One System for Every Check a Law Firm Sends

Two Accounts, One Outbound-Payment Problem

A contingency-fee firm regularly pays costs from two different types of accounts. Operating accounts fund case expenses such as medical-record fees, police reports, filing fees, and expert deposits. Client trust accounts hold money that belongs to clients or third parties and may fund lien payoffs, client distributions, and other approved settlement disbursements.

Those accounts have different ownership, recordkeeping, and review requirements, but the physical work often converges at the same printer. A payment request is approved, someone selects an account, prints and signs a check, prepares an envelope, records the transaction in the matter, and records it again in the books. Each handoff creates another opportunity for delay or a mismatched record.

The distinction matters. ABA Model Rule 1.15 and jurisdiction-specific rules govern the safeguarding and accounting of client and third-party property. Requirements vary by jurisdiction, and the law firm remains responsible for deciding which account is appropriate and for meeting its legal and accounting obligations.

What 10,000 Checks per Month Looks Like

One large law firm described an operation processing approximately 10,000 checks per month. The firm is intentionally not identified, and the volume is presented as an anonymized operating example rather than a customer endorsement.

At that scale, the problem is not only check stock and postage. Staff must keep each request tied to the right matter, payment purpose, approval, bank account, recipient, case-management record, and accounting entry. A replacement or stale check adds another exception that has to remain connected to the same history.

One Workflow for Trust and Operating Payments

Disbo now supports operating-account case costs alongside the trust-account settlement disbursements the platform was built to handle. That does not combine the accounts. It gives the firm one payment workflow that preserves the account distinction.

For an approved payment, Disbo records the category and matter, applies the firm’s configured trust- or operating-account workflow, and delivers the payment through an available electronic option or a printed and mailed check. The applicable rail and timing depend on the recipient, bank setup, and firm configuration.

• Categorize the payment purpose, such as a records fee, filing fee, lien payoff, or client disbursement.
• Keep the payment connected to the selected trust or operating account workflow.
• Preserve approvals, status, and payment history with the matter.
• Deliver electronically when the applicable recipient and configuration support it, or mail a paper check through Lob.

Case-Management and QuickBooks Write-Back

Disbo can write approved payment information back to Filevine, Clio, CasePeer, and SmartAdvocate in supported configurations. The exact fields, direction of exchange, and automation available depend on the firm’s implementation and permissions.

QuickBooks write-back is also available where configured, so payment information can be reflected in the accounting workflow without requiring staff to re-key the same transaction. QuickBooks remains the firm’s accounting system; the case-management system remains the matter system; and the bank remains the source of funds. Disbo coordinates the payment record across those boundaries rather than replacing them.

Firms should confirm their edition, connection method, mapped fields, approval rules, and supported workflow during implementation. A product name here describes supported interoperability, not an endorsement by that software provider.

What Changes for the Accounting Team

The practical benefit is a more complete payment trail. The request, category, account workflow, approval, delivery status, matter update, and accounting write-back can stay connected instead of being reconstructed from a printer queue, bank portal, spreadsheet, and inbox.

Disbo provides records and workflow controls that can support the firm’s reconciliation and compliance processes. It does not provide legal or accounting advice, decide the proper account without the firm’s rules and review, or make a firm compliant. Requirements vary, and the firm remains responsible for legal judgment, accounting treatment, supervision, and compliance with applicable trust-account rules.

Retire the In-House Check Queue

The expansion is for contingency-fee firms that want to manage operating case costs and trust-account disbursements through one controlled outbound-payment workflow while keeping each account and system role clear.

If your team still prints checks for case costs, settlements, or both, join the waitlist to review your current payment categories, bank accounts, case-management system, QuickBooks setup, recipient needs, and implementation boundaries with Disbo.