Time & Billing

LEDES 1998B Bills

March 31, 2023

Generate your invoices in LEDES 1998B Format

What is LEDES?

LEDES refers to Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standards, a consortium that defines standards for law firms and corporate clients.

Learn more on their website: https://ledes.org/

Many corporate clients require that their law firms submit invoices in LEDES format. This implies that the appropriate LEDES codes are used for individual billing items and that each timekeeper has an appropriate "classification." The most common LEDES format -- and the only one that Filevine supports today -- is called 1998B. It is a pipe-separated file that is not designed for humans to read.

The legal industry runs on precise communication, and the LEDES™ (Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard) Oversight Committee ensures that every exchange is clear, transparent, and efficient. This international, not-for-profit organization comprises legal experts and industry representatives collaborating to create and maintain open standard formats for electronic billing and other important information between corporations and law firms. The LOC adheres to five fundamental principles that simplify the process, eliminate ambiguity, and cater to the unique needs of the legal world. By adopting these guiding principles, the LOC ensures that every interaction meets the needs of corporations and law firms, making the legal process a little bit smoother for everyone involved.

Since 1995, the Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standards (LOC) has been committed to elevating the standard for the exchange of billing information in the legal industry. Not only does it offer various formats for legal e-billing, but it also provides many resources for budgeting, timekeeping, rate management, and IP matter management data exchange.

The LEDES e-billing standards are widely recognized as the industry standard for exchanging legal billing information. This is not all that the LOC is known for - it is also a pioneer in creating and updating Uniform Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) schemas used for legal data exchange. The LOC even keeps UTBMS.com, the ultimate resource for UTBMS standards created worldwide.

In short, the LOC is the ultimate source for legal e-billing and data exchange. Its leadership and dedication to standardization has revolutionized the legal industry and benefitted countless businesses and individuals worldwide.

What our new feature allows

This feature improves the invoicing experience for firms requiring LEDES 1998B invoicing. This allows firms to generate LEDES files for a single invoice and in bulk. It is currently being built only for LEDES 1998B; future iterations will work toward additional LEDES formats and streamlining the setup for LEDES-compatible invoicing.

Check out the support page for how to create LEDES invoices LEDES Support Page

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