Showing Value in Billing Descriptions
Have you ever had a client write down a bill? Or question an amount? Your bill is one of your most important client communications. Find ways to show the value of the work you do for clients, follow best practices for billing and send invoices that clients pay without question. You can also develop standardized descriptions for your whole firm to use if you do not already use billing codes with your clients.
Describing the Work
If your firm bills by the hour you know that every minute counts. And a client paying for those minutes wants to see that there is substance. Similar to writing a resume that uses action verbs to express your accomplishments, your billing descriptions should convey your efforts on behalf of the client. While it may be easier to write “legal research”, the client may not understand or appreciate that this takes a special skill. Consider instead “performed caselaw research for precedent on defense strategy” or “reviewed legislative history for intent of NC Gen Stat § 19-1.4 (2016)”. Instead of writing “conference call with expert witness” use “discussed manufacturing defect in Hex head bolt with expert”. Many clients may bristle that they are billed for getting responses to their emails or phone calls. Show that merely responding to an email required some work on your part. “Examined plat survey discrepancies and summarized via email responding to client” sounds way better than “responded to email re: real estate matter”. Think about your action verbs, be descriptive, and take the time to describe your work in a way that conveys value.
Another consideration, attorney Andrew Simpson suggests that if a document takes many hours to draft – for instance, a motion for summary judgment – break the work into smaller increments that describe the process instead of block billing. A client does not likely know what all goes into the drafting of a motion, you will have the opportunity to show the complexity and expertise required in your bill. A single line-item for 6 hours to draft a document can be questioned, breaking down the work will be a far more effective way to show the client how much work is being done on their behalf. Josh Kalish, at Law Firms of the Future, suggests adding language that describes the outcome to the client. How is the work being billed for going to help them with their goals?
Standardize Your Billing Descriptions
It takes thought and care to create good billing descriptions. It also takes time. While many corporate clients prefer code based billing, like LEDES e-billing leveraging the ABA UTBMS codes, lawyers who work with consumers may find that creating a list of standard descriptions for everyone in the firm to use keeps the bills consistently high quality and makes it easier for the attorneys to get their time tracked and turned in, subsequently reducing the time spent reviewing bills in advance of sending them. If your firm uses a time/billing or practice management application, you may be able to add your standard descriptions to a drop-down menu. If not, you can create a wiki, a shared spreadsheet, or a Google doc or some other way to make it easy to document, update and share your gold star descriptions. Tools like Microsoft Lists (part of your MS 365 Business subscription), Airtable or Notion are “smart” spreadsheets that you could use to sort, search, filter, tag, and use to build a database of standard descriptions. This is not something you have to do all at once. As you and your team write your billing descriptions you can document them to create your standards.
Other Best Practices for Billing
Send your bills consistently. Show some “no charge” activities. Record your time as it happens. Attorney Kim Steffan recently told a group of new attorneys that she found Chrometa to be immensely helpful in checking for time she may have missed throughout the day. There are several similar tools on the market. Offer payment options, such ACH and credit cards. Send out statements for contingency and flat fee work to reiterate the value.
Your bill is a significant communication tool. In addition to beautifully written compelling descriptions, you can use it to remind your clients of upcoming work or deadlines, gather feedback and more. See Mat Homan’s creative suggestions for a unique way of thinking about your invoice.
Conclusion
Fee disputes often lead to ethics complaints and malpractice claims. Firms do not like to see their bills written down. Work on being descriptive and deliver a bill that clients review and really feel like your representation is helping them forward on their matter. Since accurate billing and reasonable fees are a great way to get paid, AND your ethical responsibility, it is never too late to start making improvements.