Show Us The Money: The Art and Best Practices Of Time Capture and Billing

The Paralegal Voice

Let’s talk about the art, and science, of billing. We’ll go ahead and say it, billing isn’t fun, but it’s crucial to the success of your law firm. And tracking many of those billable hours often falls on paralegal professionals. Getting work done is important, getting paid for that work is crucial.

You aren’t alone. Everybody hates billing. Tracking your time and entering it into your system isn’t natural, and maybe it’s not even taught. But you can get better at this, make it part of your daily routine.

Guest Karen Tuschak is an experienced consultant who runs her own firm, Spider Silk Solutions. She provides not only coaching and practice management development to law firms worldwide, but she also encourages firms to adopt the latest technologies. She dedicates much of her time helping paralegals understand billable hours and the importance of time capture.

Tuschak says a lot of paralegals “self-monitor” their work, they shave time from a task if they feel it could’ve been done faster. Don’t double check yourself, simply mark down the actual time you spend on a task. If you don’t, not only does it take money from the firm, it makes it hard for managers to spot areas of inefficiency where better tech could help.

This is a great reminder and could change the way you think about your job. Your “time capture” tells your story and demonstrates your value.

Resources from This Episode:

San Diego Paralegal Association

International Practice Management Association

NALA

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