Billing Guidelines

Better legal spend starts with clearer rules

Download a practical guide and editable template for outside counsel billing guidelines that improve invoice quality, set expectations on AI, and make spend easier to manage.

Free to download. No form required.

PRACTICAL GUIDE · 19-PAGE PDF

Legal Billing Guidelines in the Age of AI

A practical framework for the decisions that shape better outside counsel relationships, cleaner invoices, and more predictable spend.

Includes a sample guideline appendix

Download PDF guide

EDITABLE TEMPLATE · WORD

Start with language you can adapt

A ready-to-customize template covering matter setup, budgets, staffing, rates, invoice standards, expenses, and AI use.

Bracketed placeholders speed up customization

Download Word template

WHAT STRONG GUIDELINES CLARIFY

Six decisions your guidelines should settle

The best guidelines are specific enough to guide behavior and simple enough for firms and reviewers to use consistently.

Matter setup and budgets

Define who can open matters, what must be approved, and when budgets need to be updated.

Staffing and ownership

Set expectations for team structure, leverage, continuity, and responsibility for the work.

Rates and fee arrangements

Clarify approved rates, rate changes, alternative fees, and when exceptions require consent.

Invoice detail and data

Require narratives and coding that are clear enough to review, compare, and analyze.

Expenses and exclusions

Draw clear lines around pass-through costs, administrative work, and prohibited charges.

AI use and oversight

Address disclosure, confidentiality, supervision, efficiency, and pricing when firms use AI.

A useful rule of thumb

Start with requirements your team can enforce consistently. Add complexity only when it improves decisions.

FROM POLICY TO PRACTICE

A policy is only useful if teams can follow it

Clear expectations are the start. Consistent review is what turns them into cleaner invoices, better firm conversations, and more predictable spend.

Poppy turns your guidelines into consistent invoice checks, approvals, allocations, and reporting.

See Poppy in action

Customize the standard

Choose the rules that match your team, risk, and operating model.

Align your firms

Confirm expectations, exceptions, and ownership before work begins.

Review consistently

Apply the same rules to every invoice and improve them with what you learn.