About this example
This example is the monthly bill a New York law firm sends a robotics company for a supply contract dispute: October's work by a partner, an associate and a paralegal on the complaint, the exhibits, the filing and the first document requests, plus the court fee, courier and document hosting costs.
Clients and their in-house counsel read a legal bill line by line, so this one follows the conventions they expect. The first page names the matter, the billing period, the billing partner and the terms, and lists professional fees by fee earner with hours, hourly rate and a one-line summary of the work. Disbursements follow at cost. A client account table applies the money held on account, shows the balance due and the balance left on account, and asks for the payment on account to be topped up as the engagement letter provides. The time entries are listed by date, fee earner and task code, with totals that match the fee lines, and the bill closes with payment instructions that keep the office and client accounts apart, and terms on billing, disbursements and fee disputes.
Who it is for
Law firms, sole practitioners and other professionals who bill clients by the hour against money held on account.