Accounting for law firms — and only law firms
Trust accounting, partner reporting, and tax strategy for modern legal practices. We reconcile every IOLTA dollar, show you which matters actually make money, and close your books by the sixth business day — every month.
Matter tracking · Q2 2026
Marlowe Chen LLP
| Matter | Billed | Realized | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-014 · Arbitration | $184,200 | 94% | 41.2% |
| 2026-022 · Patent portfolio | $96,750 | 91% | 36.8% |
| 2026-031 · Class action | $242,900 | 72% | 18.5% |
Fluent in the systems your firm already runs on
§ 01 Capabilities
Law firm finance is not general small-business bookkeeping. Client money, matter-level economics and partner capital each have their own rules — we built the firm around them.
Monthly three-way reconciliation of every IOLTA and client trust account — bank, book and client ledgers — with exceptions flagged before they become bar complaints.
Profitability by matter, practice group and originating partner. Realization, collection lag and cost advances — so pricing decisions rest on numbers, not instinct.
Partner scorecards, capital accounts and draw reviews your executive committee can defend. Compensation modeling that holds up in a lean year as well as a strong one.
The full practice
Most firms start with trust compliance or a controller engagement and add tax and partner reporting once the monthly close is dependable. Every capability runs on the same books, the same calendar and the same review team.
§ 02 Who we serve
A contingency firm and a patent boutique have almost nothing in common financially. We staff each engagement with people who have closed books for your kind of practice before.
§ 03 The record
Annual figures · FY2025 · illustrative
§ 04 The monthly close
The same four steps, on the same business days, every month — documented well enough that an auditor, a bar examiner or a departing partner's counsel can follow the trail.
Operating, trust and credit accounts reconciled to the penny. Trust gets the full three-way treatment: bank, general ledger and every client sub-ledger.
WIP, billing and collections tied out by matter. Unbilled cost advances, stale retainers and write-downs are surfaced with the responsible partner named.
Financial statements, the partner docket and practice-group scorecards delivered by the sixth business day — with a written summary, not just a PDF.
Draw adjustments, rate changes and tax estimates agreed at the review meeting are minuted and carried into next month's close. Nothing lives in an inbox.
§ 05 From the client docket
Re: Trust complianceLitigation
Our state bar audit took ninety minutes. The examiner asked for eighteen months of three-way reconciliations and we handed over a binder Redwood had already built. I read one page on the sixth of every month now.
Re: Matter economicsIP & patent
We learned our flat-fee prosecution work was carrying two hourly practice groups. The matter-level margins changed how we price, and realization is up eleven points in a year.
Re: Partner taxPersonal injury
Seven partners, four states, one composite return — and nobody was surprised in April. The estimate letters arrive before we think to ask for them.
§ 06 Engagements
You bill by the hour so your clients don't have to wonder what we cost. Every engagement is quoted flat after a scoping call and a look at your last three months of books.
Engagement I
For firms that keep their own books but want trust accounting done right, every month.
per month
Engagement II
Your outsourced accounting department — close, trust, matter economics and partner reporting.
per month
Engagement III
Partnership and partner-level tax, coordinated so K-1s, estimates and returns agree.
per partner, per year
Fractional CFO / Enterprise — custom scope for multi-office and 50+ lawyer firms, typically $5,000–$12,000 per month. Start a conversation.
§ 07 Briefings
What your bank, your books and your client ledgers each prove — and the four exceptions examiners look for first.
Draw levels, holdbacks and true-ups: how to design a system partners still trust when collections slip.
Safe harbors, composite returns and PTE elections — a quarterly rhythm for multi-state partnerships.
§ 08 Next steps
A 30-minute scoping call with a partner, a fixed-fee proposal within three business days, and a first close on the calendar within a month.
