AAML NJ Blog

Practical Considerations in Representing the (Un)Happily Married (Pt. 3 of 3)

By Wilmington Trust | Leading provider of Investment Management and Financial Advisory Services | AAML NJ Bronze Sponsor

Spouses getting divorced. One is the beneficiary of a trust. Can trust assets be reached by the other spouse? In part 3 of this 3-part series, Sharon Klein discusses tax traps, creative planning techniques & practice tips when trusts feature on the divorce balance sheet.

Listen to Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President-Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region,  Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), explore the topic of attacking or defending trust assets in divorce in this 3-Part podcast series:

Part 1 – What to look for in the trust agreement

Part 2 – What to look for in the history of trust administration

Part 3 – Tax traps, creative planning techniques & practice tips

Listen to the full episode: Practical Considerations in Representing the (Un)Happily Married (Pt. 3 of 3) (actecfoundation.org)

Contact Sharon L. Klein, Head of Wilmington Trust’s National Divorce Advisory Practice at 212-415-0531 or sklein@wilmingtontrust.com to discuss ways Wilmington Trust can help your clients successfully navigate transition.

Experienced attorneys know that manual time-tracking methods often lead to underreported hours and lost revenue. In fact, according to a report from Thompson Reuters, 56% of lawyers admit to underestimating their billable hours. This means that many New Jersey family law firms are losing money due to inefficient billable hours tracking procedures.

That’s why a growing number of NJ family law firms are abandoning outdated timetracking software and embracing modern legal timekeeping solutions that use automation to track billable hours more efficiently. Unlike older legal software solutions, which require attorneys to manually track and input their time, today's leading timekeeping solutions offer billing technology that eliminates manual work and simplifies the process of getting paid for all the services provided to clients by law firms.

Outdated services no longer receive ongoing support or new product updates, but with the latest legal timekeeping software, you’ll get access to innovative features and other resources to ensure that your firm never misses a billable minute. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how this technology works and examine where it might be headed in the future.

How Modern Legal Software Boosts Profitability for NJ Family Law Firms

Innovations in legal billing technology have transformed the way that lawyers keep track of their billable time. Before the arrival of the latest timekeeping software, attorneys kept track of their hours through a variety of different means — either on pen and paper, in a spreadsheet, or in several legacy legal software programs. Each of these methods had its own inefficiencies, and each of these contributed to underreported hours and lost revenue for firms. But now, with today’s legal technology, New Jersey family law attorneys can rely on the power of cutting-edge features to improve accuracy in billable hours tracking and earn more money for their firms:

• Instant timekeeping to capture all billable work: Attorneys are busy, and during the course of a busy day, you might easily forget to check your watch or activate a timer to keep track of the minutes or hours that you spend working on a particular matter. With legal software available through LEAP, you no longer have to worry about keeping track of your time on a watch or in a spreadsheet. Instead of checking the clock, you can simply click a button, and have the time monitored and recorded for you directly in LEAP. 
• Streamlined timesheets to optimize time management: Legal professionals are used to bouncing from spreadsheet to spreadsheet and folder to folder, often navigating a vast mountain of paperwork, files, and programs in the course of a single day. When attorneys have to bounce between different spreadsheets or legacy software programs to record billable time, view financial reports, and access other crucial matter information, they risk wasting energy and time on tedious and error-prone tasks. But with today’s legal timekeeping technology, this is no longer an issue; you’ll be able to enter time for multiple matters in a single window, monitor your performance against budget, and even view a brief financial summary for the selected matter. 
• Mobile access to capture time on the go: Unlike outdated technologies, modern legal timekeeping technology is access via mobile device, making it possible for users to capture time from the courthouse, on the go, or from any other location with an internet connection. This is a huge development for all legal professionals, particular those in NJ family family, since they’ll no longer have to worry about losing or incorrectly recording billable time when they’re working away from the office. 

Future Outlook on Technology in Billable Hours Tracking

As legal technology continues to advance, the role of technology in legal billing will continue to expand, and NJ family law is no exception. According to the American Bar Association, 12% of corporate legal budgets will be spent on legal tech in 2025 — that’s way up from 3.9% in 2020. With the latest innovations in legal software hitting the market at a rapid pace, law firms can expect to see increased efficiency, accuracy, and profitability both in the near- and long-term.

One area of development is mobile apps, which enable particular lawyers to track their billable hours from anywhere, at any time. This means that even when they're on the go, they can easily capture every minute of billable work, reducing the risk of lost revenue. Another area of focus is automation, with new software continuing to streamline the time-tracking process and allow for more accurate and efficient billing. This technology can eliminate the need for manual input, reducing the risk of human error, and increasing productivity.

Both the future and present of legal timekeeping software are looking bright, with technology poised to continue its transformation of law firm productivity. By embracing new tools and staying up-to-date on the latest trends, family law firms can position themselves for success in years to come as the pace of innovation continues to accelerate. See how timekeeping software can make your NJ family law firm more profitable.

By: Leap Legal Software | AAML NJ Silver Sponsor

“LEAP is awesome! LEAP helps me to be more efficient at practicing law. The forms and auto-population help me to work smarter and not harder. The product and customer service have been fantastic!” — Lori C., LEAP User

Lawyers are known for working long hours. In fact, according to a recent Bloomberg survey, some attorneys even exceed 60 hours per week. While this might not come as a surprise to legal professionals, it does make us wonder: how are lawyers spending their time?

As all legal professionals know, it’s not always the case that lawyers are confined to courtrooms or boardrooms. In fact, a significant part of their workweek is likely spent on crucial but repetitive tasks such as data entry, legal form and document completion, and composing written correspondence. While these tasks are essential to a firm's success, they can be tedious, slow, and prone to errors that can be both costly and time-consuming to rectify.

That’s why legal publishing technology is helping family law firms in New Jersey boost productivity. By automating the creation of forms and documents, streamlining legal drafting, and supporting other key administrative and legal functions, legal publishing software is helping NJ family lawyers achieve optimal performance. These features enable family law lawyers to complete more work in less time, leading to increased efficiency and profitability, regardless of the number of hours they work per week. 

How Legal Publishing Technology Saves Time and Money for NJ Family Law Firms

Legal publishing technology offered by the LEAP legal practice productivity solution saves firms time and money by delivering five key benefits: 

1. Easily open matters: LEAP has over 3,000 pre-built matter types for all common areas of law, which means that LEAP users can easily create, modify, and resolve all of their matters through LEAP. Instead of creating a new matter framework from scratch in every instance, users can pick up where they left off with readymade templates, delivering a seamless user experience that helps professionals and firms be more productive than ever before.

2. Reduce mistakes with automation: Full Microsoft and Adobe integrations allow LEAP users to quickly create documents, forms, and letters with data pulled directly from the LEAP legal practice productivity solution. This means that users don’t have to spend hours of every month inputting the same client information over and over again. With LEAP, you can simply enter client information once — this information then auto-populates across all relevant fields, reducing errors by eliminating manual data entry.

3. Simplify document production: Before the arrival of legal publishing technology, legal professionals had to obtain and complete all necessary legal forms and documents by hand. But with LEAP, this is no longer an issue. Instead of scrambling to manually obtain and complete a document or form, LEAP can turn to a library of over 12,000 legal forms and documents that cover the most commonly used forms and areas of law in their state. LEAP also helps you import custom, firm-specific documents into the LEAP practice productivity solution. This makes the workday less stressful and more productive.

4. Streamline legal drafting: The LEAP Clause Library simplifies the process of legal drafting, which puts time back in the hands of LEAP users. With LEAP, you can access all of your clauses from one location and quickly insert them in another location with a single click. Expedite the drafting of contracts, forms, pleadings, and more, so you can increase your firm's efficiency and profits. 

5. Ongoing client support: Access free training resources like bi-weekly webinars to ensure you're getting the most out of automated forms and legal publishing features in LEAP. LEAP is committed to helping our customers get the most out of our platform and will provide ongoing support to ensure that our users are getting the greatest possible value.

Together, these features create new efficiencies within your organization that streamline operations and boost productivity. Save money with modern legal technology.

Go Further with LEAP 

As the only legal practice productivity solution, LEAP has been helping firms succeed for over 30 years. Our long-running track record of client success was one of the reasons why we were named “Best Software as a Service Product for Legal Services” at the 2023 SaaS Awards. It’s also one of the reasons why LEAP is the preferred technology provider for New Jersey family law firms.

LEAP offers best-in-class legal publishing features to optimize your firm’s operations. With a library of over 3,000 pre-built matter types and 12,000 of the most commonly used legal forms and documents, LEAP delivers unparalleled access to cutting-edge tools and automation services that deliver value from day one.

Schedule a demo today to see these features in action.

By Wilmington Trust | Leading provider of Investment Management and Financial Advisory Services | AAML NJ Bronze Sponsor

Spouses getting divorced. One is the beneficiary of a trust. Can trust assets be reached by the other spouse? In part 2 of this 3-part series Sharon Klein will examine what to look for in the trust's history to see if assets are vulnerable in divorce.

Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President-Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region,  discusses an important step in analyzing whether trust assets could be on the table in the divorce proceedings, which is the review and consideration of the history of the trust administration. This podcast is Part 2 of a 3-Part podcast series:

Part 1 – What to look for in the trust agreement
Part 2 – What to look for in the history of trust administration
Part 3 – Tax traps, creative planning techniques and practice tips
 

Listen to the full episode: Practical Considerations in Representing the (Un)Happily Married (Pt. 2 of 3) (actecfoundation.org)

Contact Sharon L. Klein, Head of Wilmington Trust’s National Divorce Advisory Practice at 212-415-0531 or sklein@wilmingtontrust.com to discuss ways Wilmington Trust can help your clients successfully navigate transition.

By Wilmington Trust| Leading provider of Investment Management and Financial Advisory Services | AAML NJ Bronze Sponsor

Spouses getting divorced. One is the beneficiary of a trust. Can the trust assets be reached by the other spouse? 

Listen to Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President-Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region,  Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), offer 8 key questions to ask to determine if trust assets are vulnerable during divorce. This podcast is Part 1 of a 3-Part podcast series:

Part 1 – What to look for in the trust agreement
Part 2 – What to look for in the history of trust administration
Part 3 – Tax traps, creative planning techniques and practice tips

Listen to the full episode: Practical Considerations in Representing the (Un)Happily Married (Pt. 1 of 3) (actecfoundation.org)

Contact Sharon L. Klein, Head of Wilmington Trust’s National Divorce Advisory Practice at 212-415-0531 or sklein@wilmingtontrust.com to discuss ways Wilmington Trust can help your clients successfully navigate transition. 

By: LEAP Legal Software | AAML NJ Silver Sponsor

No matter the area of law, attorneys are famous for dealing with many legal documents in the course of their normal practice. In fact, according to Arnold & Porter, the average attorney uses so much paper in a year that the sheets would span the circumference of the Supreme Court Building 66 times if they were laid end-to-end. As Franz Kafka once quipped, lawyers are people who write 10,000-word documents and call them 'briefs.' 

Lawyers are writers, and the legal profession is built on the written word. But the prevalence of written forms and documents in the legal field shouldn't cause lawyers to feel burdened by tiresome, detail-oriented work. In today's digital world, attorneys can rely on software to do some of the heavy lifting, giving lawyers the freedom to use their skills in more valuable and higher-impact areas of their practice.

Document Automation Helps Firms Save Money

Attorneys are often skilled writers who approach their work with enthusiasm, but the repetitive and tedious aspects of document preparation can be draining, particularly when an attorney has many documents to prepare. That's why legal document automation is gaining in popularity among professionals who want to streamline their work and maximize their efficiency. By automating many of the most important, but tiresome, aspects of document composition and preparation, LEAP optimizes this cumbersome process, making it possible for attorneys to focus on more fulfilling and lucrative work. 

The library of automated documents available through LEAP was developed through the combined efforts of leading legal and IT professionals, ensuring that all client needs are properly addressed by the LEAP legal practice productivity solution. With LEAP, an attorney enters basic case information into a form or document only once. This information then automatically populates across a variety of relevant forms and templates, eliminating double data entry. This saves legal staff time so they can spend time on the aspects of their practice that they find more engaging, and eliminates the possibility of error that comes with this kind of repetitive work. Automation ensures consistency and accuracy across the board. 

Revolutionize Productivity with LEAP

LEAP continues to build and maintain an extensive and evolving library of pre-automated forms and templates that cover the most common documentation required for New Jersey family law and other common areas of law in each of our core states. A key part of the philosophy of LEAP is providing dedicated and personalized support for each of our clients, which includes no-cost tech support and the ability to connect directly with our content team to ensure that the forms and templates meet your firm's unique needs. As we continue to grow and innovate, LEAP is always looking for ways to provide a more efficient, more customized experience for each of our clients. Enter the Template Document Pack — a new service that is already available to all LEAP clients, making automation even more accessible in their day-to-day practice.

With the Template Document Pack, LEAP clients can now submit their firm's regularly used letter templates to LEAP to have these templates uploaded to their legal practice productivity solution. Shortly after the forms are submitted, the content team at LEAP will then provide customized, automated versions of these documents exclusively for the firm's use. This means that clients can enjoy the benefits of automation, including increased accuracy and efficiency, while retaining all firm-specific details. 

As the original advocates for document automation, LEAP's content team is thrilled to showcase more of what automation can accomplish for clients. By delivering top-notch document services to our users, LEAP enables legal professionals to spend more time on the important aspects of their practice, while also empowering firms to become more productive and profitable.

Book a demo to see LEAP document automation in action. 

By: LEAP Legal Software | AAML NJ Silver Sponsor

One of the biggest challenges that New Jersey law firms face is increased competition. In 2022 alone,  thousands of new practices opened in the US, meaning it’s more important than ever to have a solid foundation to stay relevant and ensure long-term success. Senior staff members must reassess their operations to identify inefficiencies that impact their competitive edge and establish strong routines across every department. As the leader in legal technology for over 30 years, LEAP Legal Software understands the common challenges that New Jersey matrimonial legal professionals face that prevent them from being successful. Let’s look at how to mitigate these challenges to establish a thriving practice.

Step 1: Decide to be Efficient

The first step to becoming productive is acknowledging the manual processes that cause your staff to focus on tasks that take away from billable work. Many New Jersey law firms experience this with document assembly and management, time recording, and billing. While it seems more lucrative to encourage staff to spend more time on one project, it makes it more difficult to scale your practice to service more clients without significantly increasing overhead costs. While it may seem overwhelming to address these core activities, these inefficiencies can be addressed for long-term gains.

Action Checklist

• Brief staff on your plans and goals
• Identify the areas where technology can provide the most productivity impact (i.e., document production, timekeeping, billing)
• Begin the software evaluation process

Step 2: Join the Early Adopters of Software

As the legal industry has become increasingly more digital, many family law firms have already moved operations to the cloud. Newer firms typically have the competitive edge that they leverage modern technology from day one. Therefore, established New Jersey practices must implement cloud-based software to keep up and provide efficient client services. While the ultimate goal of software implementation should be to eliminate the challenges identified in Step 1, it should also:

• Establish a single version of the truth,
• Improve accessibility so that staff members can work from home or on the go,
• Instantly capture time to improve billing accuracy and frequency, and
• Ensure trust accounts remain state-bar and IOLA/IOLTA compliant.

Action Checklist

• Determine where data gaps exist
• Create a plan with your staff to increase remote and hybrid work options
• Evaluate software that serves as one solution for practice management, automating legal forms, and all financial transactions, including billing and trust accounting
• Step 3: Enjoy Practicing Family Law

While this might seem like a no-brainer, but the old saying is true that you can’t succeed if you don’t enjoy the work you do. New Jersey matrimonial attorneys deal with highly sensitive and emotional matters that can take a toll on them if they don’t truly love it. If they don’t have the appropriate support, staying connected to the work can become difficult. Additionally, many people leave their current firm and even the legal industry altogether because they don’t have enough time to practice the law. Instead, they are forced to focus on manual tasks that take up most of their time. Senior leaders need to work with their staff to determine clear responsibilities and career plans to keep them engaged.

Action Checklist

• Set realistic and clear expectations and boundaries with clients
• Organize matters and data in an intuitive solution
• Dedicate time for career development and staff check-ins

Conclusion
While these three steps provide New Jersey family law firms with a solid foundation to begin improving efficiency, they can address several other areas to improve productivity. As your practice embraces digital transformation, LEAP can provide you with comprehensive checklists on the steps needed to establish a competitive, efficient, and thriving family law firm. Download the11 Habits of Successful Law Firms e-book to start improving operations today.

By Wilmington Trust | Leading provider of Investment Management and Financial Advisory Services | AAML NJ Bronze Sponsor

Learn more about estate planning for divorcing couples, including grey divorce, when couples in their 50s and older—often with significant assets—decide to go their separate ways in this episode of “Splitting Heirs,” featuring Wilmington Trust's Sharon L. Klein, EVP, President-Family Wealth, Eastern U.S. Region and Lowenstein Sandler Trusts & Estates Chair Warren Racusin.

Listen to the full episode: https://bit.ly/3DAcLut

Contact Sharon L. Klein, Head of Wilmington Trust’s National Divorce Advisory Practice at 212-415-0531 or sklein@wilmingtontrust.com to discuss ways Wilmington Trust can help your clients successfully navigate transition.

By Ben Kent | LEAP, AAML NJ Silver Sponsor

New Jersey family law cases are complex and often require the filing of specific legal forms and documents depending on the type of matter being litigated, such as child support, alimony, or divorce proceedings.

Preparing official legal documents such as Case Information Statements; Child Support Guideline Worksheets; Case Management Orders; legal pleadings and motion papers; and the various correspondence in a legal matter, such as letters and memos, can be complicated, and lawyers and their teams run the risk of errors if they do not utilize automation technology to handle document creation.

Document automation software, especially software that is purpose-built for NJ family law practice, reduces these risks and offers three distinctive benefits:

1. Do more work, more quickly; take on more clients and make more money.

2. Access up-to-date and most recent files; ensure one version of the truth.

3. Securely send, collaborate, and receive correspondence and minimize security risks.

Benefit 1: Do More Work, More Quickly

Case and client information can be difficult to keep track of, especially when an attorney is handling multiple active matters at once.

By having one central location to enter case and client details, attorneys can access accurate data faster. Automation software also makes data entry more efficient and accurate than ever before.

For example, by entering family details once (such as the names and birthdates of the children, and parents' employment details), automation software allows you to generate Child Support Guideline Worksheets and other important case documents with ease, while also avoiding duplicate data entry. This saves time by eliminating the manual work previously associated with these tasks.

This automation allows NJ family law firms to spend more time on other work, which enables the firm to take on a greater number of clients, expand the practice, and ultimately make more money.

Benefit 2: Access Up-to-Date and Most Recent Files

A centralized location for client information, case documents, and other important files ensures that NJ legal professionals have reliable access to the most recent case information.

By implementing modern cloud-based legal software for NJ firms, documents and case files can be arranged per case, and include details such as creation dates, author, and any associated tasks such as emails, secure document sharing, and submission to the NJ courts. This eliminates the need to dig through inboxes or dusty physical file rooms and eliminates the need to remotely access servers.

Benefit 3: Securely Send, Collaborate, and Receive Correspondence

NJ family law cases rely heavily on internal and external collaboration. However, when dealing with sensitive information such as financial details, medical information, and other private matters, sending correspondence that doesn't adhere to security guidelines runs the risk of being non-compliant with ABA Model Rule 1.1 Comment 8 (https://info.leap.us/l/111142/2023-08-03/79whzm), which sets forth the attorney's Duty of Technological Competence. Attorneys are obligated to stay abreast of changes in technology to the extent that those changes affect their area of practice, and attorneys are expected to understand the common technologies of the time and how to avoid violating their duty of confidentiality when utilizing new technologies.

Outlook, Dropbox, and other file-sharing methods have security measures that are not purpose-built for law firms. These systems are unlikely to integrate directly with a legal practice management software system or are less likely to include valuable automation features.

LawConnect, a secure document sharing and collaboration tool for law firms, provides data encryption and security measures, while also saving directly to the corresponding matter in the LEAP legal practice productivity solution. This is the only software solution needed for NJ family law firms looking to streamline and secure client and matter information and correspondence.

Conclusion

NJ family law firms must be diligent when working on sensitive matters and need to embrace technology that will allow them to operate more efficiently.

By implementing automation software, especially software like LEAP, which is made for use by NJ family law firms, law firms will be set up for improved client satisfaction, growth, expansion, and increased revenue for their businesses.

Learn how LEAP can help your NJ family law practice today (https://info.leap.us/l/111142/2023-08-03/79whzj).

By  Judy Doyle | CPA Withum AAML NJ Gold Sponsor

Imagine that you are a family law associate set to embark on your first cross-examination of a business valuation expert. It can be a daunting task; you are going face-to-face with an expert. And while you have the Rules of Evidence at your disposal to control the witness, see, e.g., N.J.R.E. 611(c), the expert has years of education, training, and experience. Fear not, this article co-authored by Mat Nunn, Esq., Alyssa Engleberg, Esq., Judy Doyle, CPA (Withum) and Megan Sartor, CPA/ABV/CFF is intended to provide advice to the novice attorney who has not had experience with business valuations.

The first piece of advice, and this pertains to cross-examination of any expert, is that you may never know the core “science” or area of expertise as well as the expert. But you can know enough to be dangerous—you should know more than enough to be very dangerous.

Next, business valuations are not rote, black-and-white tasks; some may even say they are “an art.” This is so because there exist areas that require subjective input and, in turn, opinions. Having said that, accountants hired to prepare business valuations are guided by the Statement on Standards for Valuation Services (SSVS 1) issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

You must also know that New Jersey is guided by the “fair value” standard discussed in Brown v. Brown, 348 N.J. Super. 466 (App. Div. 2002). Brown stemmed from a divorce that involved the husband’s minority interest in a family business (a florist) with his mother, who maintained the controlling interest. The trial court utilized, and the Appellate Division approved, a “fair value” approach as opposed to a “fair market value approach.” The fair value approach does not discount the value of the entity due to either: (1) lack of marketability (i.e., there is a small pool of potential buyers for a closely held florist); or (2) lack of control (i.e., a reduction based on the husband’s less than controlling interest in the florist). A reading of Brown will also steer you toward two other (non-family law) cases that will help your understanding or fair value, see Balsamides v. Protameen Chemicals, 160 N.J. 352 (1999), and Lawson Mardon Wheaton v. Smith, 160 N.J. 383 (1999), which collectively stand for the following: “Neither a marketability nor a minority discount should be applied absent extraordinary circumstances.” Brown, 348 N.J. Super. at 483 (emphasis added).

Against that backdrop, there are generally three approaches to value that are to be considered in each valuation engagement: the asset, income and market approaches.

Asset

This approach essentially replaces the historical cost of certain assets reported in the balance sheets with fair market value for those assets if readily ascertainable either from independent appraisals, stipulation by the parties, or through other estimation means. This approach is often referred to as the “floor value” and is used when the subject company has a significant level of machinery and equipment (heavy construction companies) or are real estate holding entities. This approach can be important in determining a subject company’s value when a company has historically not generated enough income and cash flow to allow for an expected return on assets of a potential investor.

Income

This approach is closest to “pure valuation theory,” which states that the value of an investment is equal to the present value of all future cash flows. It provides an indication of value by either capitalizing the results historically achieved by the entity (capitalization of earnings/cash flow) or by discounting the projected future earnings (discounted future returns), however defined (e.g., net income, cash flows, etc.). The income approach may be used when there exists a stable history and expectation of positive earnings or where there exists a projection of positive earnings for the year(s) subsequent to the date of valuation that are not indicated by historical results. In doing so, there should be sufficient and reliable historical information available to reasonable estimate expected normalized earnings or detailed and supported projections and forecasts prepared. This is the approach most frequently encountered in New Jersey family law cases.

Market

This approach provides an indication of value based upon historical transactions of comparable publicly traded or privately held businesses. It is not necessary that the companies be identical, but rather comparable. This approach is useful as it places all indications of value developed from the marketplace into the larger context of market realities. The resultant value is determined through the application of derived valuation multiples to the subject company. There are various transaction databases utilized in practice including BizComps, DealStats, and CapitalIQ. However, there may be insufficient information available in these databases for each individual transaction.

A link to the full article can be found here.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to the forensic and valuation team at Withum with any questions relating to this article.