Program

Spend Intelligence

Turn invoice data into decisions about firms, rates and staffing.

The problem

Four-fifths of matters run past budget and you find out afterward. The data to see it coming is in your e-billing system, in a shape nobody can act on.

The evidence

  • 20%

    of matters stay within their outside counsel budget.

    Gartner, December 2025

  • 17%

    of the C-suite believe legal contributes significantly to the business. 86% of general counsel do.

    Thomson Reuters Legal Department Operations Report, 2026

  • 48%

    name staffing as their top constraint. Budget is 24%. Technology limits are 8% — the tools are rarely the problem.

    Thomson Reuters Legal Department Operations Report, 2026

What you get

  • Spend model across firms, matter types, rates and staffing mix
  • Leakage categories quantified, with the guideline gaps that allow them
  • Rules your e-billing system or reviewer can apply, tested on real invoices
  • Firm scorecards for panel reviews, with the measures agreed in advance
  • Reporting your finance team can run without us

How it works

  1. PHASE 1

    Evidence

    Pull billing, matter and rate data. Read the guidelines and the last review cycles.

  2. PHASE 2

    Baseline

    Quantify the current position, by firm and by category, so later claims of improvement are checkable.

  3. PHASE 3

    Design and ship

    Build the rules, the scorecards and the reporting. Run them alongside your reviewers until the false positives are gone.

  4. PHASE 4

    Prove

    Report the change against the baseline, and hand over the model with its refresh steps.

Every engagement leaves an instrument behind. Here it is: A spend model and firm scorecards your team refreshes each quarter.

What it costs

Scoped range

2–4 months

Scoped on invoice volume, the number of firms and the state of your billing data. The teardown sprint is the cheapest way to find out which of those is the hard one.

What it does not include

We are not a legal bill review service and we do not work on contingency against recoveries. We do not run your panel negotiations, though we will build the evidence you take into them.

What it typically leads to

  • Program

    Operating Model & Transformation

    Fix how the work is staffed, routed and measured — not just the tools.

    Read more →
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Start with one sprint

Two to three weeks, one approver, a deliverable you keep. Tell us the problem and we'll come back within one business day with a scope, a date and a fee.

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