Verbatim: What Clients Say
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Don't Take Billing for Granted, Manage It
"We
dictate on how to bill us," stated a vice president of one of the top
tier Fortune 500 companies, in a Strategic Client Interview. Perhaps an
industry leader like this corporation can have everything, including
the bills from its law firms, exactly to its own specifications.
Billing
may seem trivial when compared to a law firm's ability to protect a
client's crown jewel, or negotiate a major acquisition. Clients say,
however, that managing billing is a significant issue that can
strengthen or undermine a company's relationship with its law firms.
Bill on a timely basis
"Some
firms don't realize how important billing is to us," said the senior
vice president of a global manufacturer and distributor.
"There are tax issues we have to deal with on a quarterly basis, so we
need the billing to be timely. It's amazing what we have to go through
to get a bill."
The firm I represented in this Strategic
Client Interview "is timely with billing," the senior VP added. "The
detail we need is there. The expenses are broken out appropriately and
they are predictable."
Follow clients' guidelines
The
law firms that follow companies' billing guidelines make life easier
for their clients. "We ask firms to set up invoices in a certain way,"
said the associate general counsel of a healthcare system. "We've tried
to get our other firms to do that, but (the firm commissioning the
Strategic Client Interview) is the only law firm that has really done
that. They are the only firm complying with a very specific guide on
the billing format.
"I probably have issues with all of
the other firms I work with, be it responsiveness, or how they manage
their invoices," this associate GC continued. "We
have a pretty detailed process to go through. If there's an issue with
an invoice, it comes back to me before I can get the general counsel to
sign off on it."
What would your clients say about your firm's billing? Strategic Client Interviews will tell you.
For
more information on Strategic Client Interviews, contact Joyce Smiley
at 561-775-9755, or jsmiley@jkscompany.com. On the Web at
www.jkscompany.com.
Verbatim is published electronically by JKS
& Company LLC/Strategic Client Interviews. Copyright 2008 JKS &
Company LLC. All rights reserved.
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email: jsmiley@jkscompany.com
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