Peer to Peer Magazine

78 PEER TO PEER: THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE OF ILTA | SPRING 2017 Reducing the Cost of Ebilling MEMBER RESOURCES RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR CLIENTS » Where possible, stick to the standards. Customization means additional work for legal vendors. » When LEDES 98B does not natively provide placeholders for what you need, require a different format that does. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR LAW FIRMS » Be aware of submission deadlines. » Determine other LEDES formats accepted by the client that could circumvent the need for manual editing. » Create a network repository with sub- directories for each client maer. Store copies of every invoice file and associated documentation uploaded to the system. System Notifications DISCUSSION » Tracking system notifications is key. » Some systems send notifications in lieu of providing lists of maers or the status of submissions in the law firm portal. » Usually notifications are sent to only one person — a problem for backup during absences or if many people are tasked with ebilling. » System notifications are inconsistent between systems and clients, making them harder to track. » System notifications can overwhelm email systems and/or cause issues if there is a change in protocol. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR VENDORS » Verify that the law firm portal provides: » A list of assigned maers with the name of the professional responsible for the client maer. » A summary by maer of progress toward budget completion. » A list of invoice rejections for at least 90 days. » The status of all invoices currently under review. » All payments, with the ability to access any invoice adjustments. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR LAW FIRMS » Set up a central mailbox (ebilling@ myfirm.com) and give access to every person tasked with ebilling at your firm. Set up the firm ebilling as a user with this address in each client system. » Create a standard filing structure for notifications received so anyone who ebills can find them easily. System Usage at the Client DISCUSSION » The system works only if all internal professionals understand and perform their assigned tasks. Far too oen additional factors impact the ability of billing staff trying to submit invoices. » Sometimes a firm is asked to begin working on a maer before it has been assigned to the firm through the system. Law firms cannot bill maers that are not in the system. » Remember that a selement check does not close a maer. It could take 30 to 60 days for a law firm to receive and book all of the expenses associated with the maer. Invoices cannot be submied on a closed maer. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR CLIENTS » Ensure that your professionals are clear on their assigned responsibilities, aend training, are on board with the directive to implement ebilling and can assist law firms as needed. » Monitor use of the system by internal professionals. Enable reports that identify the days in queue of any item requiring approval (rates, assigned aorneys, case plans, budgets, invoices and if applicable maers originated by outside counsel). Follow up on any tasks that exceed a critical threshold. Tracking Submissions DISCUSSION » It is important know how you will track the status of invoices. » Many clients limit the timeframe to submit invoice line items, which means the firm will not be paid if the timeframe is not met. » Once an invoice is uploaded and submied there may be multiple levels of bill review, but all the firm knows is that an invoice is "under review." » Invoices can become "stuck" in the system if the bill reviewer is out of the office, on leave or has le the company. RECOMMENDED BEST PRACTICES FOR VENDORS » Ascertain that your law firm portal identifies the professional assigned to the maer, allowing legal vendors to communicate with the responsible party.

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