Mana Accounting & Advisory

Personal Injury Law Firms

Accounting built for the contingency model. We handle the books, the trust accounts, the case cost tracking, and the cash flow forecasting — so your firm runs clean between settlements.

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PI Firm Financial Challenges

Personal injury firms run on contingency — which means unpredictable cash flow, large costs advanced before any fee is earned, and settlement disbursements that have to flow through trust exactly right. Most bookkeepers don't understand this model. We do.

Settlement Timing Uncertainty

Cases can resolve in 6 months or 6 years. We model your active docket's expected resolution timeline and build cash flow projections that account for the gaps — so payroll and overhead never catch you off guard.

Case Cost Advances

Medical records, expert witnesses, depositions, filing fees — costs accumulate per case before a dollar is recovered. We track every advance by matter so you know your exposure and recover accurately at settlement.

IOLTA Trust Compliance

Every settlement flows through trust before the fee is earned. We maintain monthly three-way reconciliations and per-client sub-ledgers so your trust accounts are bar-compliant and audit-ready at all times.

Lien Management Complexity

Medical liens, Medicare/Medicaid, health insurance subrogation — each must be paid and documented before client net proceeds are disbursed. We ensure the disbursement waterfall is recorded correctly every time.

PI Firm Financial Solutions

Built around how contingency practices actually operate.

Trust Account Compliance

We manage your IOLTA trust accounts with the precision that bar rules require — three-way reconciliation, per-client sub-ledgers, and disbursement documentation for every settlement.

Three-Way Reconciliation

Bank statement, trust ledger, and individual client balances reconciled monthly — bar audit ready.

Per-Client Sub-Ledgers

Every client's trust balance tracked separately with a clear paper trail from deposit to final disbursement.

Case Cost Tracking & Recovery

We track costs advanced at the individual case level — so when a settlement closes, you know exactly what to reimburse, and nothing slips through.

Per-Case Cost Ledger

Every expense — medical records, experts, filing fees — tracked by case so you always know your outstanding exposure.

Cost Recovery Reconciliation

We match costs recovered at settlement against advances on record — no under-recovery, no reconciliation errors.

Cash Flow Forecasting for the Contingency Model

We build forward-looking cash flow projections based on your active docket — expected resolution windows, settlement size estimates, and operating overhead — so you can make confident decisions about hiring, marketing, and growth even in slow settlement periods.

  • Active Docket Pipeline Modeling
  • Settlement Timing Scenarios
  • Operating Expense Runway Tracking
  • Growth Decision Support

How Settlement Funds Flow Through IOLTA

Every PI settlement must flow through your IOLTA trust account following a strict disbursement sequence. Here's exactly how it works — and what compliance requires at each step.

1

Settlement Check Deposited into IOLTA

The gross settlement amount is deposited into your IOLTA trust account — never directly into operating. Client funds stay segregated until disbursement is complete.

Funds must clear before disbursement begins. Wire transfers are common for large settlements to accelerate this step.
2

Medical Liens Paid from Trust

Outstanding medical liens — hospital bills, health insurance subrogation, Medicare/Medicaid — are paid directly from trust per the settlement agreement.

Each lien payment must be recorded in the client's individual trust sub-ledger with payee, amount, and date.
3

Costs Advanced Reimbursed to Operating

All documented costs advanced — expert witnesses, filing fees, medical records, depositions — are transferred from trust back to the firm's operating account.

Incomplete cost records = underrecovery or reconciliation discrepancies. Accurate per-case tracking is essential.
4

Attorney Fee Transferred to Operating

Once liens and costs are cleared, the attorney fee is transferred from trust to operating and recorded as earned income.

The fee is only earned income at this step — not when the settlement is signed, and not before liens are resolved.
5

Client Net Proceeds Disbursed

The remaining balance — the client's net — is disbursed by check or wire. The trust account balance for this matter should then be exactly $0.

A final reconciliation confirms the client sub-ledger zeroes out. This documentation protects you in a bar audit.

Why This Matters for Bar Compliance

Every step must be documented, reconciled, and traceable. If a state bar auditor walks in tomorrow, they'll want to see your trust bank statement, internal ledger, and each client's individual sub-ledger — all matching to the dollar. We make sure that documentation exists before they ask.

PI Firm Performance Metrics

The numbers PI firm owners actually need to run a healthy practice.

100%
Trust Account Accuracy

Three-way reconciliation completed monthly — IOLTA-ready at all times.

~33%
Average Cost Recovery Rate

Costs advanced tracked per case so you know exactly what to recover at every settlement.

25%
Improvement in Cash Flow Predictability

Pipeline forecasting and settlement modeling help you plan between slow periods.

60%
Less Time on Financial Questions

Partners spending time on the books instead of cases — gone once reporting is in place.

Key Metrics We Track for PI Firms

Cost Recovery Rate
Of costs advanced per case, how much comes back at settlement? We track every dollar.
Net Fee per Case
Attorney fee minus costs recovered — what each case actually contributes to the firm.
Active Case Cost Exposure
Total costs advanced across open cases — your outstanding financial exposure at any point.
Settlement Pipeline Value
Expected settlement revenue modeled by case — your forward-looking financial picture.
Operating Cash Runway
How many months of overhead your current cash covers — before the next settlement lands.
Lien Resolution Time
How long from settlement to final disbursement — an efficiency signal for your admin process.

Questions from PI Firm Owners

The questions personal injury attorneys ask us most before getting started.