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Accounting and Financial Planning for Law FirmsFeaturesContractsLaw Firm FinancialsLaw Firm Management

Improving Firm Profitability Through Contracts

By J. Mark Santiago
February 01, 2023

I often use the term "Silly Season" to describe the last three months of the law firm calendar year. I first heard the term from J.J. McCann, the managing partner of the now long-gone Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine firm. Mr. McCann coined the phrase for that period of the year when the partners in his (and most other major law firms) began to pay attention to the need to collect long overdue invoices and call clients to discuss significant fee overruns on matters that remained undiscussed and unbilled.

For clients, the Silly Season was when the true spirit of Christmas could be enjoyed. There were deals to be made on those overdue invoices and lots of unbilled time that would never see the light of client accounting departments written off.

The race was on to "make the year" and every dollar, no matter how deeply discounted, was welcomed and often necessary. Today, while Donovan Leisure is gone, numerous firms honor their memory by celebrating their own Silly Season every year.

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