# Review outside counsel invoices against our billing guidelines

Checks law firm bills for guideline breaches, block billing, staffing issues, and budget overruns, and drafts questions for the firm.

- Topic: Legal & Compliance
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Finance, Legal, Analyze, Research, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/review-outside-counsel-invoices-against-our-billing-guidelines

## Prompt

```text
Review an outside counsel invoice against our billing guidelines.

**Invoice line items:** [PASTE - date, timekeeper, role, hours, rate, narrative, amount; plus expenses]
**Our billing guidelines:** [PASTE key rules - e.g. rates, increments, staffing limits, non-billable items, expense rules, approval for research over X hours]
**Matter and agreed budget / fee arrangement:** [e.g. "budget $80k for phase 1, $52k billed to date"]
**Approved timekeepers and rates:** [LIST]

Check for:
- Rates above agreed rates or unapproved timekeepers
- Block billing (several tasks in one entry with one time figure) and vague narratives ("review documents", "attention to matter")
- Billing increments that break the guidelines
- Duplicate entries or several people attending the same call or meeting without justification
- Senior lawyers doing junior or administrative work; clerical tasks billed as legal work
- Excessive time for routine tasks, or research without approval
- Time spent on billing, conflicts, onboarding new team members, or fixing the firm's own errors
- Non-compliant expenses (meals, overhead, markups, travel class)
- Spend against budget and the remaining runway

Return:
1. A table: Entry | Issue | Guideline rule | Amount questioned | Suggested action (accept / query / reduce / reject).
2. Totals: billed, questioned, recommended adjustment.
3. Budget status and forecast if the current pace continues.
4. A polite, specific email to the relationship partner raising the issues.

Flag judgment calls rather than assuming bad faith. The responsible lawyer must approve any reductions.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "budget $80k for phase 1, $52k billed to date"
- LIST

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.