In this blog, we discuss why and when law firm CFOs are important for plaintiffs law firms.

Practicing law, while running the business side of a law firm is not easy – in fact, it can be quite stressful, causing sleepless nights. In particular, plaintiffs lawyers often struggle with balancing efforts to attain justice for clients with the realities and pressure of building a financially sound law firm.

The Important Role CFOs Play for Law Firms

As many owners of growing, successful contingency fee law firms soon discover, bringing in a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is vital to the future growth and success of the firm.

According to Tim McKey, CEO at Vista Consulting, CFOs are analysts that look at the key performance ratios and can communicate where the firm is and what it needs to do. “Good CFOs, they simplify things. They’re able to put these numbers into context and to communicate to owners, these are the ratios that matter,” noted Tim McKey.

Although all lawyers know they need money to run the firm’s business operations, many either do not understand the strategies for managing cash flows and creating financial forecasts, nor have the time to focus on these efforts. Law firm CFOs play an important role by interpreting financial data, identifying important trends for the law firm and making recommendations for strategic growth.

Click above to watch this video about why law firm CFOs are important for contingency fee law firms, and when a firm should consider adding a CFO to its leadership team, featuring Tim McKey, CEO of  Vista Consulting.