Patent ID: 8311909
Filing Date: 2012-11-13
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A computer-implemented method for managing legal fees and costs, comprising: periodically receiving external counsel's entry at a computing device coupled to a server via a network of case budget information on a spreadsheet that encodes with input functionality of budgeting tool of the organization, the case budget information consisting at least in part of a projected cost and an identification, billing rate, status as employee or non-employee of external counsel, title, and description and number of hours for each task for each of a plurality of persons projected to work on a legal project for the organization during a predetermined period of time; uploading the case budget information received from external counsel to an internal matter management system of the organization; uploading current bill data received form external counsel consisting at least in part of a current billed amount and an identification, billing rate, status as employee or non-employee of external counsel, title, and description and number of hours for each task for each person who worked on the legal project during a period of time covered by the current bill data received from external counsel to the internal matter management system of the organization at the end of each billing cycle; comparing the uploaded current bill data with the uploaded case budget information by the internal matter management system and flagging any discrepancy; and determining, by the computer, that an invoice includes a billing rate for any one of the plurality of persons projected to work on the legal project that is used in computing the current billed amounts exceeds the billing rate for said one of the plurality of persons included in the case budget information for said person, rejecting the invoice based on the determining step.