Legal Staff Accounting/Finance in Washington, DC

Law Firm

Washington, DC

Legal Staff Accounting/Finance in Washington, DC

Legal Staff

No

Job Title: Client Account Specialist

Job Responsibilities:
The Client Account Specialist (CAS) is tasked with the comprehensive management of the billing and collections cycle for assigned client matters. This role involves establishing and maintaining professional and collaborative relationships with attorneys, business services personnel, and clients to ensure adherence to both attorney and client specifications. Key responsibilities include:

- Overseeing the entire billing and collections cycle for designated client portfolios.
- Ensuring accurate client account setup for billing, ebilling, collection arrangements, and inventory management.
- Developing strong collaborative relationships with attorneys throughout the invoicing and collections process to ensure client services and satisfaction.
- Reviewing rates for accuracy and ensuring fee arrangements align with client’s outside counsel guidelines, as well as monitoring fee caps, tier discounts, accruals, and matter budgets.
- Managing the proforma to final bill process, ensuring accurate proformas are received and returned promptly by Matter Supervising Partners (MSP).
- Submitting finalized bills/eBills in the appropriate template format, adhering to attorney and client specifications, and ensuring bills are posted in the finance system.
- Collaborating with the eBilling Team for new client and matter eBilling setups, and with the Client Maintenance Team for updates in line with client billing guidelines.
- Submitting invoices electronically and ensuring successful submission while troubleshooting any issues.
- Following up on eBilling collections, contacting clients as needed, and providing requested billing and collection arrangement information.
- Responding to inquiries related to accruals, billing, and payment information, and preparing ad hoc reports.
- Preparing effective monthly billing and collections forecasts.
- Maintaining updated proforma status reports and ensuring system reflects current status.
- Establishing back-up support processes to ensure seamless support for portfolio matters.
- Participating in continuous process improvement for own portfolio and the Client Account Specialist group.
- Encouraging participation in the Responsible Business program.
- Performing other duties as assigned.

Required Skills:
- Strong attention to detail.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to communicate effectively with lawyers, business services employees, and peers.
- Strong organizational and management skills, with the ability to prioritize and complete simultaneous projects with minimal supervision.
- Experience working independently and within cross-functional teams in a collaborative, professional environment.
- Ability to meet deadlines and work well under pressure.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office and a basic understanding of ebilling vendors.
- Basic math skills for billing and reporting tasks.
- Excellent critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to focus attention on tasks, use reasoning consistently, and exercise good judgment and decision-making.

Teamwork and Applied Skills:
- High level of business acumen and ability to multitask.
- Ability to assess pertinent information, anticipate issues, and make effective decisions.
- Talent for delivering client service through teamwork.
- Ability to exchange information, present ideas, and report clearly and concisely.
- Strong initiative to proactively increase value to the position.
- Strong organizational skills and ability to manage large amounts of data.
- Ability to organize time, prioritize workload, and work independently.
- High comfort level with stressful client requirements.
- Reliability, dependability, and motivation to respond quickly to requests.

Education, Certifications, and/or Experience:
- Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or a business discipline or equivalent combination of education and work experience.
- Three or more years of specialized billing, ebilling, collections, or account management experience.
- Hands-on experience performing complex accounting analysis.
- Preferred background in law firm or professional services.

Salary Information:
The annualized salary range varies by location:
- Washington, DC: $69,000 to $95,000
- Baltimore, MD: $64,000 to $88,000
- Boston, MA: $70,000 to $96,000
- Colorado Springs, CO: $62,000 to $85,000
- Denver, CO: $63,000 to $87,000
- Houston, TX: $64,000 to $88,000
- Louisville, KY: $61,000 to $84,000
- Miami, FL: $60,000 to $83,000
- Minneapolis, MN: $66,000 to $91,000
- Northern VA: $69,000 to $95,000
- Philadelphia, PA: $66,000 to $91,000

These ranges depend on the candidate's overall experience and other job-related factors permitted by law.

The job description outlines the responsibilities of this position and may be subject to changes. The law firm is an Equal Opportunity Employer, providing consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, genetic information, protected Veteran status, or other factors protected by law. The law firm complies with federal and state disability laws, offering reasonable accommodations for applicants and candidates with disabilities.