associate attorney should make what percentage of receivables

by Dr. Wilfrid Gleason MD 6 min read

At 20% you’ll be profitable. It’s a good number. This guideline meets the needs of the associate while also meeting the requirements of the law firm. You can make 20% work in your firm. But when associate compensation exceeds 20% of the revenue produced by the associates, we step into dangerous territory.

Full Answer

What percentage of your salary should your associate compensation be?

Sep 26, 2018 · Base salary plus 20% bonus for collected working attorney fees in excess of three times salary during the year. For example, an associate that is paid $100,000 would have an working attorney collection expectation of $300,000. If the associate had collections of $400,000 he or she would receive a bonus of $20,000.

What is the percentage of receivables method?

We invariably discuss numbers. When I do the math, I find associate compensation hovering around 20% of the dollars produced by their work. An associate billing $300,000 per year is, more often than not, earning about $60,000. The numbers vary somewhat depending on benefits, support staff level, etc. But overall, 20% is the number I hear most often.

How much do associate attorneys make?

Percentage of collected billable hours will start at 17%. That gives associate $51,000 in billable hour money, on top of approximately $50,000 in salary. Total pay is about $101,000 plus we cover almost all expenses and benefits. That is about 33% of what we collect from their work.

How do you determine the right salary for a law firm associate?

Jan 31, 2022 · Experienced. 38%. An entry-level Associate Attorney with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $65,714 based on ...

How do you calculate profitability of a lawyer?

To calculate contribution, costs are subtracted from fees collected, and then divided by partner hours billed, which yields a “gross profit” of $450 per partner hour for this engagement. That “gross profit” is then multiplied by the average billable hours per partner to total $733,500, which is 73.4% of the PPEP goal.Apr 12, 2017

What is AR in law firm?

Accounts Receivable (AR) represents outstanding revenue for legal services that have been invoiced but not paid. Many law firms carry a high AR because their collection processes fail to yield adequate results. ... Most law offices require a substantial amount of overhead to keep the doors open.Mar 7, 2021

What multiple do law firms sell for?

Law practices will typically sell for a multiple of between two to three times net earnings. Using our example from above, if that same firm has net income of $200,000, then the value may be anywhere between $400,00 to $600,000.Oct 15, 2021

How long does it take for a law firm to make a profit?

On an average, the total time that it takes to turn an hour of time into cash is approximately seven months. Cut down the amount of time in billing and/or accounts receivable collection. That will have a dramatic impact on cash flow, and thus upon overall profitability.

What is an example of accounts receivable?

An example of accounts receivable includes an electric company that bills its clients after the clients received the electricity. The electric company records an account receivable for unpaid invoices as it waits for its customers to pay their bills.

How do you value law firms?

Here, a value for a law firm is determined by averaging, typically, the past five years' worth of that firm's gross fee revenues. Then, a factor of between 0.5 and 3.0 is applied, depending on a number of considerations revolving around the expected ability for those revenues to stay the same or increase in the future.Jul 19, 2019

How profitable is a law firm?

How much do the largest law firms earn on average? According to the 2021 Am Law 100 Report, the largest law firms in the US earned $111 billion in total revenue in 2020. This number marks an increase of 6.6% from 2019. For this group, the average revenue per lawyer was $1.05 million.Oct 4, 2021

What are the assets of a law firm?

Common examples of assets include:Cash and Cash Equivalents (Checking and Savings Accounts)Investments and Stocks.Bonds.Certificates of Deposit.Marketable Securities.Accounts Receivable.Real Estate.Buildings.More items...

Are Associates profitable?

The Associate Cost Center In the early stage of their career, associates are a tremendous cost to a firm, Henderson says. And that cost doesn't go away quickly. Most associates don't start showing a profit until their third year. By their fifth year, however, one-third of the money they bring in should be profit.

What is a good profit margin for a law firm?

thirty-five to forty-five percentFor law firms, the profit margin is essentially the firm partners' earnings. So, after you've covered all your expenses, how much are the firm partners walking away with? A good profit margin for a law firm is thirty-five to forty-five percent.Feb 7, 2021

What can a law firm do to stay profitable?

TCLA ModeratorRetaining clients.Retaining talented employees.Competing with other businesses on price.Competing with other businesses on quality.Growing in revenue or profitability at a certain rate.Access to particular markets.Obtaining new clients.Running an efficient business.More items...•Aug 13, 2018

How Do You Properly Compensate (and Incentivize) Associate Attorneys?

By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law

WANT MORE HELP?

If you specifically want additional information about hiring, training and managing associate attorneys, as well as how to compensate and set up bonus structures for Associate Attorneys, check out our in-depth training programs below:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Philip J. Kavesh is the principal of one of the largest estate planning firms in California – – Kavesh, Minor and Otis – – now in its 33rd year of business.

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An entry-level Associate Attorney with less than 1 year experience can expect to earn an average total compensation (includes tips, bonus, and overtime pay) of $65,222 based on 1,074 salaries. An early career Associate Attorney with 1-4 years of experience earns an average total compensation of $74,601 based on 4,522 salaries. …Read more

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Associate attorneys are lawyers who usually have a minimal amount of experience in the field. Many are just out of law school and developing their careers. Associate attorneys typically start out under the guidance of an experienced attorney, assisting with cases and writing reports.

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Based on 688 responses, the job of Associate Attorney has received a job satisfaction rating of 3.62 out of 5. On average, Associate Attorney s are highly satisfied with their job.

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First Determine A Base Salary

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Where I typically start in developing an associate compensation formula is with their base salary. If you don’t have a very clear understanding of what base salary is appropriate in your local area, based on the years of experience an associate has in the tasks for which they are hired, you may want to consult the Legal Salary Calcu…
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Calculating The Bonus Formula

  • The sticky part of creating a bonus formula for associates is where to set the bar in terms of the minimum revenue that each associate must generate (actually be received) each month before bonuses kick in. It starts by looking at your monthly firm expenses. It always shocks me how few attorneys even know exactly what the monthly “nut” they have to crack is. Once you have this nu…
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Have Some Objections Or Concerns?

  • Still don’t believe in some sort of a monthly bonus program for attorneys? Or, are you worried that your formula might not work out right and you might wind up paying bonuses when your firm is upside down in a particular month? Then, let me address these two common objections. I, too, had my doubts about utilizing bonuses on a monthly basis for my associate attorneys based on …
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One Final Tip: Bonusing Support Staff

  • One final tip here towards successfully compensating and incentivizing associate attorneys is that we also bonus our support staff based on total monthly revenue production by the firm as a whole. How our firm does this (within the bounds of our professional ethics rules, of course) is the topic of my newsletter article next month. But this final tip is important to the success of your fir…
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