$48K in Recovered Billable Hours: How a Law Firm Transformed Attorney Onboarding
Harrison & Associates cut new attorney onboarding from 2 weeks to 2 days, recovered thousands in billable time, and eliminated compliance gaps.
Harrison & Associates
Mid-Size Commercial Litigation Firm • Boston, MA
Onboarding time
(down from 2 weeks)
Billable hours recovered
in first year
Attorneys onboarded
in 18 months
NDA completion rate
before client access
About the Firm
Harrison & Associates: Commercial Litigation Excellence
Founded in 2008 by Robert Harrison, Harrison & Associates is a mid-size commercial litigation firm based in Boston specializing in complex business disputes, intellectual property litigation, and employment law.
With 35 attorneys across three offices (Boston, New York, Washington DC), the firm has built a reputation for aggressive representation and client service excellence. They routinely hire 12-15 new attorneys annually—a mix of lateral hires, junior associates, and contract attorneys for large cases.
Practice Areas:
- • Commercial Litigation
- • Intellectual Property Disputes
- • Employment Law
- • Class Action Defense
THE CHALLENGE
Losing Billable Hours While Attorneys Waited
"We were hemorrhaging billable hours. New associates would sit idle for 2 weeks waiting to complete onboarding paperwork—background checks, bar verifications, NDA signatures, ethics training. At our billing rates, that's $8,000-10,000 in lost revenue per attorney. Multiply that by 12 hires per year, and we were looking at six figures in lost opportunity."
— Robert Harrison, Managing Partner
❌ Before NewHirely
- • 2 weeks to complete onboarding
- • 80 hours lost billable time per attorney
- • Manual tracking in spreadsheets
- • Missing NDA signatures
- • Inconsistent ethics training
- • Partner time wasted on admin
- • Compliance documentation scattered
- • New hires felt disorganized
✅ After NewHirely
- • 2 days to complete onboarding
- • 64 hours recovered per attorney
- • Automated progress tracking
- • 100% NDA compliance
- • Standardized ethics modules
- • Zero partner involvement
- • Audit-ready digital records
- • Professional first impression
THE SOLUTION
Automated Onboarding for Legal Professionals
Harrison & Associates implemented NewHirely with a customized 9-step onboarding flow designed specifically for attorneys:
New attorneys upload bar licenses, professional liability insurance, law school transcripts, and writing samples. Background check initiated via Checkr integration with real-time status updates.
Electronic signature via DocuSign for NDAs, conflict of interest agreements, and client confidentiality policies. Legally binding with timestamped records. No client access until completion.
Custom video training modules covering firm ethics policies, ABA Model Rules, conflicts procedures, and billing practices. Progress tracked per section with completion certificates.
Embedded training for Clio case management and time tracking system. Ensures attorneys can log billable hours and manage client matters from day one.
THE RESULTS
Dramatic Impact on Revenue & Efficiency
$48K
Billable Hours Recovered
18 attorneys × 64 hours saved × $42/hour average = $48,384 in recovered billable time in 18 months. That's revenue that was previously lost to onboarding delays.
86%
Time Reduction
From 2 weeks (80 hours) to 2 days (16 hours) of onboarding time. New attorneys are case-ready 12 days sooner than before.
100%
Compliance Rate
Every single attorney now completes NDA signatures and ethics training before accessing client files. Previously, this was only ~60% compliant.
0hrs
Partner Time Required
Partners previously spent 5-8 hours per new hire on admin. Now it's completely automated—they only engage for substantive training.
"The ROI was staggering. In 18 months, we recovered nearly $50,000 in billable hours that were previously lost to onboarding delays. But beyond the numbers, the experience is night and day. New attorneys tell us our onboarding is more professional than BigLaw firms they've worked at. That sets the tone for their entire tenure with us."
— Robert Harrison, Managing Partner
Harrison & Associates
