header-logo header-logo

19 November 2018 / Norman Kenyon
Categories: Features , Profession , Costs
printer mail-detail

Time to be canny about cash flow

istock-136163689_2.jpg_image_for_vfs

Norman Kenvyn shares some tips on how to avoid stretched billing timescales

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, with festive food clogging up shop shelves and decorations starting to line the streets across the country.

For law firms, the mince pies and festive lights also herald potential interruptions to cash flow. If a law firm settles a case on 14 December, for example, it's unlikely to see any cash until some way into the new year.

If a law firm settles a case on the 21 December, where does that leave them? It’s unlikely to be able to get its hands on the cash until some way into the new year—all the costs draftsman will be wrapping their presents and hanging their stockings rather than stuck at their desks drawing up a bill of costs. It puts back cash flow calculations by a month, and the money they desperately need to bolster their cash reserves is out of reach.

Cash flow is seemingly an intractable problem for law firms,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jackson Lees Group—Jannina Barker, Laura Beattie & Catherine McCrindle

Jackson Lees Group—Jannina Barker, Laura Beattie & Catherine McCrindle

Firm promotes senior associate and team leader as wills, trusts and probate team expands

Asserson—Michael Francos-Downs

Asserson—Michael Francos-Downs

Manchester real estate finance practice welcomes legal director

McCarthy Denning—Harvey Knight & Martin Sandler

McCarthy Denning—Harvey Knight & Martin Sandler

Financial services and regulatory offering boosted by partner hires

NEWS
Holiday lets may promise easy returns, but restrictive covenants can swiftly scupper plans. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Francis of Serle Court recounts how covenants limiting use to a ‘private dwelling house’ or ‘private residence’ have repeatedly defeated short-term letting schemes
Artificial intelligence (AI) is already embedded in the civil courts, but regulation lags behind practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ben Roe of Baker McKenzie charts a landscape where AI assists with transcription, case management and document handling, yet raises acute concerns over evidence, advocacy and even judgment-writing
The Supreme Court has drawn a firm line under branding creativity in regulated markets. In Dairy UK Ltd v Oatly AB, it ruled that Oatly’s ‘post-milk generation’ trade mark unlawfully deployed a protected dairy designation. In NLJ this week, Asima Rana of DWF explains that the court prioritised ‘regulatory clarity over creative branding choices’, holding that ‘designation’ extends beyond product names to marketing slogans
From cat fouling to Part 36 brinkmanship, the latest 'Civil way' round-up is a reminder that procedural skirmishes can have sharp teeth. NLJ columnist Stephen Gold ranges across recent decisions with his customary wit
Digital loot may feel like property, but civil law is not always convinced. In NLJ this week, Paul Schwartfeger of 36 Stone and Nadia Latti of CMS examine fraud involving platform-controlled digital assets, from ‘account takeover and asset stripping’ to ‘value laundering’
back-to-top-scroll