A litigation firm estimated $210k, mostly deposition prep. Its invoice held 412.0 hours of document review worth $104,600, and its October reply named depositions again.
The close, in order
Legal accruals from the first request to booking, one screen per step
The close runs in this order. Each screen below is one step of it, with who uses it and what it fixes for them.
- 01Requests and replies
Requests and reminders sent only in the wording legal operations approved
How it works
- Each of the 31 firms gets its request four business days before month end
- Reminders go out on the last business day and on business day 1
- 27 of 31 firms replied by the cutoff, against the 48% typical line
- Each row shows how the reply came, the amount read and where it was read from
Legal operations analystStops spending half the close forwarding the same email to the same few firms, and shows at a glance who has not answered.
- 02A firm’s reply, cited
Each firm’s reply read in its own form, with the amount highlighted
How it works
- Emails, spreadsheets, portal entries and letters are all read
- The words the amount came from are highlighted in the reply itself
- $236,000 is split across three matters, each line cited to the email
- Six months of estimate against invoice sit beside it, ending at +51%
Legal operations analystNo more re-keying numbers out of emails and attachments, and each amount in the accrual can be shown in the firm’s own words.
- 03Gap-fills
Silent firms filled from their budget plan and their billing rhythm
How it works
- Four firms gave no amount by the cutoff
- Each fill blends 60% of the October budget plan with 40% of the last six invoices
- The sum is on the screen: 0.6 × $150k + 0.4 × $130k = $142k
- Each fill carries a confidence and can be asked again or overridden with a reason
Head of legal operationsA firm that stays quiet no longer enters the accrual at zero or at a guess nobody can explain to the controller.
- 04Estimate against invoice
Last month’s estimates matched to invoices, each miss traced to its line
How it works
- Each firm’s September estimate is set against the October invoices for that work
- A miss over 15% and $25,000 gets a written explanation
- Each explanation puts what the firm said beside what the invoice shows
- Two firms, at +51.4% and +58.3%, left out document review and an expert’s costs
Head of legal operationsSees which firms under-report, by how much and why, before it surfaces as a true-up nobody planned for.
- 05Top-ups awaiting approval
Top-ups for repeat under-reporters, confirmed by the counsel on each matter
How it works
- Proposed only when a firm misses the same way two months running
- The counsel on each matter confirms it, with a note on the work still running
- The top-up bar stays hatched at +$0.16M until it is approved
- Approving moves the October accrual from $3.26M to $3.42M
In-house counselGets work a firm left out of its estimate, such as a document review still running, into the accrual before the invoice lands.
- 06October accrual bridge
A bridge from last month’s accrual, each bar opening its sources
How it works
- Starts at the September accrual of $3.18M, as the ledger holds it
- Takes off $2.61M invoiced, then adds firm estimates, top-ups and gap-fills
- Closes at $3,420,000, split by cost center in the side panel
- Checks the opening against ledger 2150 and the invoices against accounts payable
Head of legal operationsHas a number to walk the controller through bar by bar, where today one total sits in a workbook with nothing behind it.
- 07By matter and cost center
The accrual by matter, firm and cost center, tied to the bridge
How it works
- Seven cost centers, led by 4110 Litigation at $1,159,000
- Each matter shows its budget, spend to date, accrual and counsel
- A firm view lists carried, estimated, top-up and gap-fill amounts
- 142 matters across 31 firms come to $3,420,000
Corporate controllerCan code outside counsel fees to the right cost center and answer an auditor who asks where the total comes from.
- 08Journal entry support pack
A journal entry and support pack tied to the ledger and invoices
How it works
- Debits 6420 Outside counsel fees by cost center and credits 2150 Accrued legal fees
- Shows the September entry reversed and the October one set to auto-reverse
- Ties the opening to the ledger and 58 invoices to accounts payable
- Six parts and 38 pages, from the bridge to the gap-fill workings
Corporate controllerReceives an entry that already ties to the ledger and the invoices, so booking it needs no rework.
- 09Sending the pack
A cover note drafted from the bridge and sent on one approval
How it works
- The note names the firms, matters, cost centers and last month’s 8.4% miss
- Sending it records the approval of the October accrual
- Preparer, approver and booker stay three different people
- Nobody in legal posts to the ledger; the controller books the entry
Head of legal operationsHands finance the accrual and its pack on business day 2; a close run from inboxes and workbooks tends to land around business day 5.