Legal Management

September/October 2008
Volume 28, Number 5

THIS ISSUE’S THEME: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

To read any of the articles featured in this issue of ALA’s journal, Legal Management, simply click on the hyperlinked headline for a downloadable PDF.

Table of Contents

Feature Articles

COVER STORY
Cost Recovery: A Team Effort 
Legal administrators can work with law librarians to target two vital areas for cost recovery in their firms: billable hours for librarians’ research time and firm-wide costs for online legal research services.
BY LYN WARMATH AND MONICE M. KACZOROWSKI

Bringing Home the Bacon: Getting a Firm’s Clients to Pay Their Bills
Collection of accounts receivables represents a growth opportunity for any law firm despite the worldwide economic slowdown.
BY JOHN T. PODBIELSKI JR.

• INCLUDES BONUS FEATURE:
  Common Sense Accounts Receivable
  BY STU KNAZIK

Dealing with Documents: The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing
Outsourcing document processing can slash payroll and facilities costs, reduce turnaround times, and boost in-house secretarial careers.
BY RON FRIEDMANN AND RENAY RUTTER

• INCLUDES BONUS FEATURE:
  New Best Practices in Document Scanning
  BY JOHN GILBERT

Planning Predictable IT Budgets: Tackling the Technology Budgeting Challenge
By looking at technology-related costs from a holistic and longer-term perspective, preparing your firm’s annual IT budget will no longer be an anxiety-provoking event.
BY HEINAN LANDA

• INCLUDES BONUS FEATURE:
  Achieving Enhanced IT Functionality and Cutting Costs with Hosted Services
  BY LEIGH HENRY

Building a Rainmaking Culture: Making Critical Changes to Achieve Big Results
Legal administrators can help guide law firm leaders by discussing their organizations’ values, visions, procedures, and more to strengthen their rainmaking endeavors. 
BY LAWRENCE KOHN

CASE STUDY
Financial Acumen and Organizational Success: Improving a Firm’s Financial Reporting and Profitability Analysis
Aligning firm strategy with financial and business management technology accelerates Bird & Bird’s global expansion.
BY PHILIPPE DERÉ

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION
Allowing Employees to Tailor Retirement to Their Liking
BY RANDY REED       
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, RETIREMENT SERVICES, CITY NATIONAL BANK

Columns and Departments

To the Point
No Rest for the Anxious
BY JOHN DELAVAN

Up Front
Practical News & Perspectives 
COMPILED BY AMY DVORAK

Think Tank
Shifting Schedules: Considering the Benefits of Four-Day Work Weeks 
COMPILED BY AMY DVORAK

Best Practices
Billable Time: Increased Productivity Through Better Processes 
BY PAUL BURTON

LawBiz Coach
Keys to Client Service: Addressing What Lawyers Don’t Learn in Law School
BY ED POLL

Big Ideas
On Board with Dashboarding: An Administrator’s Guide to Executive Information Systems
By IRA D. SMITH

Off the Shelf:
New Products for Law Firms 
COMPILED BY AMY DVORAK

ALA Update
News from Your Association 

Quick Connect
Legal Management Advertiser Information 

Final Thoughts
A Smart Investment 
BY AMY DVORAK

The articles posted here and throughout www.alanet.org are for reference only and are copyrighted 2008, All Rights Reserved, by the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). Reuse or redistribution of articles without ALA’s permission is strictly prohibited. Request Permission to reprint or redistribute content from this publication.