HOW IT WORKS
Our experienced attorneys analyze every charge, on every legal invoice, every month, to make sure that each time entry and expense charge adds value for you.
How LBR Enhances Legal E-Billing Software
E-billing software flags technical violations and summarizes data from legal bills you have already paid.
LBR's experienced attorneys analyze every charge on your current legal bills to reduce your spending before you pay.
E-billing software can only identify incorrect charges if (1) the client programs a rule to reject a specific task code AND (2) the lawyer enters that exact task code in the time sheet.
LBR identifies incorrect charges primarily through human experience, knowledge, and intuition. Even if a lawyer records non-chargeable time in a task category that software would allow, LBR ensures that each time entry is correctly classified within the budgeted category, not placed in a category that still has “room in the budget.” For example, if the budget has 30 hours for responding to discovery, but the opponent has not served written interrogatories, the lawyer may see the unused 15 hours in that category as a place to “park” over-budget time from another category. We make sure that the client benefits from the 15 hours saved in that category.
E-billing software is a tool for in-house legal teams to analyze their legal spend.
LBR is a service that uncovers incorrect charges in individual attorney-time entries, resulting in tangible reductions to legal expenses.
E-billing software costs the client money, even if it fails to produce any savings or efficiencies for the client.
LBR's service has zero net cost to the client -- you will never pay more than the original invoice from the law firm. That's because we waive our fee entirely if your savings don't exceed our fee.
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We collect the invoices from all of your law firms
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Our experienced attorneys analyze every charge to ensure that you received full value
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We cooperatively work with the law firms to correct specific billing errors and overcharges
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Once the correct charges are determined, we notify you to send the corrected payment amount to the law firm
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We send you a detailed statement of how much you saved that month
CHECK OUT SOME OF THE MOST COMMON LEGAL-BILLING ERRORS WE CORRECT
Excessive Time
This is the most common complaint of clients, yet has historically been the easiest for law firms to justify. Many clients have a “feeling” that a certain task took too long, but cannot explain why. Legal Bill Review explains in detail the reasons a law firm should revise specific charges on an invoice. Here is an example:
Junior-Lawyer Training
Many times, law firms will charge for a junior-lawyer’s on the job training. But the law firm carries the financial responsibility for training its lawyers; it is for the law firm’s long term benefit. Most of the time, this is an honest mistake that occurs because most junior lawyers are not taught the difference between time that is billable to the client and time that is not. When this happens, LBR discusses the specific time entries with the billing attorney so the law firm can revise the invoice accordingly.
Higher-Rate Staff Used Inappropriately
Sometimes lawyers will do work that is more appropriate for a lower-rate attorney or a paralegal. As one court quipped: “Michelangelo should not charge Sistine Chapel rates for painting a farmer's barn." Ursic v. Bethlehem Mines, 710 F. 2d 670, 677 (3rd Cir. 1983). In these cases, LBR proposes to the law firm the staff that should have been used for that task so the law firm can adjust its charges.
Administrative Tasks
Sometimes law firms will charge attorney or paralegal rates for tasks that could and should be done by administrative staff. For example, the client should not pay $300 an hour for filing a court document. That type of task should be done by a legal secretary at no charge, as part of the firm’s overhead costs.
Overstaffing a Given Task
A client should not have to pay three attorneys to accomplish a task that requires only one lawyer. Worse yet, sometimes overstaffing actually increases the time it takes to complete a task because there are "too many cooks in the kitchen." LBR will adjust the charges for the staffing level that would have been appropriate in the situation.
Inadequate Description
When a lawyer does not adequately describe his or her activity, there is no way for the client to determine if that activity added value for the client or if the charges for that activity are reasonable. Attorneys are paid to be precise in their language. It is not unreasonable to require lawyers to accurately describe how they spent their time and the client’s money. In these cases, LBR will investigate to determine the correct amount.
Discrepancies Between Time Entries
Sometimes two lawyers attend the same meeting but charge different amounts of time for doing so. Sometimes one lawyer charges for an in-office task when another time entry shows she was not in the office that day. The variations of discrepant time entries are many, but the conclusion is singular: one of the two time entries is probably inaccurate. When this happens, Legal Bill Review will investigate to determine the proper charge.
Duplicate Work
Sometimes one attorney will charge for the same task in more than one billing period. Sometimes two attorneys will charge for the same task in the same billing period. Here is our response to an instance of duplicate work:
Block Billing
Block billing is when a lawyer enters multiple tasks under one time period, without separating the time each task took. Block billing obscures the value to the client and the reasonableness of the charges for a given task, and courts around the United States have condemned the practice. And studies have shown that lawyers who enter their time in blocks tend to overestimate the actual time they worked on the listed tasks.
Intra-Office Communications
This is when multiple attorneys within the same firm discuss the client’s matter with each other or seek advice from a colleague about a legal issue. A major selling point for larger law firms is that they have a breadth of knowledge in specialized subjects. But when a lawyer seeks a colleague’s advice, the client should not have to pay for one attorney to educate another -- just have the knowledgeable attorney handle that part of the matter. When a law firm charges for intra-office communications, LBR will suggest corrections that are appropriate for the specific situation.