ProLegal Provides Solo Attorneys All the Perks For a Fraction of the Cost

By:  Lori T. Williams, Owner/Managing Attorney of Your Legal Resource, PLLC

Setting up a law office as a solo attorney can be financially taxing, or it can be easy and cost effective.  It all depends on how you do it.  Most solo attorneys dream of having flexible schedules, their choice of clients, all the profits, and all the decision making power.  With that comes all the responsibility, the cost of setup and maintenance of the firm, the marketing, bill collection, office management, etc.  To hire out all those functions and still make a profit would be too taxing for the solo law firm.  However, companies like ProLegal take the financial sting out of setting up a solo practice.

ProLegal Systems is an affiliate of ProCare™ Systems, a premier source of management systems for the health care industry and complementary professional service markets. Since 1994, ProCare™ Systems has partnered with medical professionals to support the practice of medicine while delivering business results in excess of $80 million dollars of annual revenue and a supporting team of more than 360 employees. 

Wayne Bryan and Doug Polland, attorneys on the ProLegal Leadership team, were in contact with ProCare Systems and saw a need to provide a similar type service offering to law professionals in solo, small, and mid-sized law firms.  ProLegal provides Client Billing Services, IT Systems, Business and Marketing Development, and other Administrative Services such as Accounts Payable, Bookkeeping, and Payroll.

I interviewed Jeff Kladder, the Director of Business Development for Pro Legal Systems, LLC about the company's model, and how they are different from other office share or office leasing companies like Regus or Intelligent office.

"In addition to the services available to all law firms, we offer turnkey office space in downtown Grand Rapids.  We believe our setup is different because of the combination of the facilities and services we provide.  ProLegal offers Law Office space at 61 Commerce, and merges a shared office environment concept with professional management services.  This gives attorneys affordable office space in a professional environment, as well as affordable office support including billing, accounting support, marketing, website development and hosting, computer hardware and network administration, telephone and receptionist service, conference rooms, copiers, break room, office supplies and utilities. Essentially, we provide the support services and amenities previously available only at large firms, without the high overhead, and with the ability to remain autonomous as a solo or a small firm."

ProLegal also offers space at the 61 Commerce location to attorneys outside of West Michigan, who are in need of a Grand Rapids presence temporarily or full time.  "We can provide professional fully equipped conference rooms with reception service and waiting area," says Kladder.  The Law Firm of Kotz Sangster has offices throughout Metro Detroit, and wanted a presence in West Michigan. The space at 61 Commerce fit the bill.

"Our typical clients are solo or small firms with less than 10 attorneys.  The common problem we see is that they are not using staff efficiently to cover non-billable functions.  Attorneys at these firms are trying to wear multiple hats and as a result their billing efficiency suffers.  According to a recent survey by LexisNexis attorneys in this size range average billing just over 60% of their time worked.  Our services allow attorneys to practice law the majority of the time, and not waste their valuable time on administrative tasks or managing administrative staff."

Solo and small firm attorneys outside of West Michigan, and across the Country, can use ProLegal's remote billing services.  "We handle the billing process from beginning to end," says Kladder.  The only thing attorneys are responsible for is entering in time and expenses, which can be done virtually through a web-based portal.  ProLegal handles the client and matter setup including conflict checks, pre-bill creation and distribution, client Invoice creation and distribution (electronic or standard mail), and accounts receivable monitoring and re-invoicing as needed. "Because our services are essentially 'as needed' we allow our clients to receive professional, quality, timely service at a fraction of the cost of hiring in house staff, and without all the hassles of employee management."

Solo attorneys are often tempted to try and do it all themselves, without any administrative help. Sometimes they do this because they feel they can't afford to hire help, or because they are capable of handling the work themselves. Kladder notes that ProLegal has seen multiple examples of solo attorneys getting bogged down working “in their practice” so that they have no time to work “on their practice” to attract new clients. "We know that attorneys’ time is extremely valuable and is better spent in many areas other than administration.  Time saved on these tasks can be converted into billable hours and time spent marketing and building relationships which will certainly aid in the growth of a law practice.  We encourage all attorneys to look at their time and eliminate all tasks that are not directly related with the work of being an attorney and growing their practice."

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Jeff Kladder is the Director of Business Development for ProLegal Systems, LLC and he has experience in business leadership, growth, and development to accompany his Master’s of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University. In addition to working in the area of small business, he has worked as an accountant with Plante & Moran. This background allows him to understand the business principles and operational structures needed for businesses to grow and succeed.