{"id":891039,"date":"2016-09-29T12:45:54","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/?p=891039"},"modified":"2016-09-29T12:45:54","modified_gmt":"2016-09-29T18:45:54","slug":"residential-construction-liability-case-watch-closely","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myconstructionexpert.com\/blog\/residential-construction-liability-case-watch-closely\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyers are Only Billing a Fraction of their Time; How can they be More Efficient?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victor Li\u00a0| ABA Journal<\/a>\u00a0| September 20, 2016<\/p>\n

The folks at Clio dropped a bombshell that stunned attendees at the fourth annual Clio Cloud Conference to silence. And no, it wasn\u2019t the Clio employee that did \u201cThe Worm\u201d on stage during the obligatory kickoff dance party.<\/p>\n

During his opening address Monday at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago, Clio CEO Jack Newton unveiled the \u201cLegal Trends Report,\u201d which delivers benchmark data on subjects like average hourly rates among the company\u2019s users. He shocked many in the audience after revealing that, among Clio\u2019s 150,000 daily active users, lawyers were only billing 28 percent of their available work hours (approximately 2.24 hours of an 8-hour work day). That number, according to Newton, was closer to 22 percent for solo practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cHoly crap,\u201d Victoria Giambra, an immigration attorney from Texas, tweeted during Newton\u2019s speech. \u201cFor average solo [practitioner\u2019s] 8 hour workday\u20142 hours are utilized for work, 1.6 of that is billed and 1.4 collected. Explains a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWOW!?!? Lawyers only collecting on 1.4 hours of their 8 hour workday\u2026 law firms are dead if they don\u2019t reinvent themselves,\u201d tweeted David Leary, a small business ecosystem evangelist at Intuit who led a session entitled What Lawyers Can Learn From Accountants and their Journey to the Cloud.<\/p>\n

Among the report\u2019s other findings: average hourly billing rate across the U.S. among Clio users is $232. The report also found that Washington, D.C. lawyers on average have the most costly billable hour ($281) while lawyers in Iowa have the least costly ($145). But George Psiharis, Clio\u2019s vice president for business development, noted in a later presentation that along with D.C\u2019s high hourly rate was one of the lowest realization rates.<\/p>\n

Having all of this data could only help lawyers make better decisions, Newton said. \u201cThe practice of law today is not data driven in any way, shape or form,\u201d said Newton. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen how data can transform industries and we hope to drive that.\u201d<\/p>\n

For one thing, data can help lawyers be more efficient and \u201cget the missing six hours per day back,\u201d according to Newton. To help attendees do this, the conference provided sessions and speakers designed to help them choose the right tech tools and keep track of the right metrics.<\/p>\n

Mary Redzic, co-founder of Shape the Law, had slightly different numbers but came to same conclusion as Newton: Lawyers only bill a fraction of their available time. \u201cTechnology can help minimize your own risk; bill more, work less; and get more clients,\u201d she said during a session entitled 3 Reasons to be Excited About the Future of Technology.<\/p>\n

Redzic suggested using customer relationship management software, automated client intake and predictive analytics programs to allow lawyers to expend less time on routine, wasteful or futile tasks. Product names mentioned included Clio (of course), Concord, Lexicata, Les Machina, Ravel Law, Casetext and even Google Voice and Google Scholar.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t just use tech for tech\u2019s sake, Redzic and co-presenter Zach Abramowitz warned attendees. For one thing, they said, companies that promise they can do everything short of winning the case for you should not be trusted. For another, they argued, it is vital for the right people at a firm or office to make the decision as to what software or tool to use.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to figure out who will use the tech and have them test it,\u201d said Redzic.<\/p>\n

Another session emphasized the need to see law firms as businesses and keep track of key performance indicators the way most industries do. New York-based lawyer Anthony Marrone II used popular TV show Shark Tank<\/em> as a reference point and pointed out that the investors on that show always asked about sales, as well as the true costs of services\u2014questions that lawyers rarely have the answer to.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil you can replace yourself in the role of doing routine, minor stuff, you won\u2019t be able to scale and grow,\u201d Marrone said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also vital for lawyers to differentiate themselves from their competition. To that end, he suggested providing superior customer service, tying into last year\u2019s Clio Cloud Conference theme of providing consumers with an effortless experience.<\/p>\n

Short of that, freebies are always a good idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I do is send pies to my clients,\u201d said Marrone. \u201cThat\u2019s because I like pies and hope, maybe, my clients will send me some.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Victor Li\u00a0| ABA Journal\u00a0| September 20, 2016 The folks at Clio dropped a bombshell that stunned attendees at the fourth annual Clio Cloud Conference to silence. And no, it wasn\u2019t the Clio employee that did \u201cThe Worm\u201d on stage during the obligatory kickoff dance party. During his opening address Monday at the Radisson Blu Aqua… Continue reading Lawyers are Only Billing a Fraction of their Time; How can they be More Efficient?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[172],"tags":[27,9816],"class_list":["post-891039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-law-2","tag-construction-law","tag-lawyers","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nLawyers are Only Billing a Fraction of their Time; How can they be More Efficient? 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