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Case Studies >> Chu, Ring and Hazel |
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Chu, Ring and Hazel Chooses TimeSolv for Unique Needs  |
Chu, Ring and Hazel is a Boston-based law firm that works with young and growing entrepreneurial businesses in the technology industry. The firm's nine attorneys, as well as a paralegal and a law intern, have been using TimeSolv since July 2000. Traditional in some respects and progressive in others, Chu, Ring and Hazel needed a time-tracking tool that was compatible with its unique work environment.
"We are a small firm that intentionally seeks to keep its administrative overhead lean," said John Chu, partner at the firm. "TimeSolv allows our lawyers to track billings and prepare and send bills themselves in an extremely efficient manner."
Chu, Ring and Hazel affords its attorneys significant freedom in terms of when and where they work, which means that they are often away from the office. At the same time, like most law firms, Chu, Ring and Hazel earns its revenue by the hour so it's critical that attorneys keep an accurate record of time spent working on client matters.
"From time to time, our firm does agree to various flexible fee arrangements, but most clients are generally more comfortable with billing by the hour," says Chu. "So for the bulk of our firm's revenues, tracking time remains critical, and even in the case of other billing arrangements, the amount of time spent on a client's matter may still have some relevance in setting the ultimate fee."
The challenge for Chu, Ring and Hazel was to find a time-tracking method that was flexible and convenient enough to accommodate attorneys working remotely, while preserving the accuracy and precision so important to its billing method.
Prior to converting to TimeSolv, Chu, Ring and Hazel used Timeslips, a desktop software application. While this was an effective way to track time spent in the office, it lacked other features that the firm needed. In particular, attorneys working outside the office were unable to promptly record their time worked, resulting in missed time and inaccurate records. Because it was difficult to delegate billing responsibilities to individual attorneys, one or two people were saddled with the work, an inefficient strategy that pulled staff away from client matters. In addition, software upgrades were a time-consuming inconvenience, and taking on additional attorneys sometimes required more licenses.
The most dramatic improvement at Chu, Ring and Hazel since implementing TimeSolv is the reduction in the time needed to complete the billing process. Because TimeSolv is Internet-based and easy to use, attorneys have easy access to the application no matter where they are, and the firm has been able to evenly distribute time and billing responsibilities among individual attorneys. As a result, Chu now spends half as much time preparing bills as he did before using TimeSolv. In addition, the ability to email bills to clients has significantly sped up billing and remittance.
"I am probably spending two to three hours at the end of each month preparing bills versus at least twice that before using TimeSolv," said Chu. "In my business, of course, time is money. And now, I'm no longer glued to my desktop in order to get this critical administrative work done."
Chu, Ring and Hazel needed a time and billing solution that addressed their particular needs, and TimeSolv is proving to be an effective tool for the law firm. "Unlike our prior client/server application, TimeSolv is intuitive and simple to use, and without the software, upgrades, expense and headaches that we dealt with in the past," said Chu. "And the best part of TimeSolv? Preparing and sending bills is just a browser away." |
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