the difference between going under and thriving.
Topics: Firm Financials, Credit Card Fees, Business of Law
State Rules on Charging Clients a Fee for Paying With Credit Cards
There are three sets of rules lawyers need to navigate when deciding whether to charge clients a fee for paying with a credit card:
Topics: Firm Financials, Credit Card Fees, Business of Law
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