Billing more per matter as a solicitor, and recording it properly

3 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

In most small law firms the gap between work done and work billed is substantial. Time spent on a call that never reached the ledger, advice given in passing, a matter that expanded well beyond its original scope without the fee estimate being revised — all of it is work performed and not recovered.

Closing that gap raises revenue per matter without a single additional client and without charging anybody for anything they did not receive. It is almost entirely an administrative and communication problem rather than a pricing one.

Professional conduct rules on costs information and client care vary by jurisdiction, so what follows is about practice management rather than about any particular regulatory regime — check your own obligations on costs disclosure.

1. Billing more per matter as a solicitor starts with time recording

You cannot bill what nobody wrote down.

Record contemporaneously, not at month end

Time reconstructed at the end of the month is always understated, usually by a significant margin. Recording at the point of work is the single highest-return habit in a firm. Six minutes unrecorded per call adds up to weeks a year.

Measure recorded time against chargeable time

Hours recorded against hours available, per fee earner, monthly. The recovery rate is frequently the most revealing number in the practice. Report it monthly rather than annually.

2. Revise the estimate when the matter changes

Scope creep in legal work is normal; unbilled scope creep is a choice.

Tell the client as soon as the position shifts

A revised estimate given promptly is accepted; the same figure appearing on a final bill is disputed. Timing determines the outcome entirely. Do it the same week the scope changes.

Put every revision in writing

A short letter or email confirming the new position. This protects the client and the firm, and it is frequently a regulatory expectation as well.

3. Move suitable work to fixed fees

Fixed pricing raises recovery on routine matters and clients prefer it.

Fix the fee on predictable matters

Conveyancing, wills, straightforward probate, standard commercial documents. Where the work is predictable, a fixed fee usually recovers more than recorded time does.

Price the tiers by complexity

A simple will and a complex estate are different products. Two or three clearly defined levels prevent the simple price anchoring the complex work.

4. Look for the connected work

One matter routinely implies others, and nobody mentions them.

Ask the obvious follow-on question

A house purchase implies a will. A divorce implies both. A company sale implies personal tax planning. Clients do not connect these; you do.

Refer internally rather than externally

Firms with multiple departments frequently send work outside for want of an internal conversation. Know what your colleagues do.

5. Bill regularly and get paid

Revenue per matter means nothing if it is not collected.

Interim bill on longer matters

Monthly or at milestones rather than at conclusion. Large final bills are the ones that get challenged and the ones that go unpaid.

Take money on account and top it up

A depleted balance on a live matter is a risk. Requesting a top-up promptly is routine and expected.

Conclusion

Record time as the work happens rather than reconstructing it later, and measure recorded hours against available hours per fee earner every month — that recovery figure usually shows a larger gap than any pricing review would find.

Revise the fee estimate in writing the moment a matter's scope changes rather than explaining it on the final bill, move predictable work to fixed fees with two or three complexity tiers, ask the obvious follow-on question because clients do not connect a purchase to a will, refer internally before going outside, and interim bill on longer matters while keeping money on account topped up. Check your own jurisdiction's costs disclosure requirements before changing how you quote.