What legal billing format for clients should you be using? If there’s one thing legal professionals simultaneously love and hate, it’s billing. They love it, of course, because billing clients pays their bills.
Yet, many also hate it because it can be time-consuming, boring, confusing, and annoying.
Clients, for their part, aren’t thrilled about our bills either. Notwithstanding their concerns about ever-mounting fees and costs, they can become frustrated with things like vague time entries, excessive time spent on certain tasks, and seemingly repetitive work.
Nonetheless, we all have to deal with the legal billing conundrum.
Thus, in this article, we’re going to provide some tips and examples of how to best carry out this one task that we all love to hate — with a special eye on how we can create bills that cause the least amount of friction with two types of clients:
- Individuals/small businesses
- Large corporate clients
Billing individuals and small businesses
We can’t really blame our clients for disliking our bills, can we? After all, our work isn’t cheap, and many clients, especially individuals and small business owners, don’t understand what we really do with our time.
Consequently, it’s wise to put yourself in your clients’ shoes before you start sending those bills. Here’s what we mean by that:
Be transparent with your billing policies
First of all, remember that transparency is at the heart of every healthy attorney-client relationship.
This is especially true when it comes to billing. Thus, before you ever send an invoice, set clear expectations about how your firm charges for its work.
Are you billing hourly, charging a flat fee, or working on contingency? If you use a retainer, explain how it works, when it will be replenished, and what happens to any unused funds.
Clients don’t like surprises — especially ones that involve their wallets. Being upfront about your billing policies builds trust and hopefully prevents unnecessary confusion and disputes down the line.
That said, billing transparency shouldn’t just happen at the outset of a matter. Oftentimes, it’s an ongoing obligation.
For example, let’s say your client is in the middle of a contentious case, and you know litigation costs are about to escalate quickly. Take the time to communicate with your client exactly how and when they’ll be billed for upcoming discovery, expert fees, and other expenses.
This sort of proactive communication will leave them better prepared and more likely to feel confident in your services.
Draft bills with clarity
Remember, many smaller clients don’t totally understand what we do. In light of that, we should all strive to create bills that help them understand exactly what services we’ve performed for them. By way of example, if you were a client, which bill would you rather receive?
Legal billing format for clients: Example A
| DATE | BILLING PROFESSIONAL | DESCRIPTION | TIME SPENT | PRICE PER HOUR | TOTAL |
| 1/20/25 | Jan Smith | Review discovery | 3.4 | $300.00 | $1,020.00 |
| 1/20/25 | Paul Jones | Legal research | 2.6 | $150.00 | $390.00 |
| 1/21/25 | Jan Smith | Draft correspondence | 1.8 | $300.00 | $540.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,950.00 |
Legal billing format for clients: Example B
| DATE | BILLING PROFESSIONAL | DESCRIPTION | TIME SPENT | PRICE PER HOUR | TOTAL |
| 1/20/25 | Jan Smith (Partner) | Review and analyze Defendant’s responses to Special Interrogatories, No. 1 – 94 | 3.4 | $300.00 | $1,020.00 |
| 1/20/25 | Paul Jones (Paralegal) | Perform legal research to support Motion to Compel Further Responses to Special Interrogatories | 2.6 | $150.00 | $390.00 |
| 1/21/25 | Jan Smith (Partner) | Draft meet and confer letter to opposing counsel regarding Defendant’s deficient responses to Special Interrogatories, No. 5-23 | 1.8 | $300.00 | $540.00 |
| TOTAL | $1,950.00 |
If you look at these two bills purely from the attorneys’ perspective, Example A looks great. It won’t take long to prepare and you won’t be wasting precious billable hours rehashing every little thing you did throughout the day.
Think of it from the clients’ perspective however. You’re asking them to pay nearly $2,000 for less than eight hours of work. Example A gives them no basis for understanding what you actually did to earn that money.
Example B, on the other hand, gives the client a good understanding of what you did, why it took so much time, and how it moves your case forward.
Have multiple levels of review prior to sending bills
It’s also imperative to do a thorough review of your bills before they are sent to the client. And if multiple professionals are working on a particular matter, it’s a good idea to have everyone review the entire bill.
By way of example, when I was a mid-level associate, I once reviewed a bill showing that two of the firm’s partners had each billed a client nearly seven hours on a day I knew that had been out golfing — with that particular client.
They had simply mixed up their dates, of course, but imagine if the client had received a bill that made it look like they’d been charged for a day of chasing a little white ball around a big green lawn.
Billing large corporate clients
Billing large corporate clients can also be tricky. Often, these companies hire dozens of law firms to handle hundreds of matters across the globe.
While these clients still want transparent bills they can understand, they may also require a greater level of consistency across the plethora of bills they receive each month.
Understand and use UTBMS codes
If you’re looking for an efficient, effective way to bill your institutional clients, Uniform Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) codes might just be your new best friend.
These codes, which were developed by the ABA in conjunction with the Association of Corporate Counsel (among others), are a way to standardize billing entries across law firms and help clients understand exactly where their money is going.
But what are they really, and do you actually need to use them? Let’s break it down.
What are UTBMS codes?
At their core, UTBMS codes are a system for categorizing legal tasks and expenses. Think of them as shorthand for what you’ve done and why. Instead of leaving clients to guess what “drafting correspondence” means, UTBMS lets you attach a clear, standardized label to that work — whether it’s part of discovery, case strategy, or motion practice.
The codes are organized into categories such as litigation (L-series), bankruptcy (B-series), or counseling (C-series). They cover everything from initial case assessments to trial preparation, as well as related costs like filing fees and travel.
For example:
- L120: Analysis and Strategy.
- B150: Meetings of and Communications with Creditors.
- C300: Analysis and Advice.
Do clients like billing codes?
Clients, particularly larger corporations, love these codes because they help them track exactly how and where their money is spent.
For you, it means fewer questions and billing disputes because the categories are straightforward and standardized. It’s a win-win: clients feel more confident in the transparency of your billing, and you spend less time justifying charges.
But do you really need UTBMS codes? If you’re billing an individual for a straightforward will or small litigation matter, probably not.
If you’re working with businesses, especially those that process multiple invoices from multiple law firms, adopting UTBMS codes can be a game-changer.
How to start using UTBMS codes
Incorporating UTBMS codes into your practice is easier than it sounds. Most legal billing software already includes preloaded UTBMS options.
Once you assign a code to a task, it becomes part of your system — and your client’s invoice — seamlessly.
Even if you don’t use them for every client, knowing how they work and when they’re appropriate is a valuable tool in your billing arsenal.
How about LEDES billing?
If you’re already working with larger clients or corporate entities, chances are you’ve heard of LEDES billing.
LEDES, short for Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard, is a standardized legal billing format for clients that’s effective and easy to understand.
Think of it as a way to make billing cleaner, faster, and easier for clients who handle large volumes of legal work.
The beauty of LEDES billing is its structure. By using specific formatting guidelines and standardized task and expense codes (like those found in the UTBMS system) LEDES invoices allow clients to quickly review, process, and pay bills.
No more guessing what “consultation” or “research” means — everything is categorized, consistent, and easy to digest.
Do you need to use LEDES billing? Again, for most smaller firms or individual clients, it’s unlikely.
But if you’re working with a business that employs multiple law firms or requires detailed billing audits, LEDES might be a necessary tool.
It shows that your firm is serious about professionalism and transparency, which can go a long way in solidifying relationships with high-value clients.
Once again, most legal billing software has built-in LEDES functionality, so adopting it isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Even if you don’t use it now, understanding LEDES could help you grow your practice in the future.
Conclusion
Getting the right legal billing format for clients may be the task we all love to hate, but it doesn’t have to be painful.
By focusing on clarity, transparency, and client-friendly practices (for all types of clients), you can create invoices that build trust, reduce disputes, and get you paid faster.
A little extra effort now pays dividends in the long run.
