Legal Financial Careers in Law Firms: Worth Their Weight in Gold

There are different types of Legal Financial Staff that can be needed in a Law Firm. The questions are how large is the firm, how many are on their payroll, are they heavily involved in taxes or any other specialized field where the money has to be tracked for accounting purposes? The following are staff a law firm might be interested in hiring:

Junior Bookkeeper: There can possibly be a Junior and Senior Bookkeeper in a law firm. The Junior Bookkeeper performs general accounting duties in the following areas: accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, bank deposits, cash receipts, account reconciliations, and general ledger. A Junior Bookkeeper can get their experience from prior work as a bookkeeper or from post secondary school training. Sometimes the Junior Bookkeeper assists the Senior Bookkeeper with the accounting overflow.

Senior Bookkeeper: A higher paid Senior Bookkeeper might need more experience in computer accounting software and time and billing programs. Senior Bookkeepers need all the background of a Junior Bookkeeper. Also proficiency in administrative duties could be required in some positions. Three to five years working on staff in the financial department of a legal firm is preferred. Some firms may request some sort of education degree from a post-secondary school or a trade school.

Accountant: The difference between a Bookkeeper and Accountant is the Accountant will have a four year degree in accounting and may have previous work experience that allowed the accountant to be eligible to take the Accounting exam and become a CPA. They still handle the same duties in accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, bank deposits, cash receipts, account reconciliations, and general ledger. There can be additional areas to manage such as fixed asset management or report preparation for banks in compliance with debt contracts. The training is broader and there is a very good understanding of General Accounting Principals. The Accountant is also more qualified to handle audits from any governing body. An example would be a tax audit from the IRS.

Payroll Accountant: A payroll accountant oversees time and billing which is the most common form of payroll in law practices. This means a lawyer tracks his work every hour of every day, usually in a computer program designed for that specific task. At the end of the pay period or week, hours are counted and stored and Payroll Accountants have to accrue taxes, vacation time, sick leave, family leave and anything else that needs to be paid by the employee for child support, insurance or taxes. Payroll Accountants are the most popular with the employees and for that reason it is also a satisfying position.

If the job has the word accountant in the title the employer is most likely searching for a person with a four year degree in accounting. Payroll accounting often requires some experience working as a payroll clerk.

Salaries for bookkeepers are currently recorded starting around $30K and ranging up to $50K. These positions with law firms typically require previous experience. Salaries for Accountants with a 4 year degree in accounting and experience start at $60K and the high end is around $130K.