► LEDES 1998B Format
The standard electronic billing file specification used by corporations and law firms to audit detailed legal invoices.
► UTBMS Task Codes
Standardized billing codes identifying legal activities (e.g., L110 for Fact Investigation, L310 for Written Discovery).
► Multi-District Litigation (MDL)
Federal procedure transferring complex civil actions involving common questions of fact to a single federal judge for coordinated pretrial hearings.
► Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF)
A tax-exempt escrow trust established under IRC ยง 468B allowing defendants to resolve liabilities while claimants settle liens.
► Technology-Assisted Review (TAR)
Supervised machine learning algorithms used during e-discovery to classify millions of corporate documents for litigation responsiveness.
► Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCG)
Contractual terms imposed by corporate legal departments dictating billable activities, travel caps, staffing ratios, and disallowed overhead charges.
► Matter Management System
Centralized repository tracking matter budgets, outside counsel assignments, court dockets, work products, and milestone deadlines.
► Subrogation Lien Resolution
Automated auditing and negotiation of statutory healthcare liens (Medicare, Medicaid, ERISA health plans) against personal injury settlement funds.
► Legal Hold Automation
Software system issuing, tracking, and enforcing preservation notices to corporate custodians to prevent spoliation of discoverable evidence.
► Alternative Fee Arrangement (AFA)
Non-hourly billing structures including fixed-fee, capped-fee, and contingency models designed to align law firm incentives with corporate client outcomes.
► Bifurcated Discovery Protocol
Court-ordered procedural schedule dividing electronic discovery into initial class-certification documents and subsequent liability disclosures.
► ESI Protocol (Electronically Stored Info)
Formal stipulation negotiated between opposing counsel governing native file formats, metadata fields, and privilege redactions during discovery.
► Privilege Log Automation
AI software extracting author, recipient, date, and subject matter to generate court-mandated privilege logs for withheld documents.
► Census Form Automation
Digital portal collecting claimant medical records, exposure dates, and injury severity metrics in large-scale pharmaceutical mass torts.
► Block Billing Rejection Engine
Automated e-billing rule rejecting legal invoices that bundle multiple distinct tasks into a single lumped time entry.