---

name: prompt-pack-legal-invoice-review-checklist
description: Use when a legal department needs to review outside counsel invoices for compliance with billing guidelines, rate approvals, task coding, block billing, and excessive charges. Produces a structured checklist and review workflow covering first-pass automated checks through manual counsel review and approval. Applicable to any in-house legal team managing outside counsel spend.
license: MIT
metadata:
id: prompt-pack.legal-invoice-review-checklist
category: prompt-pack
practice_area: legal-ops-billing
priority: P2
intent: [review, legal-invoice-review-checklist]
related:
- prompt-pack-outside-counsel-guidelines
- prompt-pack-legal-budget-forecast
- prompt-pack-matter-budget-template
- prompt-pack-legal-department-kpi-dashboard
source: Louis — HAQQ Legal AI (github.com/sboghossian/mini-claude-for-legal)
version: "1.0"

Legal Invoice Review Checklist

When to use this

Use this skill when a legal operations team or responsible counsel is reviewing invoices submitted by outside counsel. The checklist ensures invoices comply with billing guidelines, identify non-compliant charges, and feeds into the approval workflow before payment is authorized.

Triggers:

• "Review this outside counsel invoice for billing guideline compliance."
• "We're getting invoices with block billing — how do we flag and handle this?"
• "Build an invoice review process for our legal department."

Required inputs

Input	Why it matters	Default
Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs) in use	Determines what billing practices are prohibited; rates approved	Company's current OCGs
E-billing platform (if any)	Determines which checks are automated vs manual	Manual if none
Invoice submitted	The actual invoice to be reviewed	Provided by user
Matter budget (if any)	Enables budget-to-actual comparison	None — note if unavailable
Approved timekeeper rates	Confirms rate compliance	From OCGs or rate schedule on file

Checklist — Phase 1: Administrative Compliance

• Invoice submitted in the required format (LEDES 1998B, LEDES 2000, PDF per guidelines, or other specified format)
• Invoice number and date present
• Matter number / matter name matches the company's matter management system reference
• Billing period clearly stated (dates from / to)
• Firm name and billing address match engagement letter
• Invoice total matches line-item sum (arithmetic check)
• Currency stated and matches approved billing currency for matter

Checklist — Phase 2: Timekeeper Rate Compliance

• Each timekeeper identified by name, title/level (Partner, Senior Associate, Associate, Paralegal, etc.)
• Each timekeeper's hourly rate matches the approved rate schedule on file
• Rate increases applied without prior written approval are flagged and reduced to approved rate
• No rate increases applied retroactively to previously approved invoices
• Timekeepers not previously approved are flagged (new staffers require pre-approval under most OCGs)

Checklist — Phase 3: Task Code and Billing Code Compliance

• All time entries carry UTBMS task codes (Phase, Task, Activity) if required by OCGs
• Task codes match the work described in the narrative (e.g., L120 Analysis/Strategy should not cover L210 Pleadings work)
• Expense entries carry appropriate UTBMS expense codes (E101 Copying, E106 Online Research, etc.)
• No catch-all or generic task codes used as a substitute for proper description

Checklist — Phase 4: Block Billing Violations

Block billing occurs when a timekeeper records multiple distinct tasks as a single time entry without specifying the time spent on each. This makes it impossible to assess reasonableness.

• Identify any time entries exceeding [2 hours] that bundle multiple tasks without per-task time breakdown
• Flag all entries with conjunctions ("and," "reviewed and drafted," "conference and follow-up") that bundle distinct activities
• For each block billing entry: request a narrative breakdown from the firm or apply a standard reduction (many OCGs specify a 10–25% reduction for block billing entries)
• Note pattern if block billing is systematic rather than isolated

Checklist — Phase 5: Excessive and Non-Compliant Charges

Time-based issues:

• Entries exceeding [10 hours] in a single day — flag for reasonableness review
• Minimum billing increments exceed guideline maximum (e.g., OCG sets 0.1-hour minimum; firm bills in 0.25-hour increments)
• Administrative tasks billed at attorney rates (filing, scheduling, form completion)
• Excessive intra-firm conferences or team meetings (multiple timekeepers billing for the same internal discussion)

Staffing issues:

• Overstaffing: multiple senior timekeepers on routine tasks
• Excessive supervision time billed for supervising junior timekeepers on straightforward work
• Associate work that should have been handled by a paralegal

Research issues:

• Excessive legal research on settled or basic issues
• Research billed that should have been covered by the firm's existing knowledge base

Expense issues:

• First-class travel billed (typically prohibited under OCGs; economy class or business for flights over a defined hour threshold)
• Meals exceeding per diem thresholds
• Mark-up on photocopying, scanning, or document costs (many OCGs prohibit any mark-up on pass-through costs)
• Internal firm charges billed as disbursements (internal printing, word processing, secretarial overtime — typically prohibited)
• Courier / overnight delivery without explanation of urgency

Checklist — Phase 6: Budget Compliance

• Invoice total keeps cumulative billings within approved matter budget
• If cumulative billing approaches or exceeds budget: confirm whether budget increase was pre-approved
• Budget alert triggered if invoice would bring total spend above [80%] of budget — requires responsible counsel notification

Checklist — Phase 7: Guideline Compliance — Other Provisions

• New matter opened by firm only after written authorization received from legal department
• No work performed before a signed engagement letter or SOW exists for new matters
• Privilege log entries where time entries describe potentially privileged work protected from disclosure

Approval Workflow

Step	Action	Owner	Timing
1	Automated first-pass review (if e-billing platform used)	Legal Ops / e-billing system	On submission
2	Manual review against checklist	Legal Ops or assigned paralegal	Within [5] business days
3	Flag disputed line items	Legal Ops	Before approval
4	Responsible attorney review of flagged items	Assigned counsel	Within [3] business days of flag
5	Communicate adjustment / rejection to firm	Legal Ops	Before final approval
6	Final approval and payment authorization	GC or delegated approver per authorization matrix	Per payment terms

Output format

For each invoice reviewed, produce a review memo with:

1. Invoice reference and billing period
2. Total billed amount
3. Amount approved for payment
4. Amount disputed / reduced
5. Reduction rationale (itemized by category: block billing, rate non-compliance, excessive charges, etc.)
6. Action: Approve / Approve with adjustment / Reject and return to firm

MENA considerations

• Many MENA-region law firms do not routinely use LEDES billing codes; if the company requires electronic billing, this must be stated in the OCGs and the invoice review process must accommodate non-LEDES invoices from local counsel.
• For KSA and UAE local counsel: Arabic-language invoices should be reviewed with a bilingual reviewer or translated before applying the checklist.
• Local counsel in civil-law markets (LB, EG) may bill on a matter-fee rather than hourly basis; apply a reasonableness standard to fixed fees by reference to matter complexity and outcome.

Common mistakes

• Approving invoices without checking approved timekeeper rate schedules: rate creep is the most common and easiest-to-detect billing abuse.
• Not tracking block billing reductions: if the same firm's block billing is reduced invoice after invoice, this should trigger a meeting and OCG compliance letter.
• No escalation process for budget overruns: silent overruns that only surface at year-end are a governance failure; the budget alert step is essential.
• Paying invoices before matter opening authorization: confirms retroactive engagement practice — OCGs should require pre-approval of all new matters.

Related skills

• [[prompt-pack-outside-counsel-guidelines]]
• [[prompt-pack-legal-budget-forecast]]
• [[prompt-pack-matter-budget-template]]
• [[prompt-pack-legal-department-kpi-dashboard]]