Profile II: Linebarger Invests in Tech to Serve Clients

Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, Austin, Texas, will collect more than $1 billion in delinquent receivables this year, according to Mike Vallandingham, partner and chief marketing officer, largely thanks to automating its work processes.

The firm this year is spending $25 million on technology – half of that on salaries — for 125 technology professionals (out of 16,000 total employees). The 2007 expenditure builds on an annual technology budget that’s exceeded “tens of millions of dollars” for several years, according to Vallingdingham.

The investment is intended to keep top technology talent and to ensure its technology makes the firm more efficient, said Rick Haass, chief technology officer.

Linebarger uses predictive dialers, comprehensive databases, paper imaging equipment and fast systems throughout the organization to support call center agents and other staff. The automated systems enable the firm to make hundreds of thousands of phone calls, mail millions of demand letters and files tens of thousands of lawsuits and bankruptcy claims each year.

The predictive dialers speed the calling process. The database helps ensure that all information regarding debtors is accurate, which is particularly important in the government collections arena because incorrect debtor information can lead to negative political implications, Vallandingham said. “To elected officials, good customer service is just as important as the collections.”

All of the firm’s offices are networked together because government offices prefer to do business with businesses that hire local constituencies, Vallandingham says. The networking allows employees in one location to handle an overload of calls at another location.

The imaging equipment helps Linebarger convert paper files to electronic files, making the files much easier to store, locate and deliver to proper sources.

Vallandingham and Haas predict investments in self-service technology will grow across the collections industry. “Some people are on the computer all day,” Vallandingham said. “So it’s a lot easier for them to make payments online rather than through an IVR system.”