The Cross-Functional Future of Legal Billing

The Cross-Functional Future of Legal Billing

In today’s market, legal billing is no longer a back-office task, but a strategic function that shapes profitability, client trust, and the firm’s reputation. As a blog post by Epiq explains, billing now sits at the intersection of attorney practices, finance, operations, and administration, raising a central question: who owns the bill?

The answer is increasingly complex. Attorneys still review and approve time entries, while legal administrators manage submissions and client communications. Finance ensures compliance and cash flow, and operations drive automation and workflow efficiency. Yet fragmentation across these groups often leads to inefficiencies. Thomson Reuters found mid-sized firms lose up to 25 percent of billable hours due to outdated or overly complex systems. Other surveys cited by Epiq indicate that streamlining workflows can increase collection rates by 70 percent and substantially reduce training times.

Technology alone is not the solution. Deloitte reports that while 93 percent of mid-sized firms adopted AI tools in the past year, fewer than 40 percent use modern practice management systems. This gap underscores the article’s argument that billing innovation necessitates not only new tools but also redesigned processes that are supported by collaboration across various roles.

The payoff is clear. Cleaner, faster, and more transparent invoices enhance client satisfaction, expedite collections, and facilitate alternative pricing models. The article highlights examples where firms reduced billing cycles from 45 to 15 days without adding staff by empowering administrators with automation.

The most competitive firms treat billing as a cross-functional strategy, where everyone is responsible for the process. Those that embrace this model will be best positioned to scale and adapt in a rapidly evolving legal services market.