Facilitator Guide

Law Firm Economics: Timekeeping, Billing, and Collections

Facilitator Guide

Law Firm Economics: Timekeeping, Billing, and Collections

Topic: Business of Law

What’s covered

Billable rates
Alternative fee arrangements
How time becomes bills
Collections
Realization rates

Before the session

Prepare the Attendees

Send the attendees an invitation for the session. Include this link, which has the videos and exercise they’ll need to prepare.

https://www.hotshotlegal.com/discussions/law-firm-economics-timekeeping-billing-and-collections/attendee

Prepare Yourself

Watch the videos and read the exercise so you’re familiar with the Hotshot material.

Course

Law Firm Economics: Timekeeping, Billing, and Collections

An examination of the complete revenue cycle at law firms, covering billable hours, alternative fee arrangements, the billing process, collections, write-offs, write-downs, and realization rates.
Exercise
PDF

During the session

Part 1: Knowledge Check

Ask attendees these questions to ensure they understand the topic:

How are billing rates typically set, and what factors influence those rates?
What are some common types of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), and why might clients prefer them?
What’s a pre-bill, and what role does it play in the billing process?
Why might time get written down or written off?
Why can delays in collections affect a law firm’s financial health?

Part 2: Group Exercise

Lead a group discussion based on the exercise. To encourage collaboration, divide the attendees into groups to discuss the exercise, then have a representative from each group summarize their views to the larger group. Call on people to share their thoughts and ask others to respond.

Tip for remote sessions: use your web conferencing system’s breakout room feature to divide people into groups.

Part 3: Firm Specifics

Share your own experiences and guidance, including:

Anecdotes
General practice tips (dos and don’ts)
Firm-specific guidance and practices

After the session

To continue learning, attendees can check out related courses in Hotshot’s Business of Law topic.

About Hotshot

Hotshot helps lawyers develop their legal, business, and technology skills through short videos, quizzes, and summaries, and we help law firms and law schools plan and deliver engaging training programs. Our customers include Am Law 200 firms, top law schools, and regional and international firms.