This article appeared in Accounting and Financial Planning for Law Firms, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication covering all financial aspects of managing law firms, including: building a law firm budget; rates and rate arrangements with clients; coordinating benefits for law firm partners; and the newest strategies to grow your firm and your career.

I often use the term "Silly Season" to describe the last three months of the law firm calendar year. I first heard the term from J.J. McCann, the managing partner of the now long-gone Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine firm. Mr. McCann coined the phrase for that period of the year when the partners in his (and most other major law firms) began to pay attention to the need to collect long overdue invoices and call clients to discuss significant fee overruns on matters that remained undiscussed and unbilled.