Hegwood Law Group is seeking a legal billing specialist to join our firm. Our practice areas include estate planning, elder law, probate, guardianship, and special needs. We have a highly respected firm and a reputation of really caring about our clients and we are looking for an experienced part-time Billing Clerk who is great at interacting with clients to join our team. Responsibilities: • The Billing Clerk (Specialist) is responsible for managing the Firm’s processes and systems related to time-keeping, billing, retainer replenishment, accepting payments, and collections of accounts receivables. The Billing Specialist makes sure time entries demonstrate value, so clients pay their bills timely. The Billing Specialist also ensures bills are generated and mailed timely and works directly with clients to ensure bills and installment payments are on time and retainers are replenished, so the Firm always has sufficient cash to meet cash requirements and the legal team works only for paying clients.Status: The Billing Specialist is a Non-Exempt position.Reporting Relationship:The Billing Specialist works under the supervision of the Controller. In the absence of a Controller, the Billing Specialist reports directly to the Firm Administrator (who is the Owner until that position is filled).Authority: The Billing Specialist is expected to and has the authority to monitor attorneys’ and other staff’s billable time / productive time entries daily and to follow up with staff to ensure time is entered timely and correctly. The Billing Specialist also works directly with clients on billing, collections, and payment plans so long as they follow the Firm’s established policies and procedures and all laws and regulations, and the arrangements meet the Firm’s collections and financial goals. Questionable arrangements or payment plans need to be reviewed and approved by the Controller or the Owner.The non-attorney support staff is prohibited from practicing law by the ABA’s Rules of Professional Conduct and State Bar Association rules. All work done by the Specialist must be in support of and under the direct supervision of an attorney. In dealing with clients and potential clients, the Specialist must be careful not to inadvertently slip into the unlawful practice of law. This would include answering client questions about what will happen in their case or recommending that a client undertake a certain course of action during their case.Responsibilities: Overview: • Reviews case management or time and billing system daily • Reviews the quality and timeliness of time entries. Contacts billers to ensure time is entered timely • Edits bills to correct typos, grammar errors, and ensure proper sentence structure • Coordinates with billers to improve descriptions of activities to ensure the bills demonstrate progress and value • Coordinates with billers to resolve apparent errors where time is entered on the wrong matter or entries appear to be duplicated • Identifies time entries incorrectly designated as “non-billable” (or vice versa) and coordinates with the billers to draft proper billable time entries • Collects records of expenses of costs advanced to clients and updates the case management system and accounting system accordingly • Identifies for the Controller/Administrator/Owner where billable records exceed Firm guidelines/timeframes for activities • Reports to Controller/Administrator/Owner regarding patterns of quality or timeliness and other training or performance issues • Generates pre-bills bi-weekly/monthly and provides them to the Controller/Administrator/Owner for review and approval • Prepares or generates final invoices/statements and sends them to clients in accordance with the Firm’s policies and procedures for timekeeping, billing, and expense tracking • Processes payments in accordance with the Firm’s policies and schedules for accepting payments • Manages the retainer/trust accounts, auto-replenishment, and installment payments • Monitors timeliness of payments and contacts clients whose payments are not timely received • Accepts payments or negotiates payment plans or installment plans in accordance with Firm policies and procedures • Obtains approval from Controller/Administrator/Owner prior to committing the Firm to a non-standard agreement • Oversees A/R collections and case withdrawal process • Advises Controller/Administrator/Owner of clients who will not pay and have A/R older than one billing cycle • Initiates the first phase of A/R collection calls in accordance with Firm policies and procedures • Manage withdrawal process based on the Client Non-Payment and Collections Policy and Procedures • Notify Legal Team when withdrawal from a case is necessary; gather red rubberband files and update case management system • Works with clients to address questions and concerns related to billing and payment and provides customer service to resolve issues and save relationships • Works with the client, Merchant Service Provider, and credit card company to resolve disputes and requests for “chargeback” or refund. Issues refunds with the express approval of the OwnerDaily Matrix of Tasks • Review daily time-keeping records and work with billers to ensure accuracy • Answer telephones • Contact clients to obtain payment • Link/calendar appointments, calls, messages, correspondence in the case management system • Create contacts and update contact information in the case management or contact management system Weekly • Oversee the billing process: pre-bills, final bills, process payment, contact clients with late payments, update case management and accounting systems • Case and administrative filing • Compile metrics on contacts and collections Monthly • Review A/R and work with Controller/Administrator on collections efforts (payment plans, red rubber bands, case withdrawals) Qualifications: • An Associate’s Degree is required • The Billing Specialist must be able to demonstrate proper grammar, proof-reading, critical thinking, and business writing • The Billing Specialist will have at least two years of experience as an assistant in a professional service business, preferably in a law firm • The Billing Specialist will be organized and efficient, comfortable with various types of accounting software, and demonstrate proficiency with MS Office Key Performance Indicators • Employees achieve at least 90% realization towards billable hours requirements; exceptions or performance issues noted weekly • 90% of payments are processed timely; non-paying clients are contacted within 3 business days • A/R is processed timely and reports are available by the 5th working day of the month for the prior month About Company: We are a growing law firm with an excellent team and we are looking for our next top performer! If this sounds like a law firm you want to work at and a job you can do then hit the apply button below. I look forward to speaking with you soon! Please forward your resume, salary requirements, and cover letter telling us why you’re the All-Star Associate we should hire.
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