Law Firms & Legal Practices
Executive financial guidance built for boutique firms, multi-office practices, and litigation groups — at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO.
Why law firms are different
Law firms carry financial complexity that general CFO work doesn't prepare you for: realization and leverage economics, originations credit and partner compensation, trust accounting and IOLTA compliance, WIP and AR cycles that distort cash, and a partnership governance model where every meaningful financial decision touches personal income.
Most boutique firms, multi-office practices, and specialty litigation groups do not need (and cannot justify) a full-time CFO. They do, however, need executive financial leadership: someone who sits beside the managing partner or executive committee, speaks the language of partners and administrators, and brings sector-specific judgment to the decisions that most shape the next decade of the firm.
"The firms that endure don't drift. The discipline behind every well-governed partnership is almost always financial."
What we do
Monthly financial packets that partners can actually act on — practice-area P&Ls, profit-per-partner, realization and utilization views, and the variance commentary that builds confidence between partner meetings.
The economics underneath the headline revenue: realization and collection rates by matter, attorney, and practice; rate-setting strategy; and the leverage and utilization math that decides whether growth is profitable or expensive.
Compensation modeling, capital-account work, and the financial choreography of bringing on (or transitioning out) a partner — buy-ins, buy-outs, and succession handled without disrupting trust or operations.
Due diligence and break-even modeling for laterals, group acquisitions, and new offices — and the post-close finance build that decides whether growth is accretive in year one or quietly drains the firm.
Executive oversight of trust accounting, IOLTA compliance, three-way reconciliations, and the controls that protect partners' personal liability — partnered with your bookkeeper or controller, not duplicating them.
Cash forecasting built around the realities of legal billing — WIP aging, AR collection cadence, retainer policy, and the working-capital discipline that keeps distributions predictable without surprises.
Who we serve
Single-office firms and boutiques, typically $2M–$20M in revenue, where the managing partner needs a financial peer at the table without absorbing a full-time CFO salary into overhead.
Growing firms consolidating multiple offices or practice groups, where consistent reporting, partner compensation models, and capital planning start to outrun what a controller and outside CPA can deliver alone.
Plaintiff-side, contingency, and specialty firms whose financials are shaped as much by case-cost lending, settlement timing, and WIP economics as by traditional billable-hour P&L levers.
Why fractional
New to the model? Read our overview of what a fractional CFO actually does — and the three-question framework we use to decide whether the model is the right fit for an organization.
Start the conversation
Tell us a little about your firm and the questions in front of you. We'll tell you honestly whether a fractional engagement is the right fit — or what we'd suggest instead.
Schedule a conversation