In-House Counsel

Low monthly spending limits, without prior authorization, keep a tight leash on outside counsel

By Rees Morrison

Among the 75 cost-cutting ideas in the ACC Docket, Vol. 27, March 2009 at 42, is a method instituted by one contributor to the collection. "We have recently implemented additional billing guidelines. We continue to require monthly billing, but outside counsel must also obtain authorization to exceed $4,000 in a monthly billing period.?

Since that is only ten or so hours billed in a month, this tight leash is more a choke collar. I assume that $4,000 trigger level applies per matter and, obviously, you could set cap levels differently for various kinds of matters (See my post of March 4, 2008: spending minima for matter budgets; and March 25, 2008: a dozen thoughts about single-matter budgets.).

This imposition on law firms will require them to have a time and billing system that flags when a matter nears its cap. Conversely, the law department?s expense control software ought to have some way to nab violators. Both sides take on quite an administrative burden.

Full post as published by Law Department Management on March 19, 2009 (boomark / email).