We read that more than 1,000 ‘fat cat’ solicitors earn over £1m. But how much higher could that number be if law firms got their act together when collecting payment of their bills?
Recent research from financial provider LDF shows that the average period between the bill being issued and payment being received is 94 days.
The trouble is that most lawyers are good at clocking up time and converting it into a bill, but when it comes to actually asking the client for a cheque, that is outside their comfort zone. They seem to have a pathological aversion to talking to a client about money and price.
It is usually left to an accounts person to get tough and insist on payment.
It is not going to be curiosity that killed the cat – it is cashflow.
Christopher Digby-Bell, London W1
