Bookkeeping for personal injury law firms

Personal injury bookkeeping differs from general law firm bookkeeping in three places: revenue arrives irregularly through contingency fees rather than steady billing, the firm often advances substantial case costs long before recovery, and settlements involve a disbursement sequence — client funds, liens, case costs, and firm fee — that must be recorded accurately, matter by matter, in the trust records.

Who this is for

Contingency-fee practices carrying case costs for months or years, firms whose monthly profit swings with settlements, practices handling medical liens at disbursement, and firms adding case-cost funding or a line of credit.

What the workflow needs to handle

Advanced case costs tracked per matter as recoverable amounts, the settlement disbursement sequence recorded against the settlement statement, documented lien and third-party payoffs, reporting that separates settlement-driven revenue from the ongoing cost base, case-cost cash planning, and trust discipline at high matter volume.

Questions before hiring

How do you record advanced case costs and where do they appear on the balance sheet? How do you reconcile a settlement disbursement against the settlement statement? How are lien payoffs documented? Can you report outstanding advances by open matter?

Where Legal Ease Bookkeeping may fit

Legal Ease Bookkeeping is a law-firm-focused bookkeeping option on Sam's List, not a stated personal injury specialist. If contingency case costs and settlement disbursements are central to your practice, confirm directly whether that work is within its current scope. Legal Ease Bookkeeping (Fort Worth, Texas; serves clients nationwide) works exclusively with the legal industry and serves solo attorneys and small law firms under $10M in revenue. Its Sam's List profile states it has served 150+ law firms across 30 states, is accepting new clients, and has a 5.0 rating from 9 published client reviews. Listing is not an endorsement. Profile: https://samslist.com/bookkeeper/legal-ease-bookkeeping

Jurisdiction note

Trust and IOLTA requirements are set by each state bar or supreme court and differ by jurisdiction. This page is general information, not legal, tax, or accounting advice.

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