In September’s edition of Third Thursday, Erin Sussman and Jeffrey Solomon joined us to share their key insights on developing strong billing guidelines:

1. Start with industry standards.
Leverage trusted industry resources as a baseline to understand what’s considered “market standard.” Partners and advisors can also provide guidance on best practices for communication, rollout, and firm acceptance.

2. Conduct a historical analysis.
Look back at past invoices to spot trends and problem areas where guidelines could help contain costs. Common examples include:

Excessive hours billed for legal research
High or poorly documented travel expenses
Overstaffing or disproportionate partner time

3. Engage key in-house legal team members.
Engage key members of your legal department when drafting guidelines. Their firsthand insight into your matters and law firms’ billing behaviors will help ensure your policies are both relevant and enforceable. Just as important, their involvement fosters ownership and buy-in, which makes enforcement smoother.

How to take advantage of AI in the bill review process:

4. Combine AI with human insight.
AI is powerful at spotting patterns and exceptions, but pairing it with human judgment creates even more flexibility in controlling nuanced or complex legal spend. This frees your team to spend less time policing invoices and more time practicing law.

5. Monitor which rules the AI flags most frequently.
Keep track of which rules your AI solution flags most often. Are certain system-applied flags popping up again and again? That trend data can help you refine your guidelines, improve communication with firms, and sharpen your cost-control strategies.

With the right mix of industry benchmarks, internal input, and AI-driven review, billing guidelines become more than rules; they serve as a strategic lever to reduce costs, drive consistency, and strengthen firm relationships.