SystemLaw Firm Finance & Operations

Matter Budgeting

Matter budgeting software that prices each litigation phase from matters the firm has closed, reads each day’s time against it, and drafts the client’s notice before a phase crosses its line.

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The problem

A litigation budget built from memory and checked once a month

The client asks for a budget by phase before the work starts. A pricing analyst pulls a few old matters out of billing reports, restates them at this year’s rates, and the partner signs it. Then the budget sits in a folder.

The next look comes on the month-end pre-bill. By then the depositions have run long, the plaintiffs have noticed more witnesses, and the window for written notice has closed. The partner calls the client about an invoice, and the fees above budget become a write-down.

Built forLegal project managersResponsible partnersPricing analystsFirm finance leaders

The Problem Today

Budgets are checked at month end, so the client hears about an overrun from the invoice, after the notice was due.

20%: of matters sent to outside counsel stay within budget range published
10%: over budget, and a bankruptcy fee application must say why published

Rebuilt by hand for each matter

Old matters
Rate sheets
Pre-bills
Notices

Seen weeks after it startsThe month-end pre-bill is the first look at spend
Fees above budget refusedWithout timely notice, a client may decline to pay

The Solution

Budget from past mattersEach phase priced from comparable closed matters, each number sourced
Each entry, each dayNew time mapped to its phase daily; entries in the wrong phase flagged
Forecast against the lineEach phase’s finish cost set against the client’s notice line
Notice ready for the partnerCause and revised budget drafted; the partner approves and sends it

Built-in controls

No notice reaches a client without a partner
Agents never edit a time entry or a rate
Ethical walls respected in each search

What You Get

The client hears about a phase overrun from the partner, with a revised budget, before the work reaches a bill.

8 weeks: earlier warning than the month-end pre-bill our estimate
2 hours: to build a phase budget from past matters, down from 3 days our estimate

Notice before its deadlineThe client’s clock starts the day the forecast crosses
Budgets clients can followEach phase shows the past matters behind its number
One view of the firm’s mattersAll budgeted matters, nearest notice deadline first

From budget to notice

Matter budgeting software that watches each phase against the client’s line

The screens follow a litigation budget through its life: priced, watched daily, then defended to the client.

01Comparable closed matters
Comparable closed matters plotted phase by phase, the median as the budget
How it works
- A dot per past matter shows its cost for the phase, at 2026 rates
- The median of each phase becomes its budget line
- Pointing at a matter lights its cost in all six phases
- Matters behind an ethical wall are never searched or counted
Pricing analystPrices a litigation budget from matters the firm actually ran, in place of memory and two or three old files.
02Budget by phase and timekeeper
A budget by phase and timekeeper where each number names its matters
How it works
- Hours times rate plus costs, phase by phase, for $1,460,000 in all
- Each phase shows the median it came from and its range, linked to the comparables
- Assumptions cited to the engagement letter scope, the client’s guideline and the 2026 rate card
- An approval trail from the analyst’s choice of matters to the client’s sign-off
Responsible partnerApproves a budget that holds up line by line when the client’s in-house counsel asks where a phase number came from.
03Time and expenses by phase
Overnight time entries mapped to phases, and a miscoded entry caught
How it works
- Each night’s entries are read from the time and billing system
- Each entry lands in its UTBMS phase with its activity code
- A 1.4-hour indexing entry coded to the closed pleadings phase is flagged
- The project manager approves the move; no agent edits the entry
Legal project managerKeeps phase spend honest day by day, so a closed phase does not quietly soak up new work.
04Phase plan with budget burn
A phase plan where each bar fills with spend and the notice line sits beyond
How it works
- Six dated bars from engagement to trial, each holding its phase budget
- Ticks at 75% and 90%, then a hatched stub carrying the client’s 110% line
- A pale fill and a diamond mark show where each forecast will land
- Depositions stands at 91%, its $312k forecast beyond the line
Legal project managerSees the day it happens which phase will cross the client’s line, without waiting for the month-end pre-bill to show it.
05Forecast to finish
A forecast that prices the depositions still to come, witness by witness
How it works
- Spend steps up deposition by deposition against the 75%, 90%, budget and notice lines
- The seven left are priced from the comparables’ fact-witness costs
- A middle (P50) forecast of $312,000 drives alerts, the cautious P80 of $331,000 beside it
- Drivers cited: 18 depositions against 15 budgeted, and a two-day corporate deposition
Responsible partnerKnows what the new deposition notices and the long corporate deposition did to the finish, with the working shown.
06Modeling a change
A cheaper path modeled on the forecast before it is offered
How it works
- One toggle limits the three added depositions to four hours each
- The forecast falls to $298,000, about $14,000 less
- Still past the line, so notice is still owed
- The limit goes into the notice as an option to reduce
Legal project managerPuts a cheaper path in front of the client with its real effect, and sees at once that notice is still owed.
07Phase detail and notice clock
A notice clock that starts counting the day the forecast crosses
How it works
- Reads the client’s guideline: notice before a phase runs more than 10% over
- Counts five business days from the day the firm knew
- Puts the fees at risk on this phase at $72,000
- Lists the overnight agent steps that led to it, in order
Client relationship partnerLearns of the overrun with days to spare, so the client hears it from the partner before any invoice.
08Variance notice, in review
A variance notice drafted in the client’s own form, each figure cited
How it works
- Cause, revised phase budget and an option to reduce, as the guideline asks
- A revised depositions budget of $312,000 takes the matter to $1,532,000
- The clauses it answers sit beside the letter
- The project manager edits and reviews; only the partner approves and sends
Legal project managerStarts from a finished draft with its citations in place while the five-day clock runs.
09All budgeted matters
Every budgeted matter in one list, nearest notice deadline first
How it works
- All 38 rows carry a small phase plan, a forecast and a variance
- Notice due, watching, on track and draft budgets in one list
- Filters narrow it to matters with a notice due or under watch
Director of financeSees across the firm which matters drift toward a write-down, and which partners owe a client a notice this week.

A matter 5.4% over its budget, hiding one phase 30% over

Month seven of the pump-seal defense. At matter level the budget looks close; by phase, depositions is past the client’s line.

Phase	Budget ($)	Spent so far	Forecast to finish
Pleadings and case assessment	92,000	88,400	88,400, closed
Written discovery and documents	318,000	287,600	309,000
Depositions	240,000	218,600	312,000
Experts	286,000	58,200	298,000
Dispositive motions	214,000	29,600	221,000
Trial preparation	310,000	0	310,000
Whole matter	1,460,000	682,400	1,538,400

More screens

Inside the litigation budget: the matters, the re-price and the rules

What the analyst, the project manager and finance open around the phase plan.

Depositions budget opened to its source: nine closed matters ranked by depositions cost, the $240,000 median highlighted as the budget — **What set the depositions number**Each budget figure opens the matters behind it: nine closed matters from $176,000 to $334,000, the median of $240,000 highlighted.

Comparables table with fit scores, reasons each matter fits, outcomes and deposition counts, beside three candidates left out with their reasons — **Why each matter fits**Fit scores and reasons such as same client, same court and burn injury, each matter’s outcome and deposition count, and the three candidates left out.

Budget screen with a re-price run for depositions: schedule read, the seven left priced by witness type and a proposed revised phase of $312,000 — **Re-pricing one phase**The budget drafter re-prices depositions with 18 witnesses: 11 taken, 7 left priced by witness type, and a proposed $312,000 for the partner.

Forecast table for six phases with budget, spent, P50, P80, variance, driver and status, depositions flagged past the notice line — **The finish of each phase**Written discovery passed 90% yet finishes under budget, so no notice is owed there. Depositions, at +30.0%, is the one phase past the line.

Audit trail of agent and person steps by day, from the overnight read of 46 entries to the drafted notice, each marked agent or person — **The overnight record**Agents and people on one record, newest first: the overnight read of entries, depositions past 90%, the forecast, the guideline match and the drafted notice.

Settings with 75% and 90% alerts, notice rules for four clients, UTBMS phase codes and a separation-of-duties grid for budgets, recodes and notices — **Each client’s notice rule**Alert levels, the notice rule read from each client’s guidelines with its clause, phases with their UTBMS codes, and who may decide what.

Behind each number

Six agents do the arithmetic and the drafting; partners keep the client

Agents prepare the numbers; a person owns each call they lead to.

Comparables finder

Finds closed matters like this one and reads their costs by phase, restated at today’s rates.

Never shows one client’s matter to another client
Never crosses an ethical wall

Budget drafter

Drafts the budget by phase and timekeeper, each number with its assumption and the matters that set it.

Never sets a rate: the rate card is finance’s
Never sends a budget to a client

Time watcher

Reads each day’s time and expense entries, maps them to phases, flags miscoding and marks the 75% and 90% crossings.

Never edits a time entry: it proposes a move for the project manager

Forecaster

Forecasts each phase’s finish from the work left and the comparables’ tail, with a P50 and a P80.

Never hides its working: each driver is cited

Guideline reader

Reads the client’s outside counsel guidelines for the budget rules: notice line, deadline, form and consequence.

Never settles an unclear clause alone: it asks the partner

Notice drafter

Drafts the variance notice in the client’s required form: cause, revised budget and options to reduce.

Never sends anything

The person who reviews a notice is never the one who approves it

Agents draft and flag. Each decision on the budget sits with one role.

Pricing analyst

Sees: The candidate matters, their fit and their phase costs at current rates
Signs: Chooses the comparables and owns the rate assumptions

Responsible partner

Sees: The budget by phase and timekeeper, each figure with its source
Signs: Approves the budget before it goes to the client

Legal project manager

Sees: The phase plan, the overnight entries and each drafted notice
Signs: Approves recodes and reviews each notice before the partner

Client relationship partner

Sees: The reviewed notice, its forecast and the days left on the clock
Signs: Approves and sends each variance notice

Director of finance

Sees: Every budgeted matter, the rate card and the alert levels
Signs: Sets rates and alert levels; decides on no single matter

Matter budgeting software, from comparables to the client’s notice

What is matter budgeting software?

Matter budgeting software builds a litigation budget by phase and timekeeper, then tracks spend against it. This solution prices each phase from comparable closed matters, maps each day’s time to phases, forecasts each phase’s finish and drafts the client’s variance notice when a forecast crosses the line.

How is a UTBMS phase budget set from past matters?

An agent reads the phase costs of closed matters like this one, restated at the current rate card. A pricing analyst chooses which matters count and records why others were left out. Each phase’s median becomes its budget, split by timekeeper with its assumptions cited.

Why watch each phase when the whole matter is close to budget?

Many clients draw their notice line per phase. A matter can sit a few points over budget while one phase runs far past its line, so a matter-level check misses the notice that is owed.

Can it read our clients’ outside counsel guidelines on budgets?

Yes. An agent takes each client’s budget rules from its guidelines: where the notice line sits, whether it applies per phase or per matter, the deadline and the form. Each rule shows its clause, and an unclear clause goes to the partner.

Who approves and sends a budget variance notice?

An agent prepares it and the legal project manager reviews and edits it. The client relationship partner approves and sends it, and no agent can send anything.

Does an agent ever change a time entry or a billing rate?

No. The time watcher proposes moving a miscoded entry, and the project manager approves the move. Rates come from the rate card, which finance owns.

How are other clients’ matters kept private?

Matters behind an ethical wall are never searched or counted, and past clients’ names stay inside the firm. Client data stays in the firm’s workspace and is not used to train models.

Law Firm Finance & Operations

Price a finished matter again,
phase by phase, from its peers.

Give us a matter your firm has already finished: we’ll budget it from its comparables and show the day its overrun would have surfaced.

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Matter Budgeting

A litigation budget built from memory and checked once a month

The Problem Today

The Solution

What You Get

Matter budgeting software that watches each phase against the client’s line

Comparable closed matters plotted phase by phase, the median as the budget

A budget by phase and timekeeper where each number names its matters

Overnight time entries mapped to phases, and a miscoded entry caught

A phase plan where each bar fills with spend and the notice line sits beyond

A forecast that prices the depositions still to come, witness by witness

A cheaper path modeled on the forecast before it is offered

A notice clock that starts counting the day the forecast crosses

A variance notice drafted in the client’s own form, each figure cited

Every budgeted matter in one list, nearest notice deadline first