What CollBox Shared About Collections at the Built to Scale Virtual Summit

CollBox co-founder Matt Darner joined the Built to Scale Virtual Summit, presented by Law Firm Mentor, for a session on the topic almost no one at a law firm wants to own: getting paid for the work you have already done. It was a genuine pleasure to be part of an event this focused on helping firm owners build something that runs without them, and a big thank you goes to Allison and the entire Law Firm Mentor team for the invitation. Here is what Matt covered, and why it matters for any firm trying to grow.

Why collections belongs on a “built to scale” agenda

A firm cannot scale on revenue it never collects. That was the throughline of Matt’s session, and it fit the summit’s larger question of how you grow a firm that does not depend on you for everything.

As Matt put it in his opening, “Nothing is sexier than collections” is the most sarcastic line he gives before every talk, right before he reminds the room that getting paid actually does feel pretty good. The point underneath the joke is serious. Cash flow is the lifeblood of a firm, and most firms leave real money on the table not because clients refuse to pay, but because no one is set up to ask consistently.

The numbers that got the room’s attention

Matt anchored the talk in industry data, then layered CollBox’s own findings on top.

From Clio’s Legal Trends Report, the profession collects a healthy percentage of what it bills, usually hovering in the low 90s. Matt’s caution: that headline number can be propped up by write-offs, and it hides a more insidious problem underneath. That problem is lockup, the time between doing the work and actually seeing the cash. The median firm takes 32 days just to get a bill out the door, and another 43 days on average to get paid after that. Clio’s fuller measure of total lockup lands around 93 days, which means a full quarter can pass before a firm sees a dime for work it is doing right now.

CollBox’s own data sharpened the urgency: by 90 days past due, invoices in the cohort CollBox studied had lost as much as 47% of their collectibility. Matt’s line for it was that these bills are “not aging well.” He also cited the 8am Legal Industry Report finding that 68% of attorneys call collections a major hurdle.

The practical playbook 

Matt kept the session at what he called an 80/20 level: a handful of moves that fit most firms, most of the time.

Own it on purpose. Most firms answer “who runs AR here?” with “no one.” Matt’s fix is to document a written policy with clear timelines and assign ownership, even if it is only a fraction of one person’s week.

Put the right person in the seat. Billing and collections are two different skill sets. Billing rewards someone methodical and detail oriented. Collections rewards someone charismatic with a thick skin, which is why people with sales backgrounds often thrive at it.

Reframe the outreach as client service. Rather than an aggressive chase, Matt treats each touch as a friendly check-in that also takes the temperature of the relationship. Weekly email reminders paired with biweekly phone calls is his default cadence, and he noted that firms who consistently add the phone calls get paid roughly 40% faster on average, based on CollBox’s data.

Protect your leverage. The ability to pause work or withdraw is a firm’s strongest leverage, and it evaporates once the matter is finished. “When you give up all your power, it’s gone, and then you have to invent leverage,” Matt warned, describing how a modest retainer balance can flip to a five-figure loss when a firm waits too long to act.

Set expectations early. Sticker shock is the single most common reason clients do not pay. Using historical matter data to give clients honest ranges up front takes that risk off the table before it becomes an AR problem.

Thank you, Law Firm Mentor

Sessions like this one are a reminder of why CollBox exists: not because attorneys cannot send invoices, but because consistent, professional follow-up is hard to sustain while you are busy practicing law. It was a genuine highlight to share the virtual stage with the Law Firm Mentor community, alongside coaches and partners like Deb and Joe Bravo from Get Staffed Up, all pointed at the same goal of building firms that scale.

Thank you again to Allison and the Law Firm Mentor team for having Matt, and for building an event that treats the business of law as seriously as the practice of it.

Frequently asked questions

What is lockup, and why did Matt focus on it? Lockup is the total time between doing the work and getting paid for it. Matt focused on it because most firms measure their collection rate but never measure lockup, even though the median firm loses roughly a full quarter to it. It is the difference between looking profitable on paper and actually having cash in the bank.

Do I have to be aggressive to collect faster? No, and that was one of Matt’s central points. Consistent, friendly, well-timed reminders framed as client service outperform aggression, and they protect the relationship while they recover the money.

Who should handle collections at a small firm? Ideally not a billable attorney or paralegal, since that pulls them away from client work. Matt recommends assigning a non-billable team member with the right temperament, even part time, and giving them a documented policy to run.

How does CollBox help with all of this? CollBox provides the structure and makes the phone calls most firms dread, working inside the tools firms already use, including Clio, MyCase, and Smokeball. The result is faster payment without the firm having to become a collections operation.

See How CollBox Works

If Matt’s session hit home and you want to see what faster collections could look like for your firm, book a short call.