If you want to improve your bottom line, start by scrutinizing your law office budget.
Are there any redundancies that can be eliminated? Obsolete expenses? Ways to tighten your belt while continuing to provide stellar service?
Another cost-saving suggestion: cut down on the number of meetings you schedule.
“Meetings are endless in law firms,” according to the website LawBusiness. “Most of the time, [they are] also expensive. To save money, consider new ways of doing meetings, such as through teleconferencing. Aside from saving money, this is also one of the best ways for law firms to cut their carbon emissions.”
Do you practice in Wisconsin, Texas, Minnesota, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana or Michigan? Is your professional liability coverage managed through Alta Pro? If so, you’re automatically a member of the Alta Pro Risk Purchasing Group (RPG), which offers a wealth of benefits for your practice: free, cutting-edge CLE webinars featuring top experts tackling timely topics; the Pro Practice Playbook; the Pro Practice Blog; Reminger’s ProLink risk management assistance; Reminger’s Claim Repair Hotline; discounts on CLIO practice management software; tax savings on health insurance; and access to the Risk Pro, who can help keep your firm safe and successful. Register here and start enjoying your Alta Pro RPG benefits.
5 Ways to Cut Expenses Without Pain
Following are some ways to reduce costs in your office without undue stress or strain, courtesy of Cosmo Lex:
1. Refine the scope of your practice. From CosmoLex: “Are your practice areas tailored to meet client needs right now? Do you have remote service options in place? Have you created pricing structures to allow for lower-cost services? Do you have payment structures to make paying outstanding bills easier? While these questions alone won’t cut your costs, you should be asking yourself them because the answers determine how you’re able to bring in income.”
2. Cut overhead. “COVID-19 has upended the standard objections to the effectiveness of remote work in the legal industry,” according to CosmoLex. “It is, in fact, quite possible to have a functioning remote firm. For those managing a firm’s expenses, one of the major upshots is a big cost saving. Firms that pivot to a long-term work-from-home plan for staff stand to save significant amounts on overhead. Office rent, mortgage, property management costs, furnishings, utilities, these all add up.”
3. Go paperless. You’ll save on paper, toner and equipment maintenance. And you’ll be spared the aggravation of paper jams and depleted ink cartridges.
4. Leverage technology. Per CosmoLex: “Think of technology overhead not as a cost-cutting tool, but rather an expense-maximizing one. In a remote work situation, there’s no need for expensive servers and in-office networks, outdated telecom systems, and powerful-but-immoveable printer-scanners. Instead, you can replace them with cloud-based systems for nearly everything: document storage and sharing; telephone and email services; and practice management systems.”
5. Improve your administrative staffing. “If you’re reimagining your overhead costs, this area should be reconsidered, especially if you’re switching to remote work. Admin needs such as copying, scanning, and word processing will shift if you’re working from home. IT support won’t look the same if you’re running cloud-based systems. So what does cost-cutting look like? You should start by recalibrating job descriptions and evaluating who does what right now.”
Source: CosmoLex
Why choose Alta Pro Lawyers Risk Purchasing Group over other legal malpractice programs? Because Alta Pro RPG gives insured law firms exclusive access to valuable practice resources and cost-saving programs. When you join the Alta Pro RPG, you can use our Pro Practice Resource Center, filled with practical pointers and risk management tools to keep your law firm safe and soaring. Plus you get exclusive access to free CLE webinars, like our recent, highly popular program on Basics of Cannabis Law. Also: discounts on office essentials, Ask the Risk Pro, malpractice defense hotline and more. Don’t miss out on these fantastic perks. If you’re already a policyholder with Alta Pro but haven’t yet created your RPG account, here’s how to do it.
