# What to Look For When Dealing with Outside Counsel

## Invoice Review Checklist
- Are billed rates at or below approved rates?
- Did the negotiated discount actually apply?
- Are standard, approved, billed, and effective rates being distinguished correctly?
- Are there unapproved timekeepers?
- Are there prohibited travel, meal, or overhead charges?
- Are AI, database, or tool charges allowed under the OCG?
- Are taxes, VAT, pass-through vendor charges, and credits being handled separately from attorney fees?
- Are there block-billed entries that hide task detail?
- Are narratives specific enough to validate work performed?
- Are too many lawyers or other legal professionals attending the same meeting?
- Is partner time being used for work that could be delegated?
- Is the matter trending over budget?
- Is research time proportionate to novelty and stakes?
- Are repeated revisions or repeated research causing avoidable spend?

## General Cost-Savings Tips
- Require matter budgets by phase;
- Require staffing plans and approval for new timekeepers;
- Enforce narrative specificity;
- Cap or pre-approve research-intensive tasks;
- Challenge repeated internal conferences;
- Push routine work to lower-cost roles where appropriate;
- Audit discount realization quarterly;
- Review rate increases annually and explicitly;
- Consider capped fees or AFAs for predictable recurring work; and
- Compare similar work across firms before assigning new matters.

## Upload-Specific Savings Tips
Tailor to the uploaded data, such as:
- Reduce partner review loops on routine filings;
- Cap legal research on recurring issues unless pre-approved;
- Restrict multiple-attorney attendance for routine calls;
- Move filing / cite-check / routine case management to paralegals;
- Renegotiate rate increases or enforce discount realization where current effective rates exceed prior comparable matters; and
- Separate challenged value from guaranteed savings before escalating commercial discussions or negotiations.
