Progress in Standardizing Law Firm Invoices
August 05, 2003
The legal and accounting professions have made significant strides in defining standard invoice data codes as well as formats for law firm electronic invoices. The standards bandwagon has been in no danger, however, of tipping over from too many community members hurriedly jumping on it.
E-Invoicing: A Client Perspective
August 05, 2003
Our legal department at Atlantic Bank of New York was looking for an electronic invoicing system to make our outside counsel billing process more manageable. What we found was new technology and software that enabled us not only to improve the overall efficiency of our system but also to implement an invoice discounting policy that saves us money and gets our outside counsel paid quickly. Because the new invoicing system lets us turn invoices around so quickly, we have achieved such significant savings that we expect the invoicing system to pay for itself within just a few years.
E-Invoicing: A Law Firm Perspective
August 05, 2003
As argued in the accompanying article on one corporate law department's initiatives, implementation of electronic invoicing software should ideally be a win-win improvement benefiting outside law firms as well.
The USA Patriot Act and Private Equity Funds
August 03, 2003
The Patriot Act was signed into law by President Bush on October 26, 2001. Title III of the Act impacts the anti-money laundering provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The amendments were made to promote the prevention, detection, and prosecution of international money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Guard Your E-business Against Tech Pitfalls With Software Escrow
August 01, 2003
This article is one of a series on using software escrow to protect e-business, a topic that's well discussed in the e-trade business and one that generated a lot of buzz at the recent Computer Law Association conference in Washington, DC.
Creating Ethics and Compliance Programs That Work with Sarbanes-Oxley
August 01, 2003
Last month, we discussed how brightly the spotlight is shining on ethics and compliance programs. We explained that Sarbanes-Oxley has a provision that provides Federal protection for employees of SEC registrants who report wrongdoing to the government and/or law enforcement. The Act has created a situation in which anyone who reports wrongdoing to the government and/or law enforcement is protected from employer retaliation under Federal Statute. And we urged that companies assess the effectiveness of their ethics and compliance efforts.
Key Considerations in Choosing a Survey
August 01, 2003
Part One of this article offered a general overview and comparison of the major surveys currently available for US law firms (Altman Weil's "The Survey of Law Firm Economics"; Hoffman Alvary's "The Flash Report on Law Firm Economics"; and Pricewaterhouse Coopers' "The Law Firm Statistical Survey"). Part Two offers advice on how to select a survey.
1099-MISCgivings: Reporting Taxable Awards & Settlements
August 01, 2003
The Federal tax code and corresponding regulations require a lawyer to send a 1099-MISC form to certain individuals (and non-incorporated business entities) who receive disbursements from the lawyer's trust fund for legal awards and settlements. Writing on behalf of a law firm, an accounting firm reader has asked about the proper way to report such disbursements.
The Ethics of Billing by the Hour for 'Recycled' Work
August 01, 2003
One of the most difficult attorney billing issues is how a lawyer may receive fair compensation for the "intellectual property" value of work products reused for a later client. An attorney who has spent substantial time developing interrogatories, jury charges, legal memoranda or other such documents for one client naturally will want to "recycle" the same materials when they are relevant to later clients. But on what, if any, basis can the lawyer legitimately bill for this recycled work?
