The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/27607
LEDES UPDATE Finally…E-Discovery Billing Codes! The long-awaited e-discovery billing codes are ready for your review and feedback. CREATING THE RECOMMENDED CODE SET In 2010, the LEDES Oversight Committee (LOC) formed a sub-committee, and Cathi Collins from Bridgeway Software, Inc. was appointed to lead the effort. Recognizing that the typical LOC member may not have the domain knowledge necessary for this project, the LOC reached out to members of the e-discovery community, including George Socha from Socha Consulting and the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) and Adam Potter from the Council on Litigation Management, to recruit project participants. The response was enormous, resulting in a committee of 200 (consisting of many smaller workgroups) used to fast-track the process. Understanding LEDES e-billing data structures, UTBMS task coding and the dimensions of the EDRM Metrics Cube were absolutely essential to moving ahead. The workgroups reviewed the EDRM Metrics Cube and other custom code sets currently used by various entities for e-discovery billing, looking for commonalities and differences. A recommended task code set was finalized and reviewed during the annual LOC members meeting earlier this month, which coincided with LegalTech New York. For those who are familiar with e-billing and UTBMS coding, the recommended e-discovery task codes fall within the L600 series (i.e., they are proposed for addition to the Litigation Code Set and are numbered between 600 and 699). There are 34 recommended task codes, which is a manageable number for budgeting and billing purposes. NEXT STEPS In accordance with LOC standards, the recommended e-discovery task codes have been posted for a 90-day comment period. Access the code set and provide feedback at www.ledes.org or www.utbms.com. 108 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer At the end of the comment period, if it is determined that no changes to the recommended code set are required, they will be submitted to the LOC Board for final review and approval. Full approval of the codes could be completed as early as June 2011. As an adjunct to this current project, the LEDES Oversight Committee will consider revisions to both the UTBMS Activity Codes and Expense Codes during 2011. While the impetus for these projects is to pick up other dimensions represented in the EDRM Metrics Cube, the plan is to consider any necessary modifications to these codes across all legal categories, not just e-discovery. Please take a minute to review the recommended e-discovery task codes at www.ledes.org, and let us know what you think. ILTA To learn more about the LEDES Oversight Committee, go to http://www.ledes.org. Cathrine J. (Cathi) Collins is Vice President of Bridgeway Research at Bridgeway Software, Inc. Cathi has been a legal industry consultant for more than 25 years, and has a strong financial and legal background. She has helped hundreds of legal departments improve productivity by leveraging their technology investments. Cathi co-chairs the College for Litigation Management and serves as Secretary of the LEDES Oversight Committee. She can be reached at cathi.collins@bridge-way.com.