Leaving a firm to start your own is exciting. Getting your files, trust funds and billing out of the old firm’s system is not.
This group of lawyers needed a working accounting system on the day their new firm opened, and the consultant they’d started with had walked away.
Quick answer: When lawyers split from a firm, scope the data move tightly, map every trust balance to the new firm’s trust accounts with your accountant, plan a blackout period for time and expenses, and get templates, numbering and training ready before opening day.
Case study: a new BC firm opens on Actionstep
Situation. Three partners and eight colleagues, including associates, assistants and paralegals, were leaving an established BC firm to open their own, on a fixed opening date. Their client files and trust records sat in the old firm’s PCLaw database, and only their own matters could come with them. A previous consultant had walked away from the project.
Task. Move exactly the right data into a new accounting system, land every trust balance in the right new account, and be ready to bill from opening.
Action. We picked up where the earlier consultant left off:
- Scoping the move. We reviewed the earlier consultant’s work and scoped the migration with the software provider’s data team. Open matters, contacts, trust balances and unbilled work moved. Receivables stayed behind with the old firm.
- Getting the paperwork right. We worked through the conversion approval, the firm and user setup workbook and the permissions matrix, so the new system was configured for each role.
- The trust balance surprise. The old records turned out to hold nearly 1,000 open trust balances, not the few dozen first reported. With the firm’s accountant, we planned how to move every one correctly from the old firm’s trust accounts into the new firm’s Canadian and US trust accounts, close to two thousand manual transactions, and set up the system so the accounting team could do that work.
- A blackout period that didn’t lose a minute. We set up templates so lawyers could keep recording time and expenses while data moved, then loaded those entries at go-live.
- A clean opening balance. We corrected the opening trial balance with the data team, so trust and operating balances, unbilled disbursements and client sub-ledgers matched the general ledger.
- Ready to bill. We built invoice and cheque templates with the new firm’s branding, added lawyer signatures, and set starting cheque, file and contact numbers.
- Training by role. We trained lawyers on time and expense entry, client ledgers and the file and contact managers, assistants on reporting, and the bookkeeper on system settings, using the firm’s live data.
Result. The firm opened on Actionstep Legal Financial Management (formerly Soluno) with only its own matters and balances. The team has a user manual and recorded training. We ran go-live support sessions and stayed on for follow-up support, from invoice template updates to restoring a closed file and advising on month-end corrections. A partner offered to act as a reference for other firms making the same move.
Leaving to start your own firm?
Plan the systems, data and trust move before you announce. Leaving a law firm to start your own practice · Actionstep implementation
What to sort out before you leave
1. What data is yours? Agree with the old firm on which matters, contacts and trust balances move. Receivables and closed history often stay behind.
2. How will trust move? Trust is where errors cost most. Get the real trust list early, decide with your accountant how balances will transfer, and check the plan against your regulator’s trust accounting rules.
3. Closed files. Closed matters may come across without their client ledger history. Know where that history will live before you need it.
4. What happens during the blackout? Time and expenses still happen while data moves. Give the team a simple way to record them and a plan to load them.
5. Is the firm ready to bill? Bank accounts, tax numbers, logo, invoice and cheque templates and starting numbers all need to be in place for your first invoice.
Choosing your new system
Actionstep suited this firm. Depending on your practice, Clio or another platform may fit better. We help you choose, then make the move. Clio migration
We work with law firms in every province and territory across Canada and throughout the United States.
We’re not lawyers or accountants. We handle the operational side and work alongside your advisors, your accountant and your regulator’s requirements.
FAQ
Can we take only our own matters when we leave a firm?
Yes, with the old firm’s cooperation. The software provider’s data team can extract selected matters, contacts and trust balances, and we scope and map exactly what moves.
What happens to trust balances when lawyers split from a firm?
Each balance has to move from the old firm’s trust account to the new firm’s trust account. Plan it with your accountant and your regulator’s trust rules, and get the full trust list early.
Can we keep billing time during the move?
Yes. We set up templates so lawyers keep recording time and expenses during the blackout period, then load the entries once the new system is live.
Do you only work with Actionstep?
No. We help firms choose and implement the system that fits, including Actionstep and Clio.
Planning your own firm?
Explore Actionstep implementation or see more client stories in our portfolio
