Bookkeeping and Accounting for Employment Law Firms

Employment law firms may represent employees on contingency, employers on hourly retainers, or both. Settlements in wage-and-hour, discrimination, and wrongful termination cases often need to be split between wage and non-wage components, and class or collective actions can involve hundreds of claimants. A&W Associates provides bookkeeping for employment law firms that handles that complexity with precision.

Mixed Billing Models

We set up your books to track contingency matters, hourly work, and flat-fee advice engagements side by side, so you can see the profitability of each part of your practice. Our WIP accounting helps you monitor unbilled hourly time.

Settlement Allocation Records

Employment settlements are often allocated among wages, other damages, and attorney fees, and those categories may be treated differently for tax reporting. The allocation itself is set by the settlement agreement, and its tax treatment should be confirmed with your CPA. We record each allocation as documented and coordinate with your CPA and payroll provider so payments are processed and recorded consistently.

Class and Collective Action Disbursements

When a settlement must be distributed to many claimants, organized records are essential. We help track individual payments, returned or uncashed checks, and remaining balances so the distribution is documented from start to finish.

Fee Awards and Fee Petitions

Fee-shifting statutes mean courts may award attorney fees separately from the client’s recovery. We record fee awards accurately and keep supporting time and cost records organized for fee petitions.

Trust Account Reconciliation

We perform monthly three-way reconciliation of your IOLTA and trust accounts so client fund balances are documented and reviewed every month.

What We Handle for Employment Law Firms

Contingency, hourly, and flat-fee revenue tracking
Settlement allocation documentation
Class and collective action payment tracking
IOLTA and trust account reconciliation
Accounts payable and receivable
Payroll coordination
Monthly financial reports and tax-ready books

Why Employment Attorneys Choose A&W Associates

With over 25 years of accounting experience and specialized training in legal bookkeeping, our team keeps your firm’s finances clear and compliant. Contact us today to get started.

Employment Litigation Dockets in New York, Chicago, Texas, and Florida

State wage and privacy laws drive very different employment dockets from one market to the next. The size of a claim, how far back it reaches, and how many people share in a settlement all affect how the firm’s books need to be organized. We support employment firms in these markets remotely.

New York: Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Long Island

Wage claims under the New York Labor Law can generally reach back six years, compared with two or three years under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Longer lookback periods mean larger class and collective settlements, so New York firms need dependable tracking of individual claimant payments, uncashed checks, and remaining balances.

Illinois: Chicago

Chicago is a center for class actions under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act and claims under the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act. Fee awards and common-fund settlements in these cases call for careful records of fee petitions, court-approved awards, and distributions.

Texas: Houston, Dallas, and Austin

Texas has no broad state overtime statute of its own, so many Texas wage cases are brought under the FLSA in federal court. Contingency, hybrid, and hourly defense work often run side by side in the same Houston or Dallas firm, and we keep those revenue streams separate in the books.

Florida: Miami, Tampa, and Orlando

Florida firms frequently handle claims under both the FLSA and the Florida Minimum Wage Act. Many of these cases resolve with a fee component negotiated or approved separately from the employee’s recovery, and we record those two pieces separately as documented in the settlement.

Employment Law Firm Bookkeeping Near You

A&W Associates supports employment law firms throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and New Mexico, and works remotely with firms in California, Texas, Illinois, and New York, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, and New York City. See our service area for the cities where we work with law firms, or contact us to ask about your location.

About A&W Associates

A&W Associates was founded by Angela Weicht, who brings over 25 years of financial and accounting experience, beginning in banking as a risk control specialist and fraud control analyst and continuing as an office manager and accounting manager for private businesses. The firm holds Certified Public Bookkeeper and QuickBooks ProAdvisor credentials and specializes in bookkeeping for law firms and nonprofits.