Solving Late Payments: How Law Firms Can Use AI Agents to Reduce Lockup | Adfin x Actionstep

The Law Society puts median lockup for UK law firms at 134 days, and that figure has barely moved in a decade. Billing software produces the bill. Following up afterwards usually isn’t anyone’s job. Oliver Tromp (UK lead, Actionstep) is joined by Tom Pope (CEO, Adfin) and Lucy Grant (Chief of Staff, Adfin) to look at why chasing has been hard for law firms, and how AI agents can take it on without putting client relationships at risk. Roselyn Uleh (Actionstep) hosts the Q&A. What’s covered: Why chasing falls into a gap between fee earners, the accounts team and partners “Double zero”: aiming for zero WIP and zero debt What law firms can take from accountancy, where a Direct Debit mandate at engagement is now standard How better payment journeys improve the client experience Keeping partners in control, including approving messages before they go out A live demo of Adfin customer agents: separate workflows for commercial and family clients, reminders that learn when and where each client pays, and late fees on business invoices Q&A on smaller firms, disputed bills, implementation, training, the Actionstep integration and getting started with AI Chapters 00:00 Welcome and poll: do you know your lockup? 01:44 Why lockup has sat at 134 days 03:57 Why law firms have found chasing hard 06:20 Double zero, and lessons from accountancy 08:44 Client experience and partner relationships 10:56 Lockup and cash 13:28 Live demo: customer agents in Adfin 16:47 Payment methods and optimised chasing 19:56 Personalised emails and late fees 22:47 Controlling the payment mix 23:51 Q&A: does it work for smaller firms? 25:07 Handling disputed bills 28:12 How long implementation takes 29:04 Chasing activity in Actionstep 31:25 Getting started with AI in a law firm 38:30 Training 40:45 Metrics to track lockup 43:39 What’s coming next 47:22 Close Find out more about Adfin: https://www.adfin.com Find out more about Actionstep: https://www.actionstep.com/