LM LEGAL FINANCE & OPERATIONS
Services for Corporate Legal Departments
LEGAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT FOR CORPORATE LEGAL DEPARTMENTS
Greater visibility. Stronger controls. Better outside counsel management.
LM Legal Finance & Operations helps corporate legal departments strengthen the processes surrounding outside counsel engagement, matter information, rates, billing and eBilling - creating greater consistency, control and visibility across the legal spend lifecycle.
Strong outside counsel management starts before the invoice arrives.
Effective legal spend management is not simply about reviewing invoices. Outside Counsel Guidelines, matter information, agreed rates and billing requirements need to be clearly defined, communicated and applied from the outset.
Inconsistent application of Outside Counsel Guidelines
Incomplete or inaccurate matter information
Rates that have not been correctly agreed or maintained
Different billing practices across panel firms
High volumes of invoice exceptions and rejections
Repeated manual intervention
Limited visibility into the root cause of billing issues
Difficulty identifying opportunities for process improvement
HOW LM CAN HELP
Support across the outside counsel billing lifecycle
Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs)
Review existing guidelines and help ensure billing and operational requirements are clear, practical and capable of being consistently implemented by outside counsel.
Matter & Billing Requirements
Review the information and controls required when matters are established, helping ensure outside counsel understands what is needed before billing begins.
Rates Management
Strengthen processes surrounding rate submission, review, approval and maintenance to improve consistency and reduce downstream billing issues.
Legal Billing
Review billing requirements and recurring issues to identify where clearer processes, controls or communication could improve billing outcomes.
eBilling
Review eBilling processes, recurring invoice exceptions and rejection patterns to identify opportunities to reduce manual intervention and improve submission quality.
Outside Counsel Process Review
Assess how panel firms interact with your legal finance and billing requirements and identify areas where greater consistency could be introduced.
Operational Governance
Help establish clearer ownership, responsibilities and controls across the outside counsel billing lifecycle.
UNDERSTANDING BOTH SIDES OF THE PROCESS
Practical insight from the law-firm side
Many invoice and eBilling issues are symptoms of something that happened earlier in the process. Understanding how client requirements are interpreted and implemented within a law firm can help identify where an issue actually originates - rather than simply correcting it once the invoice reaches the client.
LM Legal Finance & Operations brings practical legal finance and eBilling experience that can help bridge the operational gap between corporate legal departments and their outside counsel.
Clearer requirements. Better alignment. Fewer avoidable issues. Stronger operational control.
THE APPROACH
Assess > Design > Implement > Optimise > Deliver
The engagement begins by understanding your current processes, outside counsel requirements and recurring pressure points. From there, the focus is on developing practical improvements that can be implemented across your legal operations environment and, where appropriate, communicated effectively to outside counsel.
WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE
Clear and practical Outside Counsel Guidelines
Better quality matter and billing information
Stronger rate governance
Greater consistency across outside counsel
Fewer avoidable billing and eBilling exceptions
Reduced manual intervention
Better visibility of recurring issues
Clearer ownership and accountability
More proactive management of outside counsel billing operations
READY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR OUTSIDE COUNSEL OPERATIONS?
Every legal department and outside counsel model is different. The starting point is understanding your current environment, identifying where friction or unnecessary intervention occurs and determining where practical improvements could create greater control and efficiency.
PRACTICAL APPROACH
Real world solutions that deliver tangible value across the client-to-cash lifecycle.
TRUSTED EXPERTISE
Over 15 years' dedicated experience leading legal finance & operations in international firms.
