Counseling & Advisory
The L700 series covers non-litigation advisory work, including strategic counseling, regulatory advice, tax planning, and general corporate counsel services. These codes are used for matters where the attorney's role is to advise rather than to litigate.
Activity & Task Codes
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
| L710 | High-level strategic legal advice on business decisions, risk management, governance matters, and significant corporate events that require legal analysis. |
| L720 | Advice on compliance with federal, state, and local regulations, including industry-specific regulatory frameworks and government investigations. |
| L730 | Tax planning, analysis of tax implications of transactions, and advice on tax compliance and controversy matters. |
| L740 | Day-to-day corporate legal advice on contracts, employment matters, intellectual property questions, and routine business operations. |
Where the Honor System Breaks Down
Counseling and advisory work is the most difficult category to audit because there is often no tangible work product. A partner who bills 5 hours to L710 for 'strategic counseling regarding corporate restructuring' may have had a genuine 5-hour deep-dive session or may have spent 45 minutes on a phone call and padded the rest. Without meeting notes, memoranda, or other deliverables, the client has no way to verify. L740 (General Corporate Counseling) is the broadest and most abused code in the counseling series. It becomes a catch-all for any time that does not fit neatly into another category. Firms may use L740 to bill for internal administrative activities, conflicts checks, or even business development disguised as 'general counseling.' Reviewers should watch for patterns of consistent daily billing to L740 (e.g., 0.5 hours every day) which suggest the attorney is billing routine overhead rather than genuine advisory work. Another common abuse in the L700 series is the unnecessary escalation of routine questions to senior partners. A straightforward contract review question that a mid-level associate could handle in 30 minutes gets billed as 2 hours of 'strategic counseling' by a partner at three times the rate. Engagement letters should specify which types of advisory work require partner involvement and which can be handled at lower rate levels.
Read: The Honor System in Legal Billing arrow_forwardBest Practices
Require written deliverables (memos, letters, or email summaries) for any counseling session exceeding 2 hours
Establish a roster of approved timekeepers for routine advisory work to prevent unnecessary escalation to senior attorneys
Require L740 entries to specify the subject matter of the counseling and the business question addressed
Set monthly caps for ongoing advisory engagements and require prior approval for overages
Compare L710 strategic counseling hours against actual corporate events or decisions to verify relevance
How CounselAudit.ai Helps
CounselAudit.ai automatically validates UTBMS codes on every invoice line item, flags misclassifications, and ensures your outside counsel follow proper coding standards for the Counseling & Advisory phase.
See all features arrow_forwardOther UTBMS Phases
Fact Investigation & Development
The L100 series covers all early-stage litigation activities, from initial fact gathering through strategic analysis and budgeting. These codes apply when attorneys are assessing potential claims or defenses, gathering evidence, engaging experts, and developing case strategy before formal pleadings are filed.
Pre-Trial Pleadings & Motions
The L200 series covers the formal initiation and early procedural phases of litigation, including drafting and filing complaints, answers, motions to dismiss, preliminary injunctions, and dispositive motions. These codes apply once litigation has been commenced through formal pleadings.
Discovery
The L300 series covers all discovery-related activities, from written discovery and document production through depositions, expert discovery, and e-discovery. This is typically the most expensive phase of litigation and requires the closest scrutiny during invoice review.
Trial Preparation & Trial
The L400 and L500 series cover all activities related to preparing for and conducting a trial, from witness preparation and exhibit assembly through jury selection, trial proceedings, and post-trial motions. These phases represent the culmination of litigation and carry the highest daily billing rates.
Appeal
The L600 series covers all appellate proceedings, from brief writing and oral argument preparation through post-decision activities. Appellate work is typically handled by specialized attorneys and involves distinct billing patterns from trial-level litigation.
Bankruptcy
The B-series codes cover all activities specific to bankruptcy proceedings, from case administration and asset analysis through plan development, claims management, and bankruptcy-related litigation. These codes are used for matters filed in bankruptcy court and subject to court-supervised fee review.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the L600 UTBMS phase cover? expand_more
The L600 series covers legal counseling and advisory work outside of litigation contexts. This includes providing legal opinions, advising on regulatory compliance, counseling on risk management, and general legal advice on business decisions. These codes apply when attorneys provide guidance rather than handle disputes.
Why is advisory work difficult to audit? expand_more
Advisory work is inherently subjective — there is often no filing deadline, court ruling, or tangible deliverable to anchor time expectations. A firm could bill 20 hours for a legal opinion that another firm would produce in 8 hours, and without benchmarks, clients struggle to assess reasonableness.
How can clients ensure value from advisory legal services? expand_more
Clients should define scope and expected deliverables upfront, request fee estimates before work begins, set spending caps requiring approval before exceeding, and compare advisory costs across firms handling similar questions. CounselAudit.ai flags advisory entries exceeding estimated hours and tracks spending patterns by advisory topic.
What distinguishes L600 advisory codes from litigation task codes? expand_more
L600 codes are specifically for non-litigation counseling work — regulatory guidance, compliance advice, transactional counseling, and risk assessment. If advisory work transitions into litigation, billing should shift to the appropriate litigation phase codes (L100-L500) to maintain accurate cost categorization and reporting.