Financially Legal

How do law firms really decide what partners get paid?Partner compensation is one of the most important and controversial topics in the legal industry. The way firms structure pay doesn’t just impact income; it shapes firm culture, collaboration, and long-term profitability.In this episode of Financially Legal, Emery Wager sits down with Hugh Simons (former BCG consultant, law firm CEO, and prolific writer on law firm economics) to unpack:The major compensation models (lockstep, points-based, and eat-what-you-kill)Why open vs. closed pay systems matter more than you thinkHow incentives drive collaboration, culture, and firm growthWhere partner compensation is headed in the next decadeWhether you’re a managing partner, CFO, or simply curious how partner pay really works, this episode pulls back the curtain on a system that defines the legal industry.

What really happens when a client calls their bank and says they didn’t get the legal services they paid for?In our upcoming episode, Emery Wager sits down with Amos Chapman, and the duo dives deep into one of the most misunderstood and often frustrating financial challenges law firms face: chargebacks.Check out some of Confido Legal’s resources below: - Chargeback Checklist- What Happens if a Law Firm Refunds a Credit Card Payment with a Check?

How much time do you spend tracking your hours? What if you could increase your profitability, reduce stress, and provide better client service—all without billing another minute? The hourly billing model isn’t the only way to run a successful law firm. In this episode of Financially Legal, host Emery Wager sits down with Brita Long to explore the mindset shift required to transition to flat fee legal services.

  What’s This Going to Cost? It’s the question every client asks before signing an engagement agreement. Imagine being able to answer it clearly and confidently—even in the most complex cases. Achieving this level of financial predictability isn’t just possible; it’s within reach. In this episode of Financially Legal, host Emery Wager sits down with Michael Sander, founder of LexPipe, to explore how law firms can harness data to bring clarity and confidence to litigation costs. Michael shares his journey from patent litigator to legal tech entrepreneur, revealing the innovative tools and strategies LexPipe uses to help firms deliver greater cost transparency and predictability to their clients.

In this Financially Legal episode, host Emery Wager talks with Matt Darner, founder of Collbox, to uncover practical strategies for law firms to master cash flow and collections. With years of experience helping businesses recover millions in outstanding invoices, Matt offers a unique perspective on the intersection of accounts receivable management and legal practice operations. This episode explores the common challenges law firms face with payment delays, the importance of setting clear expectations with clients, and actionable steps to reduce lockup time. From refining billing practices to leveraging technology, Matt shares insights to help firms improve their financial health and focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional legal services.

In this Financially Legal episode, host Emery Wager sits down with John Grant, founder of Agile Attorney Consulting, and Elise Buie, founder and managing attorney of Elise Buie Family Law, to discuss how law firms can successfully design and implement flat fee legal services. Both John and Elise bring a wealth of experience and unique perspectives to the table—John from his background in technology and Lean principles, and Elise from her journey of founding a family law firm focused on flexibility, collaboration, and client-centered services. Embracing flat fees means adopting a different way of thinking. It’s not just about changing how you charge; it’s about reimagining how you deliver legal services in a way that benefits both your firm and your clients. Flat fee services, while beneficial for clients by offering cost predictability, shift the burden of unpredictability to the firm. This episode explores how firms can manage these challenges, align their teams, and implement systems that ensure flat fee services, to use John Grant's words, are profitable sustainable and scalable. 

In this special series focused on legal case management software, host Emery Wager explores various case management companies to help firms make informed decisions. In this episode, we welcome Jared Correia to the Financially Legal Podcast. Jared, the CEO of Red Cave Consulting and the Cofounder of Gideon Software, shares strategies for selecting the right software, whether to use all-in-one systems vs. pulling together best-in-class systems, the future of AI in legal case management software, and the dangers associated with breakfast burritos and falling asleep at your desk. To receive a free legal case management software consult and to view a database of legal case management software, visit our case management center.

In this special series focused on legal case management software, host Dan Lear explores various case management companies to help firms make informed decisions. In this episode, host Dan Lear discusses the world of QuickBooks, a cornerstone in both small business and small legal tech ecosystems. This episode features Matt Bright, a Senior Product Specialist at Intuit with 23 years of experience at the company. Together, they shed light on the various ways law firms leverage QuickBooks and how it can revolutionize their financial management. For more information and resources on choosing the right case management system for your firm, visit our legal case management center.

In this special series focused on legal case management software, host Dan Lear explores various case management companies to help firms make informed decisions. In this episode, Dan speaks with Harsimran Singh, Founder and CEO of Lawcus. Lawcus offers a comprehensive solution, combining legal practice management, client relationship management (CRM), client intake, and no-code automation, all unified in a single platform.  Learn more and watch here. 

In this special series focused on legal case management software, host Dan Lear explores various case management companies to help firms make informed decisions. In this episode, Dan speaks with Dragana Milovanovic from Matter365, a user friendly cloud solution that fully integrates all data from Microsoft Office 365 applications into a matter-centric environment. With powerful add on features and Microsoft 365 applications, Matter365 is one of the most comprehensive solutions on the market today. For more information and resources on choosing the right case management system for your firm, visit our legal case management center. 

How, if at all, do compensation, diversity, and transparency overlap? How can these competing priorities be reconciled? Jim Meadows from Culhane Meadows doesn’t have the perfect answer. But he’s giving it a solid try. With 75 lawyers and 11 office locations, Culhane Meadows is the largest full-service women-owned law firm in the country. And in each of the last three years, the average female partner at the firm has outearned the average male partner. The firm was cloud-based from the jump, is growing rapidly and - most important for us financial nerds - boasts a collection rate above 90%. Curious about how Culhane Meadows does it? Listen on to hear Jim Meadows founding partner, CFO, and wearer of many other hats talk about how they started the firm, how they’ve grown and how they keep the firm financially strong.

Two episodes into our four-episode series with law firm CFOs one theme that's emerged is collections. Specifically, how much money lawyers and law firms leave on the table by failing to implement processes that ensure that the firm gets paid for the work it bills out. Kevin Krese, CFO and COO at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, is thinking further upstream from that. Krese wants to make sure that all of the work that gets done gets billed. And, more importantly, that that time doesn't get written down before it even gets sent to the client. As one of the executive leaders at Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, a 70-lawyer law firm based in Ohio, Krese has implemented a multi-step process that ensures that what the client is told that they'll pay is the amount that is billed to the client. And that very little of that billed time gets written down prior to sending the bills out the door. But Kevin's no slouch when it comes to collections. We chatted about how Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs has a collections rate above 90% (spoiler alert: they use what we called a "collections lite" process) succession planning in law firms, how business leaders can teach lawyers to run their firms like a business, and much more. Listen on to hear a growth-minded, business-oriented, law firm CFO/COO talk about how he helps run the business side of a rapidly expanding law firm.