Modernization in legal practice goes beyond tech and AI. The true measure lies in its effectiveness, and at the heart of that effectiveness is the data: the power to analyze performance and inform decision-making. The numbers support this. According to a UnitedLex survey, 64% of in-house counsel measure the efficacy of the legal department function by tracking budget versus spend—and 45% cite invoice management review as a key tactic for managing this.
How does this work get done to keep spend (especially costly outside counsel bills) and budgets under control? Two roles often encountered in this arena are the legal billing assistant and legal billing coordinator. While both contribute to the smooth functioning of the billing process, their responsibilities and impact on invoice review and spend analysis differ significantly. Understanding these distinctions—along with the role third-party specialists can play in elevating the process from tactical to strategic–is crucial for finding savings in legal spend and ensuring financial transparency.
The foundation of the legal invoicing process
Legal billing assistants can be found in both in-house legal departments and at law firms, and play a vital role in the day-to-day execution of invoicing. Many law firms, especially larger ones, employ legal billing assistants as part of their administrative or finance departments. These individuals handle tasks related to generating invoices, tracking billable hours, and managing client accounts. Corporations with in-house legal teams may also have billing assistants, especially if they handle a significant volume of legal work and associated expenses. These assistants might manage invoices from outside counsel, handling administrative tasks, reviewing invoices, and tracking internal legal department spending.
Oversight and analysis of legal invoicing
Legal billing coordinator (vs. legal billing assistant) roles are heavily tied to the specific billing practices and client management of law firms, and it’s less common for them to be in traditional in-house legal departments. Legal billing coordinators takes on a more strategic and analytical role, tracking billable hours, ensuring compliance with billing guidelines, resolving billing disputes, and managing client accounts working closely with attorneys and other administrative staff.
In some firms, legal billing coordinators (vs. legal billing assistants) conduct comprehensive reviews of invoices for accuracy, compliance with billing guidelines, and adherence to negotiated rates. They may also identify and implement process improvements to enhance efficiency and accuracy in the billing cycle.
Transitioning from tactical to strategic to drive greater business value
Understanding the distinct responsibilities of legal billing assistant vs. legal billing coordinator roles is essential for optimizing legal spend—as is looking strategically at how to allocate resources and ensure that the right personnel are assigned to the appropriate tasks at the best cost. To that point, better resource allocation (cited by 52% of in-house respondents in the UnitedLex survey) is a top priority.
The work that legal billing assistants vs. legal billing coordinators do on legal bill review and spend management is the perfect opportunity to improve internal and external resource allocation. By integrating third-party legal spend analytics expertise using cutting-edge technology, organizations can reduce internal team administrative tasks and establish a strategic legal invoice review program that includes developing a baseline analysis to identify opportunities for improvement, establishing (or updating) legal billing guidelines, leveraging a data-centric approach, improving processes, and using data-driven insights to support decisions. At the same time, this team can also unlock strategic insights in staffing patterns, workflow behaviors, and fee arrangement effectiveness—pinpointing exactly where legal budgets are going. This augments the work of legal billing assistants and billing coordinators.
A real-life example is as follows.
UBS drives 25% cost reduction while surfacing long-term efficiency gains
The UBS-Credit Suisse merger posed a formidable integration challenge, particularly in integrating Credit Suisse’s active legal cases and external counsel. To tackle this, UBS’s Outside Counsel Management Team, in collaboration with invoice review experts leveraging an AI-powered analytics platform, deployed AI analysis on the top 25 transitioning matters from Credit Suisse to UBS using detailed line-item billing.
This data-driven approach allowed them to optimize work allocation, staffing, fee structures, and billing practices, culminating in a remarkable 25% reduction in legal spend. The project not only delivered immediate savings but also established a robust framework for ongoing legal cost management and strategic decision-making.
Today’s imperative
With legal spend top of mind for corporate law departments, a partnership between legal billing assistants, legal billing coordinators, and legal invoice review and management specialists is a must—and it extends far beyond just managing administrative tasks. It strengthens law partnerships, optimizations the allocation of resources, and improves transparency, accuracy, efficiency, and cost savings. It not only ensures that organizations pay just for the services they need; it provides an opportunity to redirect savings to critical growth areas.
UnitedLex equips teams with the knowledge to successfully execute initiatives that contribute to the growth of the business. To learn more about our legal spend analytics and legal invoice review programs, let’s talk.
