Becci Wicks, head of legal practices for Lloyds Bank, introduces the Finance and accounting section. (Updated 5 April 2023)
A well run law firm is a pleasure to work in.
A good starting point is using a firm of accountants that understands the legal sector and can help you to set up the systems that you need. Andy Harris has written a checklist of ten key things to look for when choosing that firm.
Andy Poole provides us with a quick summary of the nine types of finance used by law firms and gives extensive advice on cash flow management.
David Newbury answers the most common questions on bank finance (43 FAQs) and security for borrowing, and offers a checklist of how to deal with lenders. His Lloyds colleague Darren cable explains the funding for PI insurance and for tax, to spread these hefty payments over the whole year.
Karl Millward and Andy Hogarth have produced really useful sets of FAQs on tax and FAQs on pensions for law firms.
Your management information should be designed to flag up the problems and opportunities for your law firm. Stephen Ward provides us with his list of twelve broad principles that should guarantee you the best results for the least effort.
In longer articles, Chris O'day then highlights the opportunities to boost revenue and cash flow by focusing on utilisation and lock-up and Richard Allen explains the steps to recovering in full the legal costs between parties.
Peter Noyce goes into detail on how to approach the financing of a law firm merger.
Alex Holt gives a useful overview of legal cashiering, explaining how to minimise both your costs and your risk by using the right processes.
Finally, Scott Newby explains how and why Third-Party Managed Accounts are being used by law firms as an alternative to holding client monies.
