Legal practitioners, especially those employed by large firms are extremely conscious of the number of billing hours they charge to their clients. They have to keep track of every aspect of a case or an assignment because every phone call, fax, email or court appearance is charged. Some activities generate more income than others. That is why statistics for lawyers are deemed an important part of their professional lives.
Legal firms aim to make money. They do this by selling their expertise to their clients. The expertise is sold in units of hours. This is why they need to keep meticulous records of everything that they do on behalf of a client. If they do not keep records, they will not be able to charge the client for every separate aspect of the work they have done.
Most attorneys have teams working with them. The members of the team have various skills and they are paid according to seniority and qualifications. A highly paid attorney will therefore delegate time consuming routine tasks to a junior. This allows the higher paid attorney to work on cases that will earn more money. It is necessary to keep very accurate records when an entire team works on a specific case.
Another reason why legal firms keep such careful records is for marketing purposes. When they approach potential new clients they need to be able to show that they are experienced in handling different types of cases. They also need to be able to provide proof of their success rate and even the speed with which they are able to deal with various types of cases.
Legal firms do not only keep records of their own performance. They need to be able to compare themselves with their competitors and the only way in which to do this is to study the performance of those competitors. In many cases this information may lead to the identification and recruitment of particularly promising attorneys. Industry records also help firms to develop operations strategies and long term goals.
Some cases are accepted on a contingency basis. This means that the attorney will not charge the client unless there is a successful outcome. Instead, his fee is a percentage of the final settlement amount. These cases are normally personal injury or negligence claims. Because the attorney will not be paid unless he wins the case, it is vital that he has records showing the mathematical probability of winning in every individual instance.
Many clients are uneasy with being charged hourly rates. They have no way of budgeting and they do not know what the case will cost. That is why many attorneys charge flat rates for certain routine matters. They can do this because their records over a long period of time tells them how much work is involved with a specific type of case.
No legal firm can hope to be profitable and successful if they do not keep detailed statistics. In some firms there are experts employed to perform this task. Accurate records can help to increase both productivity and profitability.
Legal firms aim to make money. They do this by selling their expertise to their clients. The expertise is sold in units of hours. This is why they need to keep meticulous records of everything that they do on behalf of a client. If they do not keep records, they will not be able to charge the client for every separate aspect of the work they have done.
Most attorneys have teams working with them. The members of the team have various skills and they are paid according to seniority and qualifications. A highly paid attorney will therefore delegate time consuming routine tasks to a junior. This allows the higher paid attorney to work on cases that will earn more money. It is necessary to keep very accurate records when an entire team works on a specific case.
Another reason why legal firms keep such careful records is for marketing purposes. When they approach potential new clients they need to be able to show that they are experienced in handling different types of cases. They also need to be able to provide proof of their success rate and even the speed with which they are able to deal with various types of cases.
Legal firms do not only keep records of their own performance. They need to be able to compare themselves with their competitors and the only way in which to do this is to study the performance of those competitors. In many cases this information may lead to the identification and recruitment of particularly promising attorneys. Industry records also help firms to develop operations strategies and long term goals.
Some cases are accepted on a contingency basis. This means that the attorney will not charge the client unless there is a successful outcome. Instead, his fee is a percentage of the final settlement amount. These cases are normally personal injury or negligence claims. Because the attorney will not be paid unless he wins the case, it is vital that he has records showing the mathematical probability of winning in every individual instance.
Many clients are uneasy with being charged hourly rates. They have no way of budgeting and they do not know what the case will cost. That is why many attorneys charge flat rates for certain routine matters. They can do this because their records over a long period of time tells them how much work is involved with a specific type of case.
No legal firm can hope to be profitable and successful if they do not keep detailed statistics. In some firms there are experts employed to perform this task. Accurate records can help to increase both productivity and profitability.
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Statistics for Lawyers is a site that explains and discusses aspects of statistics that are significant to the legal profession. For more details, visit us on the Web today at http://www.statisticsforlawyers.com.
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