Resources

Red Cave Law Firm Consulting's Technology Blog Series (from CEO Jared D. Correia, Esq.)

2025 Quarter 4

December 28, 2025: Checkmate: How to Stay on Top of Client-Facing Requests

Nothing bottlenecks law firm case process (and progress) as much as waiting for your clients to do things.

Law firms can largely control internal policies & tasks; and, courts utilize definable deadlines.  But, when law firms request that clients do things . . . good luck!  They’ll straight up ignore you.  They’ll obfuscate.  They’ll waste your time, by getting back to you another issue, entirely.  In sum, they mostly won’t give you what you want, unless you stay on them.

The question then becomes: How do you do that?

The answer is consistent follow-ups.  Now, lots of law firms employ workflows; but, not a lot of law firms follow-up on client requests, in an aggressive fashion.  The good news is, that this has become easier than ever before, with software automation.  If you need a document . . . or an esignature . . . or a meeting to get calendared . . . You can simply add a set of follow-ups to that request, via a variety of mechanisms: email, text, phone – most of which, your staff will never even need to touch.

So, when you want your clients to respond to you, simply be a nudge – by proxy, using your software tools.

December 12, 2025: Bailout: Are Accounts Receivable Sinking Your Profitability?

Lots of small and solo law firms have staggering amounts of accounts receivable; and, even if those numbers are not sky high, for you – smaller amounts are still vexing.  Accounts receivable end up counting against your profitability, because these reduce the amount of gross revenue you collect = the top line for your profit margin.  So, the more you collect: the more you make.

But, what if you have existing accounts receivable?  Do you just write them off, entirely?  Now, while it rarely makes sense to sue your clients for unpaid legal bills – there are a whole host of things you can do short of that, which may help you to recoup (at least, some) of your billing.  And, as with most things related to business management, it starts with a process – that you likely don’t have now.  So, the very first thing you can do is followup with folks who have unpaid invoices.  Build up a strategy, same as you would for trying to get someone to book an initial consultation with you: set up a followup schedule, and use different methods to reach out to people.  And, as you would also do with a followup schedule related to lead management, determine when you’re going to stop wasting your time, on someone who won’t pay you and won’t communicate.  At that point, you can refer that person to collections, if you’re willing to pay for and utilize a service like that.  But, if you do get someone who picks up your call, or answers your text – and, there is a willingness to pay . . . but, not the full amount: be prepared to have the conversation about a payment plan.  And, if that option is available: make sure you automate electronic payments – rather than waiting for another check to come in, that won’t.

Of course, the best possible solution to managing accounts receivable, is not to.  Try to take payments in advance, where possible; or, utilize flat fees, subscriptions or other alternative payment models; try to tie payments to points in time before action needs to be taken on a case, to align motivations properly.  And, always: take electronic payments, automating the payment motion, when you can.

December 17, 2025: At a Loss: All A/R is Not Created Equal

Managing accounts receivable is all about timing; and so, you can’t view it simply as a lump sum that you are owed.  Ideally, you’re running and reviewing aged accounts receivable reports – which most bookkeepers will do as a matter of course @ 30-day, 60-day and 90-day+ intervals.  That will give you a sense about a lot of things, related to the financial management of your business, including how your cashflow projects, on a go-forward basis.

But, most importantly, you’ll get a sense of how those dollars escalate in your law practice.  That escalation, of course, needs to be matched by your collection process.  When clients don’t pay you, as they should: you can’t just watch the dollars stack up.  You need to meet that escalating mountain of cash, with a more aggressive collection program.  And, that collection process should be established in your engagement agreement.

There are template clauses accessible online.  But, the general idea is that you want to be able to ramp up your collection process, as the non-payment period extends.  Start by adding interest.  Ramp up followup.  Negotiate, if you need to.

For most law firms, the collection rate is sub 100%.  But, before you write off collecting what you can’t grab on the first pass, pull levers to try to increase that percentage by increments, moving forward.

December 12, 2025: Bailout: Are Accounts Receivable Sinking Your Profitability?

Lots of small and solo law firms have staggering amounts of accounts receivable; and, even if those numbers are not sky high, for you – smaller amounts are still vexing.  Accounts receivable end up counting against your profitability, because these reduce the amount of gross revenue you collect = the top line for your profit margin.  So, the more you collect: the more you make.

But, what if you have existing accounts receivable?  Do you just write them off, entirely?  Now, while it rarely makes sense to sue your clients for unpaid legal bills – there are a whole host of things you can do short of that, which may help you to recoup (at least, some) of your billing.  And, as with most things related to business management, it starts with a process – that you likely don’t have now.  So, the very first thing you can do is followup with folks who have unpaid invoices.  Build up a strategy, same as you would for trying to get someone to book an initial consultation with you: set up a followup schedule, and use different methods to reach out to people.  And, as you would also do with a followup schedule related to lead management, determine when you’re going to stop wasting your time, on someone who won’t pay you and won’t communicate.  At that point, you can refer that person to collections, if you’re willing to pay for and utilize a service like that.  But, if you do get someone who picks up your call, or answers your text – and, there is a willingness to pay . . . but, not the full amount: be prepared to have the conversation about a payment plan.  And, if that option is available: make sure you automate electronic payments – rather than waiting for another check to come in, that won’t.

Of course, the best possible solution to managing accounts receivable, is not to.  Try to take payments in advance, where possible; or, utilize flat fees, subscriptions or other alternative payment models; try to tie payments to points in time before action needs to be taken on a case, to align motivations properly.  And, always: take electronic payments, automating the payment motion, when you can.

November 23, 2025: Arrear View Mirror: How to Collect More Money in Your Law Firm

Law firms usually collect money in arrears, ie – we’ve done the work, now kindly pay us.  Most often, that payment is collected via a standard invoicing process.  A bill is sent to the client; then, the firm waits to get paid.  And waits . . . And waits . . .

That’s because the way that attorneys have always managed the process has placed the control of the situation exclusively in the hands of their clients.  The clients can pay when they wish; and, there isn’t necessarily a whole lot of motivation to pay, if the work has already been done, by that point.

But, there is a better way – automating payments.  And, it can be done in a law firm.

Though, you may need to consider reassessing how you manage your collection process.

So, instead of following that traditional pathway: Have your clients sign a credit card payment authorization, like this one.  Once you have the client credit card information, and authorization to run payment on it – when you have a bill that’s ready: you don’t have to wait for your clients to pay it anymore.  Just charge it yourself.  You can make the charge, then send the invoice.  You can even provide notifications of upcoming payments before you run them.

The one thing you won’t have to do: is wait to get paid.

November 16, 2025: The Myth of Fingerprints: How Lawyers Get High Touch Customer Service Wrong

Whenever I talk to law firms about employing automation for customer service – especially in the context of law firm intake – the attorneys usually push back by saying that they don’t want to automate anything, since they prefer ‘high touch’ customer service.

The problem with that approach is that, in the modern world, ‘high touch’ is often equated with other, less palatable terms: like ‘annoying’ or ‘obnoxious’.

So, let’s play this out a little bit:

-You won’t use an automated scheduling tool, like Calendly, for booking appointments; so, instead of allowing leads or clients to simply pick a time to meet with you, they have to exchange between 8-10 emails with one of your staffpeople, to get on your calendar.

Exasperating.

-You won’t use an esignature tool; so, when you send documents for signature as an email attachment, folks have to: (1) print that document out, (2) sign it, (3) scan it, so they can (4) attach it to an email, that they send back to you.

Infuriating.

-You don’t utilize epayments; so, folks have to write a check, bring it or mail it to you, and then wait for you to cash it.  Maybe you even require a bank check for a retainer.

Maddening.

Now, high-touch has its place: Sure, spend extra time with leads in the initial consultation meeting.  And, followup directly with your clients on a recurring basis, even when nothing is going on.  Definitely, prep your client aggressively for mediation or hearing.

But, don’t make your leads and clients spend extra time running around doing administrative tasks, simply because you equate any time spent with quality time.

November 9, 2025: Knock Three Times: Intake Tips for Modern Law Firms

Maybe the most important activity that you can engage as a business owner, is to convert leads into clients – because, without that process being successful: you don’t really have a business . . . what you’ve got is a hobby.  Now, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, law firms have been far more attuned to intake, than previously – but, there are still some refinements that can be made, to that process.

First, law firms should endeavor to create a ‘universal intake form’ – that can be used by any staffperson or outside vendor, in any context.  In order for that to work, attorneys will need to build intake forms that include document logic – so that requires that specific answers generate unique pathways.  For example, if the completer of the form selects a specific practice area, a different set of questions generate than would appear for a different practice area selection.  If you can map this all out correctly, your in-house or outside intake person could complete the form – but, so could you, or the lead, or really anyone else, on their behalf.  Having a single form also ensures that you collect the same data from every new lead, which makes it easier to generate effective reporting.

Second, ensure that each component of your intake workflow (usually referred to as a ‘pipeline’) is based on an action.  You want to be as granular as possible here, in terms of how you build out those workflows – so, it makes sense to focus on tasks, eg – schedule a consult meeting, request a payment, request a signature on a document, etc.  That will allow you to stay on top of the performance of your staff and/or software, in terms of that process management.  This works because, the intake process is mostly about moving leads along a pathway, and that is done by getting to next actions, as quickly as possible.

Third, you should endeavor to automate as many actions as possible.  Most modern intake tools, including full-scale ‘customer relationship management’ softwares, include many automation features – to the point that law firms can automate the entire intake process (save for conflict checking + the initial client meetings), if they select the right software.  Automation is cheaper than utilizing staff for manual tasks, and also allows you to upskill your intake staff, into more important roles.

November 1, 2025: The Main Event: Three Important Calendar Management Tips for Lawyers

Most attorneys should probably be ruled by their calendars, with law practices running on deadlines.  That’s especially true for litigation firms, which take direction from court rules and judges about when and how things get done.  Of course, the problem with just taking a final deadline, and dropping that onto the calendar (like: attend a hearing, send a document), is that you’re usually left just triaging everything, at the very last minute.  And, nobody wants that mental anguish, when you end up breaking out in a cold sweat, getting ready to battle against the clock.

The good news is that there are some pretty basic calendaring tips you can use, to set things straight, massively improve your process and reduce stress.

The first thing you can do is to create ‘self-imposed deadlines’ – so, simply: not deadlines that other people require from you.  As an estate planning attorney, there’s no settled time frame for when you need to complete your clients’ documents, for example – so, you should calendar the completion date.

The second thing you can do is to create ‘ticklers’, or reminders, for outside deadlines or self-imposed ones.  This will require you to ‘phase’ the project = break it down step-by-step, and create reminders.  So, if you end up needing to draft a document for court, remind yourself, beforehand: to do the research, to generate a first draft, to get feedback on your draft, to make final edits . . . then, to submit.  That’s far better than trying to get everything done on the due date – which is often the default, if you don’t split a larger project up into components.

The third thing that’s really helpful, is creating ‘recurring reminders’, and this is quite useful, in terms of keeping in touch with clients, in order to stay abreast of new developments in the case.  A simple strategy is to put a recurring task on your calendar to reach out to each of your active clients every 6 weeks.  They’ll love it that you’re checking in, and you may learn things that are valuable for your case, that those clients may not have brought to you directly.

October 24, 2025: Smart Move: Business Intelligence Is All Around Us

For B2C lawyers, understanding their clients and the industries in which their clients participate, is essential for being able to convert leads and manage the attorney-client relationship.  The good news is that business intelligence information is more readily available than ever before.  It’s simply a matter of making the effort: to find it, and analyze it.

The sources for business intelligence are staggering.  On social media platforms, you can find information about businesses and business owners – helpfully, that is content that they curate and publish, which means you can get a better sense for what they value.  Directory profiles online also offer helpful business information – both content aggregated by vendors, as well as content that can be added by business owners.  Company websites are more robust, and packed with information, than ever before.  Setting up a Google Alert for people and organizations gets you the latest news, automatically.

The more you know about your actual and potential clients, the better you’ll be as a marketer and as an attorney.  And, it’s all available for you to analyze and leverage.

October 19, 2025: Inside Job: Lots of Your Existing Tech Offers Built-In Reports

Attorneys are slowly starting to access data about their law firms, so that they can make more informed decisions about what they will do to manage their businesses.  And, each day, data is being aggregated around your law practice, which means the information pile from which you have to pull, continues to increase.

So, how do you organize it, in an effective way?

Well, the good news is that the softwares you use every day, contain reporting functionality.  All of your case management software, customer relationship management software and accounting software, are capable of generating reports, of two types.  First, there are ‘default’ reports, that are included in every software, which are built-in, and which you can click a button for, and run.  Then, there are ‘custom’ reports’, that you can build yourself – by aggregating fields (including custom fields) to generate new sets of information, that are viable and useful for your business . . . though, perhaps, not for other businesses.

If you want to leverage data for decisionmaking in your law firm, start with those default reports.  Make sure you’re inputting the right data, and then review your numbers on the regular, in order to get a better handle on your performance.  After that, you can get a little frisky, and start designing custom reports.

The numbers are all there, and can be made accessible.

October 8, 2025: Trading Up: Law Firms Can Now Have Brand Names, But Should They?

Now, this wasn’t always a thing; but, as of now: law firms in any jurisdiction of the United States can utilize ‘trade names’.  What that effectively means is that, so long as you don’t choose a name that’s misleading, you can select a brand name for your law.  That’s kind of a big deal; because it’s difficult to convey what your offering is to potential clients, simply by naming your law firm after your and/or your partners’ names.  Did you know that the founders of PepBoys tire & auto repair were named: Maurice Strauss, Jack Jackson, Emanuel Rosenfeld and Moe Radavitz?  Try slapping that all onto a sign, and creating brand associations around what you do.  Hence the trade name ‘Pep Boys’.  Yet, lawyers have had to try to make due with a very limited marketing pathway, in certain jurisdictions.

So, now: You can adopt a trade name anywhere.  But, should you?  Probably.  Unless your law firm is winding up; then, don’t waste your time.  Otherwise: do it.  I would also argue that, even if your law firm has existed with one name for quite some time, it may be worth rebranding.  Why?  Two main reasons: First, you can select a name that specifies more directly the service offerings you have for clients.  Naming your law firm ‘The Estate Planning Law Firm of the Northwest’ conveys directly what you do for your potential clients, in the same way that ‘Walmart’ signifies a shopping experience better than ‘Walton’s’.  Second, you can also (or only) attach some measure of whimsy to your law firm.  Instead of directing your brand toward a naked service type, you can offer up an attribute of what you provide, like ‘Pitbull Legal Services’, to describe the aggressiveness, with which you zealously advocate for your clients.  This is similar to how ‘Toro’ markets its lawn maintenance products.

Plus, revamping your brand name can serve as a gateway to upgrading your entire brand, as you’ll probably also be looking at a new logo & color scheme – which lots of law firms could sorely use.

October 1, 2025: Talking Back: Internal Communications Platforms Clan Clear Your Inbox Like No Other

In an ideal world, your email inbox is ‘mission critical’.  That mean it’s a collection of messages from your clients and referral sources, while you screen the remainder of the noise out, via subfolders, as well as labeling junk and phishing messages aggressively.

Although, that’s not always how it goes, is it?  You know what else shows up in your inbox, that you can’t ignore – that’s right: questions and notifications from your staff and colleagues.  And, those emails have ramped up post-pandemic, after everyone started (and mostly stayed) working from home.  That’s a bummer, of course.  Things were looking so clean, otherwise.

But, there’s actually a simple solution for this, that can effectively streamline your workflow: Just dump those messages into an alternative inbox, that you check only as you see fit.

Internal communications platforms, like Slack and Microsoft Teams and Google Chat, offer an alternative space for colleagues to communicate – so that those messages never even hit your email inbox.  Within these tools, you can chat with one person, or groups of people; and, you can participate with others in threaded conversations around specific topics.  These tools are a game-changer, in terms of in-office communication.  Plus, Microsoft Teams is included with the Microsoft 365 suite, Google Chat is included with Google Workspace and Slack is free, in its most basic form.

 

So, go get your inbox back.

 

. . .
And, if you’re looking for a boost for your business management – just reach out, and contact us!

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