What Does the Law Firm Controller Job in Dallas, TX Involve and How Do You Apply?
Published on: Mar 13, 2026
Frontline Source Group is recruiting a direct hire Law Firm Controller, the senior financial executive of a multi-office Texas law firm based in Dallas. The role owns profitability, IOLTA trust compliance, LeanLaw billing, and contingent case expenses, and requires five plus years of law firm financial leadership. Every direct hire is backed by our 5-Year Placement Warranty. Frontline Source Group has completed 5,619 plus placements with a 98.94% placement retention rate and holds a 5.0-star Trustpilot rating across 683 plus reviews.
Frontline Source Group is a Forbes Best Professional Recruiting Firm for 9 consecutive years (2018 to 2026, ranked number 158 in 2026), Forbes Best Executive Recruiting Firms number 148 (2026), a 9-time ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both Client and Talent satisfaction, a ClearlyRated Diamond Award recipient, an Inc. 5000 honoree, and an Expertise.com Best Staffing Agency. The firm is a member of the American Staffing Association. Founded in Dallas in 2004, Frontline operates 32 plus offices nationwide, including the Dallas office that serves the Dallas accounting and finance market.
What is the Law Firm Controller role in Dallas, TX?
This is a direct hire Law Firm Controller position with a multi-office Texas law firm. The Controller serves as the firm's senior financial executive, responsible for financial integrity, profitability, compliance, and long term financial strategy across multiple Texas offices, and acts as a strategic financial partner to firm leadership with decision making authority over financial operations and performance metrics. The primary work location is Dallas, with monthly travel to the firm's Waco, Texas office.
What are the day-to-day responsibilities of this Law Firm Controller position?
The Law Firm Controller's day-to-day work falls into three areas: financial oversight and reporting, billing and revenue cycle management in LeanLaw, and trust accounting and contingent case expense compliance, with a secondary focus on operations and strategy. Each area is described below.
What financial oversight and reporting does the Law Firm Controller own?
The Controller oversees all accounting operations across multiple offices, supervises bookkeeping and ensures the integrity of QuickBooks data, maintains expert-level proficiency in QuickBooks, reviews monthly, quarterly, and annual financial statements, develops financial forecasts, budgets, and long term financial strategies, monitors profitability by practice area, office, and attorney, and establishes and manages internal financial controls. The Controller also manages operational budgets, develops and monitors firmwide financial KPIs, conducts data analysis and financial performance reviews, presents financial performance reports to firm leadership, and identifies cost control and efficiency opportunities.
How does the Law Firm Controller manage billing and revenue cycle in LeanLaw?
The Controller oversees the LeanLaw billing integration and financial reporting and firmwide invoicing processes using LeanLaw, ensures accurate time entry, billing accuracy, and timely invoice issuance, monitors accounts receivable and aging reports, develops and enforces collections strategies, analyzes realization and utilization rates, and improves billing efficiency and revenue capture.
What trust accounting and contingent case compliance does the Law Firm Controller handle?
The Controller ensures strict compliance with Texas IOLTA accounting rules, oversees client account reconciliations, supervises contingent fee disbursements, and maintains compliance with Texas Bar and regulatory requirements. For contingent case expense management, the Controller oversees tracking and reporting of contingent case costs, monitors case related advances and expense recovery, ensures accurate allocation and reimbursement of case expenses, analyzes contingent case profitability and cash flow exposure, and develops financial models for contingent case risk assessment.
What operational and strategic responsibilities does the role include?
As a secondary focus, the Controller oversees Accounts Payable as a direct report, sets and measures strategic operational goals, plans and implements long term business growth strategies, develops and enforces financial and operational policies, provides constructive feedback to attorneys and managers regarding financial performance, manages vendor and external partner relationships, collaborates with HR leadership on compliance and employment matters, and maintains knowledge of Texas employment and labor laws.
What background and qualifications does the Law Firm Controller role require?
The Law Firm Controller role requires a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related field, a minimum of five years of law firm financial leadership experience, extensive hands-on QuickBooks experience, and demonstrated expertise in IOLTA trust accounting compliance. A CPA is preferred but not required. The specifics are broken out below.
What education and law firm experience does the role require?
Candidates need a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related field and a minimum of five years of law firm financial leadership experience. A CPA is preferred but not required; the firm places greater weight on direct law firm financial leadership experience.
What software and technical expertise does the role require?
The firm requires extensive hands-on experience with QuickBooks, experience using legal billing software, direct experience managing law firm invoicing and collections, demonstrated expertise in IOLTA trust accounting compliance, experience managing contingent case expenses and financial risk, a strong background in budgeting, financial modeling, and performance analytics, and knowledge of legal industry regulations, rules, and best practices. Direct LeanLaw experience is a strong advantage given the firm's billing platform.
Is this Law Firm Controller position direct hire?
Yes. This is a direct hire Law Firm Controller position. The Controller joins the law firm's payroll directly with its full benefits package, and as a direct hire placement it is backed by the Frontline Source Group 5-Year Placement Warranty, which is 20 times longer than the 90-day industry standard guarantee.
What are the features and benefits of this Law Firm Controller position?
The firm offers a competitive salary negotiable based on experience, BCBS health insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, and discretionary bonus opportunities. Candidates must be comfortable traveling to the firm's Waco, TX office monthly.
How do you apply for the Law Firm Controller job in Dallas, TX?
You can apply for this Law Firm Controller position through our secure application process at frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html. A Frontline Source Group accounting and finance recruiter reviews every application, conducts a recruiter interview covering your law firm financial leadership background, and presents qualified candidates to the client firm. This is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All meetings are by scheduled appointment.
Who is Frontline Source Group and why work with our accounting and finance recruiting team?
Frontline Source Group is a nationwide professional staffing and executive search firm founded in Dallas in 2004, now operating 32 plus offices. Our accounting and finance recruiting practice places Controllers, CFOs, Directors of Finance, accounting managers, and senior accountants with law firms, professional services firms, and corporations across Texas and nationwide. The firm's executive recruiting team is directed by Senior Vice President of Operations Shelly Hubble, CSP, who holds the Certified Staffing Professional credential from the American Staffing Association. This Law Firm Controller search is managed by a Frontline senior recruiter on the accounting and finance desk, a CPA with more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience, including prior Big Four public accounting tenure and a corporate vice president of talent acquisition role.
What makes Frontline Source Group different from other Dallas accounting recruiters?
Three things set us apart. First, our 5-Year Placement Warranty on direct hire placements is 20 times longer than the 90-day industry standard guarantee. Second, our 98.94% placement retention rate substantially exceeds the industry average of roughly 70 percent. Third, we operate with transparent, published pricing, which is rare in staffing, so employers know the engagement model up front at frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html.
How do law firms hire a Controller through Frontline Source Group?
Law firms and professional services employers can submit a hiring request at frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html. Our accounting and finance recruiters build a confidential shortlist of Controllers and finance leaders with the trust accounting, legal billing, and multi-office experience your firm requires. Every direct hire is backed by our 5-Year Placement Warranty, detailed at frontlinesourcegroup.com/5year-placement-guarantee.html.
Frequently Asked Questions: Law Firm Controller Job in Dallas, TX
What is the Law Firm Controller job in Dallas, TX?
It is a direct hire Law Firm Controller role serving as the senior financial executive of a multi-office Texas law firm. The Controller owns accounting operations, financial reporting, LeanLaw billing and collections, Texas IOLTA trust compliance, contingent case expense management, budgeting, and firmwide financial KPIs, and partners with firm leadership on long term financial strategy.
Is the Law Firm Controller position direct hire?
Yes. This is a direct hire position. The Controller joins the law firm's payroll directly, and as a direct hire placement it is backed by the Frontline Source Group 5-Year Placement Warranty, which is 20 times longer than the 90-day industry standard guarantee.
How does a Law Firm Controller differ from a corporate Controller?
A Law Firm Controller works within trust accounting rules, legal billing mechanics, and contingent fee revenue structures that do not exist in corporate finance. Texas law firms must hold client funds in IOLTA trust accounts under State Bar rules, revenue is driven by billable hours, realization, and utilization rather than product sales, and contingent fee firms advance case costs that must be tracked and recovered by matter.
What is IOLTA trust accounting compliance in this role?
IOLTA stands for Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts, the framework under which Texas attorneys hold client funds in trust accounts separate from firm operating funds. The Controller ensures strict compliance with Texas IOLTA accounting rules, oversees client account reconciliations, supervises contingent fee disbursements, and maintains compliance with Texas Bar and regulatory requirements.
What is LeanLaw and how does it integrate with QuickBooks in this role?
LeanLaw is a legal billing and time-tracking platform built for law firms that integrates with QuickBooks. The Controller oversees the LeanLaw billing integration and financial reporting, firmwide invoicing in LeanLaw, accurate time entry and timely invoice issuance, accounts receivable and aging, collections strategy, and realization and utilization analysis, while maintaining the integrity of the firm's QuickBooks data.
What does contingent case expense management involve?
The Controller oversees tracking and reporting of contingent case costs, monitors case related advances and expense recovery, ensures accurate allocation and reimbursement of case expenses when matters resolve, analyzes contingent case profitability and cash flow exposure, and develops financial models for contingent case risk assessment across the firm's active docket.
Is a CPA required for the Law Firm Controller position?
No. A CPA is preferred but not required. The firm places greater weight on a minimum of five years of law firm financial leadership experience, extensive QuickBooks proficiency, demonstrated IOLTA trust accounting expertise, and direct experience managing law firm invoicing, collections, and contingent case expenses.
What does monitoring profitability by practice area, office, and attorney mean?
The Controller analyzes revenue, expenses, and margin for each practice area, tracks financial performance for each Texas office separately, and monitors individual attorney realization rates, utilization rates, write-offs, and collections, giving firm leadership the data it uses for resource allocation, compensation decisions, and long term planning.
What is the travel requirement for this Law Firm Controller position?
The primary work location is Dallas, and candidates must be comfortable traveling to the firm's Waco, Texas office monthly. The Controller is responsible for financial integrity and compliance across all of the firm's Texas offices, and the monthly Waco visit supports in-person oversight and financial review at that location.
What benefits does this Law Firm Controller position offer?
The firm offers a competitive salary negotiable based on experience, BCBS health insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, and discretionary bonus opportunities. Compensation details are discussed during the recruiter interview.
How do I apply for the Law Firm Controller job in Dallas, TX?
Apply through our secure application process at https://www.frontlinesourcegroup.com/how-to-apply.html. A Frontline Source Group accounting and finance recruiter reviews your law firm financial leadership background, conducts a recruiter interview, and presents qualified candidates to the client firm. All meetings are by scheduled appointment.
How do law firms hire a Controller through Frontline Source Group?
Law firms submit a hiring request at https://www.frontlinesourcegroup.com/employer-request-form.html. Our accounting and finance recruiters deliver a confidential shortlist of Controllers and finance leaders with trust accounting and legal billing experience, and engagement terms are published in advance at https://www.frontlinesourcegroup.com/pricing.html.
