Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1037
www.iltanet.org 84 Peer to Peer inside ilTA T his year brings new challenges for the lEDEs oversight committee (loc) based on changes recently ratified by the membership to the structure, operation and function of the organization. These changes were proposed to allow the LOC to respond more adeptly to the needs of the membership, to create additional opportunities to participate in the hands-on running of the organization and to better recognize the diverse needs of an international membership. The biggest change is in the process to develop new or maintain existing data exchange standards. A process has been created that allows members to propose • the creation of new standards whereas only the Board could initiate the creation of a new standard in the past. Once the Board authorizes the creation of a new standard, • a Development Subcommittee will be created and charged with creating the new standard. A road map for the development process has been established which must be followed by the Development Subcommittee. This road map includes mandated webinars on the proposed standard and a public comment period. Instead of having the LOC membership vote to approve a proposed standard, the Standards Coordinator will review the development process for adherence to the mandated requirements and then recommend the Board either accept or reject the proposed standard. Neither the Standards Coordinator nor the Board can reject a proposed standard for any reason except failure to follow the required steps. Once a standard has been created, a Maintenance • Subcommittee will be established to receive comments or respond to questions on the standard. If no Maintenance Subcommittee volunteers are found, the Board will announce that support for the standard has been discontinued. After a standard has been discontinued, the Board can • optionally reactivate the standard for development or maintenance, but this is at the discretion of the Board. Another big change is in the leadership of the LOC. Under the new changes, the LOC will be led by a seven- member board that includes the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer/Membership Chair, and they will be joined by Marketing, Standards and Regional Coordinators. New responsibilities for these positions include: vice President • - Will coordinate and report to the Board on the work of any standing subcommittees (such as last year's Law Firm E-Billing Best Practices Subcommittee). Regional coordinator • - Will oversee the work of regional groups. We recognize the need for members to attend more frequent and local LOC functions and, with the spread of the organization into the United Kingdom and Europe, and with having active members in Canada and Australia, we think regional groups will be the solution. standards coordinator • - Will oversee the work of all Development and Maintenance Subcommittees, and UTBMS efforts. Other changes have been made as well. The membership year will change to coincide with the calendar year, member organization dues will be increased from the current $100 per year per organization cost and the term of office for Board members will increase to two years. We have some exciting suggestions to consider for initiatives in 2009, once the 2009 Board has been seated. Suggestions include creating a standard for exporting invoice status information from the third-party e-billing system to the law firm (the file created would need to be imported into the law firm's time and billing system) and creating an Accrual Information standard. This is in addition to finalizing the Litigation Support/Electronic Discovery Code Set and finishing white papers on law firm e-billing best practices and the ability of LEDES formats to satisfy UK/EU regulations for e-invoicing and taxation. If these initiatives interest you, please join us! To learn more about the LEDES Oversight Committee, go to http://www.ledes.org. ILTA Recent Changes in the LEDES Oversight Committee Jane bennitt is a manager with baker Robbins & company and has been president of the lEDEs oversight committee for the last three years. With almost 15 years of experience in the industry, she is a subject matter expert in the creation and deployment of collaborative case management and e-billing solutions, specializing in global e-billing. Jane led the 2008 ilta E-billing survey effort and the resulting White Paper. from www.iltanet.org, go to Publications | White Papers and surveys to view or download the 2008 E-billing White Paper and survey Results.