Solicitors

Lentells acts for a number of solicitors ranging from sole practitioners in specialist fields to multi discipline / multi office partnerships. Our legal team, headed by Adrian Stallard FCA ( adrian.stallard@lentells.co.uk ), has the knowledge and experience to give you the expert advice and support that you need to run your practice.

Financial management
As a professional you will have spent years training and practicing in your chosen field of law. Unfortunately that doesn't guarantee financial success - these days you also need to have a high level of business and financial management skills.  You probably have access to large amounts of financial data but do you have answers to some of the most fundamental questions such as:

•       How much cash is in the bank today?
•       How much cash will be in the bank next week / next month?
•       What is the value of work-in-progress and debtors?
•       What value of unbilled disbursements is the firm funding?
•       Is billing and debt collection in control?
•       Which type of work is most profitable?
•       Which fee-earners are under performing?

If you can't answer one or more of these questions you don't have the management information that you need to run an efficient and profitable practice.  At Lentells we appreciate that every professional firm has its own culture but all firms face similar competitive pressures. We have the expertise and experience to be able to help you to obtain, interpret and benchmark key financial information giving fee-earners a better understanding of the impact that their working practices have on profitability and cashflow e.g. timely billing, improved debt collection, levels of write-offs. This will, in turn, lead to:

•       More realistic fee quotes and hourly charges out rates
•       More effective use of staff and resources
•       Better informed decisions on staff recruitment
•       Greater understanding of which types of legal work are profitable
•       Improved profitability

Your firm's structure and financing
A large number of lawyers operate through a partnership structure. This in itself brings a range of challenges and opportunities. We can guide through the issues including:

•       Forming a partnership
•       Partnership agreements
•       Profit-sharing arrangements
•       Succession planning
•       Partnership property
•       Taxation

Handling client money
The Solicitors' Account Rules 1998 are a complex set of rules governing how solicitors should handle clients' money including accounting for interest and disbursements.  Even small firms can find themselves dealing with very considerable volumes of client money and transactions particularly where conveyancing or probate matters are involved. The risk of fraud or error is high and all firms must have a sound knowledge of the Rules and strong accounting systems and controls to minimise these risks. We can provide advice on the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998. Common problem areas include the definition of client money, treatment of Legal Services Commission receipts and the appropriate use of office account and client account.  The Law Society requires an independent accountant's report to be filed within six months of each year-end if a firm handles client money. Instead of seeing this as a purely compliance role, at Lentells we strive to make this reporting process beneficial to you by reviewing your systems and controls and reporting to you any weaknesses or areas for improvement that we identify. Effective handling of client money can benefit both client and solicitor in terms of interest generated.