Category: UTBMS

About UTBMS (the Uniform Task-Based Management System), a key data element in legal data exchange

Proposed LEDES Standards for Public Comment

Posted on by in LEDES Oversight Committee, UTBMS

The LEDES Oversight Committee has two projects that have provided draft standards for public comment:

The first is from the Ebilling Standards subcommittee, which proposes updates to Ebilling XML 2.0x, 2.1x and 2.2x.  The changes are to correct an inadequate field length, add one field and align the standards.  You can learn more about the proposed changes and provide feedback to the LOC here.  

In addition, the IP subcommittee has proposed UTBMS codes specifically for Patent Prosecution matters.  This is a really interesting take on using UTBMS, allowing for codes that pair with the USPTO.    You can learn more about the proposed changes and provide feedback to the LOC here.  

The public comment period closes for both projects on July 25, 2022.

New Publication Available on M&A UTBMS Codes

Posted on by in Great Reads, UTBMS

Aileen Leventon and Jenny Anne Horst-Martz kindly provided me with a pre-release copy of their new publication, “Best Practices for Using Uniform Task-Based Management System Codes for Merger & Acquisition Transactions” that should be available in September for purchase.

The book, which runs 44 pages, does a great job of explaining when the M&A Codes should be used.  As far as I am aware, this is the first publication that provides this level of detail behind any of the code sets available for use by law firm in their ebilling submissions.

Expert Group Forms to Create UTBMS Knowledge Management Codes

Posted on by in New Standards Initiative, UTBMS

Old friends Corinna Codd and Rajitha Boer at Yerra Solutions (www.yerrasolutions.com) have been in contact about creating an UTBMS code set specific to knowledge management services.  They are forming an expert group and will start work on the codes this summer.  They expect to have a final set to present at their conference in London in late October.  Thereafter the work of the expert group will be presented to the LEDES Oversight Committee for review and ratification.

It is helpful when expert groups like this form to consider subject matter that may be outside the mainstream expertise of the LEDES membership.

I was pleased to be invited to participate in this effort and look forward to working with their global expert group.

Jackson Review Project in England and Wales

Posted on by in Jackson Review Project, UTBMS

I was honored to be included in the short list of individuals requested to provide feedback on the UTBMS code set drafted by the Jackson Review team.   The full project team includes participants local to the England and Wales jurisdictions and, considering that I am based in the US, it was a particular honor to be asked to review their work product.

The draft code set reflects a different way of considering the services provided by law firms and other legal vendors on litigation matters as compared to the original sets set forth in the US.  I found the beta set to be very thoughtful and provided a few comments for consideration by the team as they move toward finalizing their recommendations.  I am anxious to see their final work product released for public use later this summer.

This project marks a new era in legal ebilling.

  • The original constituencies involved in setting standards for legal ebilling were law departments, law firms, consultants, time and billing vendors and the third-party ebilling vendors, and resulted in the formation of the LEDES Oversight Committee.
  • We have seen tax authorities in Latin America get involved, legally requiring XML files with electronic invoicing information to run through systems hosted by the tax authority or its designees in order to ensure the government receives appropriate tax payments.
  • The Jackson project marks the first jurisdictional-specific UTBMS code set whose usage will be codified into law.

I expect we will see more efforts like this in the future.