legal auditing
a survey on auditing, quality assurance systems and legal frameworks in five selected slaughterhouses in bulawayo, south - western zimbabwe .
accountability services, one of the pioneers of the legal cost control and auditing industry, has proven techniques that result in significant savings .
how can the internal audit department help control and reduce legal costs? auditors can start by using the techniques of legal auditing. these methods can help to quantify objective problems and isolate subjective problems that can then be reviewed by the legal department .
the legal landscape has and continues to change rapidly and dramatically: the legal services act (tesco law); referral fee reform; outcome based regulation; the legal aid bill; assigned risk pool demise; jackson reforms. against this background legal auditing services has been established to provide a range of audit and risk management services to the legal profession, purchasers of legal services and those providing support .
a survey on auditing, quality assurance systems and legal frameworks in five selected slaughterhouses in bulawayo, south - western zimbabwe. - pubmed - ncbi
since 1991, our legal auditors have reviewed over a billion dollars in legal fees and have reduced legal bills as much as 46% with our legal cost control services and 67% with our expert witness testimony .
knowledge of accounting and auditing methods and systems; of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures; of business practices; of legal contracts; of business law, of numerical analysis; of tax and sales tax laws; of general and specialized accounting and auditing techniques; and of specialized areas related to audit activity, such as computer system analysis and automated techniques .
knowledge of accounting and auditing methods and systems; of generally accepted auditing standards and procedures; of business practices; of legal contracts; of business law; of numerical analysis; of tax and sales tax laws; of general and specialized accounting and auditing techniques; and of specialized areas related to audit activity, such as computer system analysis and automated techniques .
a copy of the invoices (if separate from the legal bills) and cover letters accompanying the legal bills .
reviews work of other personnel engaged in auditing complex domestic, foreign, and multi - national corporations .
excerpted from the asq auditing handbook, j. p. russell, editor, asq quality press, 2013 .
plans and organizes specific audit programs to accomplish audit objectives; and employs computer - assisted auditing techniques to minimize audit costs .
the pam sets out the principles of the international auditing standards which are relevant to the eca’s performance audits, as well as generally accepted principles and good practice in performance auditing. it provides procedures and guidance on how to conduct high quality performance audits ,
accountability services' legal auditing can isolate any inappropriate or inefficient billing practice that unnecessarily increased your legal fees. aided by proprietary software, accountability services' attorneys recast billing and disbursement information into comprehensible formats and determine what was done, by whom and for how long. then, our legal auditors test for mathematical errors and internal inconsistencies in the legal bills and determine whether the legal fees and disbursements were reasonable and whether there were any inappropriate or inefficient billing practice. once these practices are identified you may be entitled to a refund or a reduction in your legal bill .
please let us know what auditing resources you are looking for. if you would like a reply, please include an email address .
a legal department’s internal expenditures are typically about 40 percent of total legal spending. the other 60 percent goes to law firms and other external service providers ;
determining the most cost - effective legal service providers u. s. business litigation
the national association of legal fee analysis (nalfa) is a 501 (c) (6) non - profit professional association for the legal fee analysis field. our members provide a range of services on attorney fees and legal billing matters .
the audit of the legal department can lead to meaningful change within the organization. internal auditors can make meaningful recommendations regarding the quality of legal work performed. the operational review of legal services can lead to recommendations that result in a reduction in costs. a skillful audit team has the opportunity to provide valuable insight into ways to improve current legal processes .
a legal audit is a systematic review of the company’s transactions, contracts and practices to establish its legal status, identify potential legal problems and help minimize its legal liability. it involves inspections of the company’s activities to establish their compliance to its constitution, the national and the international laws as the case may be. a legal audit seeks to establish the adherence to all laws, rules and regulations that are applicable to the company in undertaking its objectives .
compliance with regulations governing international trade should be a necessary component of internal legal auditing programs, even for those businesses that engage in limited import and export trade. international trade considerations also can be an important facet of due diligence reviews in acquisitions and other transactions .
these transactional and contractual complexities require qualified, well - balanced and focused legal input so as to come up with remedies and preventive mechanisms to shield the company from possible legal conundrums by maintaining its legal health. therefore, it is vital that the companies conduct legal audits to ensure the compliance with the laws and policies so as to prevent or minimize the risk of litigation .
auditing is the on - site verification activity, such as inspection or examination, of a process or quality system, to ensure compliance to requirements. an audit can apply to an entire organization or might be specific to a function, process, or production step. find more information in the video, the how and why of auditing .
it is also advisable for a company to order a legal audit immediately a board or a management team is dismissed and a new one is appointed. this should be done especially if the previous board is accused of past legal improprieties or questions have been raised on the company’s legal position .
investigates and audits taxpayers’ financial records, operating reports, and business practices to ensure legal compliance .
las was established to satisfy the demands and needs of all parties associated with the legal world, including bulk purchasers of legal services, legal expenses insurers, funders, specialist brokers and underwriters and, of course, legal practices. the services provided are wide ranging and include open and closed file review, service / technical audit, compliance, due diligence, performance management, risk management reviews .
resources are available to assist the auditor in reviewing the legal function. a book from the institute of internal auditors research foundation, legal services: auditing the process, provides a basic foundation for how an internal audit team can perform the audit. organizations such as the association of corporate counsel routinely survey their members to determine what issues are pressing for a shared agenda for action .
it’s rare that the legal function can be considered a risk unto itself. but the legal function can expose the company to various hazards. the failure to help the company mitigate risk exposures, or the mishandling of litigation, can create significant liability. so one item you want to pinpoint is the capacity of the legal department to manage activities it believes pose a significant legal risk to the company .
may require certification as a certified public accountant (cpa), certified internal auditor (cia), certified management accountant (cma), or certified government auditing professional (cgap) .
the general counsel also faces financial responsibilities such as monitoring budgets and reporting on expenses, so another focus of internal audits should be evaluating controls that can reduce legal costs and improve the department’s efficiency. the auditor can conduct a preliminary walk - through of legal operations to get a feel for how legal services are requested and processed. problems can result when request for services is informal, without clear parameters. the internal auditor should assess the inventory of legal services performed for the organization. questions to consider when evaluating legal processes include :
the legal work of the gao is centered at the headquarters office in its office of the general counsel .
undisclosed bonuses: confirm that the amount invoiced is the same as the bottom line on the itemized legal bills .
the auditor should examine compliance and legal counsel collaboration as an important component of the overall internal control structure. a system of internal controls with strong compliance, risk, and internal audit activities can militate against inefficient and ineffective legal counsel .
analyses of legal operations may involve detailed testing on case files and interviews about case file content. use analytics, including comparative benchmarking, to see how the legal function compares with others from an efficiency standpoint. metrics relevant for the gc have become more readily available and the auditor can seek studies, such as those conducted by organizations like general counsel metrics corp. , for data. some interesting fundamental metrics for the legal department provided by legal consultant rees morrison include :
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about the author: annette sanderson biesecker is a cofounder of accountability services, inc. , a legal cost control and auditing center. she received her b. a. from harvard university and her law degree from new york university law school. she is a certified mediator and a member of the arbitration panel of the american arbitration association .
those are all charges that would get kicked back if sipc employed david paige. he spent 18 years litigating legal bills for insurance companies before setting his own firm, sterling analytics, to advise companies on how to root out questionable legal charges .
legal audits are designed to quantify the financial impact of any legal fee billing abuse, inefficiency or fraud that may have taken place. our legal auditors and accountants scrutinize all time charges and expenses with the assistance of our proprietary software. underlying documentation is reviewed to assist our auditors in determining, among other things, whether the time taken to complete particular tasks was reasonable. our audits culminate in a written report that provides a solid foundation for negotiating a settlement with your law firm. in the event that your case goes to trial, accountability services stands ready to give expert testimony regarding attorney' s fees at depositions, hearings or trials. accountability services' legal audits have resulted in reductions of as much as 83% of the legal fees. accountability services customizes its legal audits to provide the most cost - effective solutions for your legal cost control needs .
moreover, given the heightened enforcement environment, performing an audit of the legal department has become critical for addressing areas of regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and operational efficiency. however you might view the goals of corporate regulation—whether to increase shareholder value, protect third parties, or rein in corporate power more broadly—the gc, in framing the corporation’s response, affects how much these goals will be realized. the objectives of auditing the legal department may vary but there are several key questions the internal auditor should consider :
one example of where legal and audit teams can cooperate is in financial statement disclosures. does (or should) the company have a special litigation committee to approve high - cost legal services or pending litigation containing high - risk exposure? are the compliance and legal teams involved in the disclosure committee? among disclosure matters are contingent liabilities to legal counsel, addressed in financial accounting standard no. 5. lack of adequate disclosure can create an overall misstatement of material facts to the financial statements, even when the related accounting transactions may be conforming .
an auditor may specialize in types of audits based on the audit purpose, such as to verify compliance, conformance, or performance. some audits have special administrative purposes such as auditing documents, risk, or performance or following up on completed corrective actions .
experience in accounting or auditing work. graduation from an accredited four - year college or university with major coursework in accounting, business administration, finance, economics, or a related field is generally preferred. experience and education may be substituted for one another .
legal audits have become one of the best prevention tools for companies, as an in - depth analysis of corporate documents helps identify potential contingencies .
prepares complex audit reports, summaries, working papers, operating reports and correspondence; and reviews for accuracy and conformance with departmental and legal requirements .
the eca has developed practical guidelines on auditing methods to support auditors' work across the various stages of the audit process. the guidelines complement the audit manuals and represent good practice advice for the eca' s auditors. you will find them below in the related links section .
courts and clients turn to us for expertise when attorney fees and expenses are at issue in large, complex cases. nalfa members are fully qualified attorney fee experts, special fee masters, bankruptcy fee examiners, fee dispute neutrals, and legal bill auditors. our members follow best practices in legal fee analysis .
an internal auditor can assist the legal department in reviewing and monitoring legal invoices. first consider some basic controls, such as billing software that can check for arithmetic errors, duplicates, and possible abuses. billing guidelines are another key control. the guidelines should provide clear instructions for how attorneys should operate and bill when providing services. other controls include the practice of bidding out legal services, and periodically rotating the use of law firms to ensure efficient and effective representation .
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the gao has the following basic purposes: to assist congress, its committees, and its members in carrying out their legislative and over - sight responsibilities, consistent with its role as an independent, nonpolitical agency in the legislative branch; to carry out legal, accounting, auditing, and claims - settlement functions with respect to federal government programs and operations as assigned by congress; and to make recommendations that are designed to provide for more efficient and effective government operations .
a sampling of the legal bills are selected for computer assisted analysis with the balance reviewed in less detail. the preliminary legal audit, memorialized in a written report, will assist the client in determining whether a more comprehensive audit would be cost - effective. often, the preliminary report will be enough to effectuate a settlement with the law firm .
the european court of auditors performs its audits in accordance with the international auditing standards and code of ethics, which it applies to the specific eu context. these standards help ensure the quality and professionalism of the eca’s work, as well as its efficiency. the eca contributes to the development of the standards through its international cooperation .
such tales of overbilling can make an internal audit department crave control over the company legal budgets. however, internal auditors should realize that outright billing fraud is rare, and seldom does it affect the bottom line. rather, subtle billing abuses, as well as inefficiency, poor case management and general disregard of costs, are what drive legal fees up and create real losses .
the conduct of a legal audit is normally focused on compliance to existing laws and policies. this may be with regard to the whole company, especially if a legal audit has never been done before, or it may be focused on a certain set of transactions, law or policy as the management will decide or focused on the company’s potential problem areas with the lawyer’s advice .
our legal auditors and accountants scrutinize all time charges and expenses with the assistance of our proprietary software. underlying documentation is reviewed to assist our auditors in determining, among other things, whether the time taken to complete particular tasks was reasonable. our efficiency audits culminate in a written report, which provides a solid foundation for negotiating or litigating the appropriate reductions in the legal bills .
the internal auditor must always remember that an audit report on legal counsel can potentially be a source of legal liability for the business. information gathered and reported should emphasize descriptive data and limit evaluative observations—particularly conjecture and opinion. audit reports that are descriptive and fact - based are less likely to supply litigants and investigators anything more than they would obtain through standard discovery and information requests .
set forth below are brief summaries of the primary u. s. legal regimes governing international trade, along with some preliminary questions and examples that may help identify potential issues under these rules .
the auditor should start substantive testing by running a variety of analytics. examples include trending legal expenses from month - to - month and year - to - year. again to enhance the data analysis, auditors can measure analytical results against comparable organizations within the same industry. auditors should be alert to spikes and dips in the data set as a beginning point for further testing. another test is to determine whether the rate charged for legal services corresponds to the contract for legal services. trending hours billed over time, sorted by attorney and by service type, can identify aberrations .
identifying the potential risks related to corporate matters, foreign investment, intellectual property, labor law, contracts, administrative law, etc. , as well as issuing proposals for normalization and legal monitoring .
the legal audit equivalent of the traditional internal audit control function is an on site audit. in an on site audit, the legal auditor compares time records to the underlying work product on a day to day basis. this is done by checking phone records, court files, discovery indexes, deposition transcripts, final and draft versions of documents, chron files and email to confirm that work billed was, in fact, performed. the on site audit is a time consuming and expensive process and one that most legal auditors will not recommend unless their preliminary review reveals the likelihood of fraud. instead, the internal auditor first tries a desk audit or legal bill review, which is a careful examination of law firm billing and staffing patterns for the purpose of detecting billing errors, abuses and inefficiencies .
general counsels wield lots of power inside a corporation. they are the ones who translate legal mandates that influence how a corporation internalizes its compliance duties, and they have a huge range of daily tasks .
court rules notwithstanding ,
the client should be paying for the exercise of legal judgment ,
paige says .
you should be paying a lawyer to do what went to law school to do .
a legal audit is also an opportunity to update the company’s records, registrations, and licenses with a view to promotingits rights and legal position. once the employees and the management have been trained on the compliance issues it will lead to improved internal processes and systems. it can also focus on such issues as the company’s tax requirements with a view to establishing the company’s position and finding ways of lessening its tax liabilities .
at sudi & associates our primary focus remains, in the words of mark lanier, “to provide the highest quality legal care delivered in an honest, professional manner to enrich the lives or businesses of our clients. ”
auditing performance involves assessing different aspects of the public intervention process, including inputs (financial, human, material, organisational or regulatory means needed for the implementation of the programme), outputs (the deliverables of the programme), results (the immediate effects of the programme on direct addressees or recipients) and impacts (long - term changes in society that are attributable to the eu’s action) .
the legal work of the gao also covers a wide range of advisory services—to congress, its committees, and members, with respect to the legal effect of statutory provisions and implications of proposed legislation as well as assistance in drafting legislation; to the justice department, primarily in the form of litigation reports on court cases generated by, or related to, the work of the gao; and to the courts in connection with cases involving the award of government contracts. in addition, there is daily coordination between the staff of the office of the general counsel and the audit and operating staffs with regard to the legal consequences of issues raised in the course of reviews of government activities .
a copy of the itemized legal bills that contains the daily description of activities of the timekeepers (attorneys, paralegals and other support staff billing to your matters) and the hours billed each day. these may be referred to as the time sheets, billing logs, or diaries. if the legal bills do not identify the individual timekeepers and their billing rates (which they usually do), you will need to obtain that information from the law firm .
as defined in iso 19011: 2011—guidelines for auditing management systems, an audit is a “systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence [ records, statements of fact or other information which are relevant and verifiable ] and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria [ set of policies, procedures or requirements ] are fulfilled. ” several audit methods may be employed to achieve the audit purpose .
various authors use the following terms to describe an audit purpose beyond compliance and conformance: value - added assessments, management audits, added value auditing, and continual improvement assessment. the purpose of these audits goes beyond traditional compliance and conformance audits. the audit purpose relates to organization performance. audits that determine compliance and conformance are not focused on good or poor performance. yet performance is an important concern for most organizations .
in view of the complexity of these and other international trade - related rules and the serious penalties that can be imposed for violations, a detailed knowledge of these requirements is critical, particularly in the legal audit and due diligence contexts .
yet despite the prominence of the gc, little is known about the operations of the legal function. internal auditors do have an opportunity here to examine and improve the efficiency of in - house counsel and its management of external counsel .
the eca conducts its audits in accordance with issais, the international standards on auditing issued by intosai, the international organisation of supreme audit institutions worldwide. the principles and details of the eca' s audit approach are described in a set of manuals, standards and guidelines, which apply the international standards to the specific eu audit context. they help our auditors to provide high quality professional work, and to operate efficiently and effectively
a legal audit is vital for any company and will go a long way in helping to avoid unnecessary losses and penalties that might lead to the business suffering unnecessary costs or at the extreme closing up. it will enable a company to achieve its objectives with minimal risk to its management, employees and shareholders. kenyan businesses should, therefore, embrace the idea of a legal audit as it is a sure way of minimizing the potential exposure of the company to lawsuits and penalties .
ability to compose clear and concise audit reports; to research, analyze, and understand tax laws, rules, and regulations; to use automated audit techniques; to gather and analyze accurate and relevant audit information; to evaluate documents, records, and accounting and management operations systems for accuracy and legal conformance; to trace historical accounting transactions through complex corporate structures to determine taxability and ownership; to evaluate and summarize financial records for accuracy and conformance with accounting standards and legal requirements; to present audit findings and recommendations in a clear and concise manner to individuals and / or at legal proceedings; to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of state employees, taxpayers, and other members of the public; to communicate effectively; and to train others .
the fcam sets out the principles of the international auditing standards which are relevant to the eca’s financial and compliance audits. it gives guidance on how to apply these principles when carrying out the eca’s annual statement of assurance audit and other financial and compliance audits. the procedures contained in the manual are supplemented by practical guidance, including checklists and more detailed instructions. the eca uses an it - based audit support system to manage and document its audit work .
a complete legal review should also examine the use of outside counsel, to ensure that high standards of quality and cost control are maintained. having practiced in a law firm, i know too well the drudgery of tracking billable time in six - minute increments .
ability to compose clear and concise audit reports; to research, analyze, and understand tax laws, rules, and regulations; to use automated audit techniques; to gather and analyze accurate and relevant audit information; to evaluate documents, records, and accounting and management operations systems for accuracy and legal conformance; to trace historical accounting transactions through complex corporate structures to determine taxability and ownership; to evaluate and summarize financial records for accuracy and conformance with accounting standards and legal requirements; to present audit findings and recommendations in a clear and concise manner to individuals and / or at legal proceedings; to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of state employees, taxpayers, and other members of the public; to communicate effectively; and to train, lead, and / or prioritize the workload of others. .
vague billing descriptions. a legal bill should provide enough detail to inform the reasonably knowledgeable bill reviewer what is going on. any entry that contains a statement of hours worked with no description should be deducted from the bills. also, watch for meaningless entries such as worked on case or reviewed file .
the consequences of failing to comply with the laws and policies are grave and costly. some of them include the revocation of licenses, legal action against directors for breach of trust, fines being imposed against the company, losing existing tenders and the company being involved in ultra vires transactions which may occasion the directors being personally liable .
the main benefit of carrying out a legal audit is to identify the company’s legal liabilities and risks beforehand and come up with a way of averting potential lawsuits and penalties. this is a sure way of saving the company’s money in litigation costs and other unnecessary expenses. the audit also examines the company’s contractual position with its employees, customers and other players such as insurance and proposes possible remedies if potential problems are identified. in such a case it will go a long way in averting personnel problems as the lawyer conducting the audit can review and suggest updates in the company’s contract and policies so as to avoid issues such as unfair labor practices, discrimination and sexual harassment .
looking at core metrics for comparison can assist in gauging whether the legal department is significantly out of line in a particular area. a gc should consider developing measures of individual lawyer productivity to assist in evaluating individual performance. not only can suggestions be made to enhance productivity, but often the methods used to evaluate productivity can be improved .
every audit is usually unique based on the company, the transaction or subject to be audited or the lawyer undertaking the audit. however, one thing that stands out is that thelegal audit is usually required to evaluate the company’s current andfuture legal issues in light of the company’sneeds and industry standards and to come up with effective solutions for the organization .
all content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. this information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional .
a legal audit is done by a lawyer who may be an in house counsel or an external lawyer. the benefits of it being done by an in house counsel is that he already knows the internal processes and therefore will save time. however, it is more advisable to have an external lawyer to do the audit so as to bring in a new perspective of the processes .
of course there are concerns that the billable hour is a metric prone to abuse. those in the legal profession know some of the stories such as the legendary associate at a wall street firm, described by james stewart in the partners, who flew to california from new york, worked on the plane, and, by virtue of the change in time zones, billed 27 hours in one day .
the scope of the activities of the gao was further extended by the government corporation control act (31 u. s. c. a. 841 [ 1945 ]), the legislative reorganization act of 1946 (31 u. s. c. a. 60), the accounting and auditing act of 1950 (31 u. s. c. a. 65), the legislative reorganization act of 1970 (31 u. s. c. a. 1151), the congressional budget and impoundment control act of 1974 (31 u. s. c. a. 1301), the general accounting office act of 1974 (31 u. s. c. a. 52c), and other legislation .
the instances or intervals within which a legal audit ought to be done will depend on the particular company concerned. several factors will guide the decision such as the size and structure of the company, the complexity of the industry or the transactions and the frequency in the change of laws and policies in the sector. however, the audit should be done periodically and with guidance as to the company’s last audit .
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webster hubbell, once third in command at the united states justice department, plead guilty to charges that he had billed his legal clients fraudulently. maureen fairchild of chapman & cutler was charged with inflating fees, doctoring bills, charging subordinate hours as her own and charging personal expenses to clients. richard a. solomon, formerly with mayer, brown & platt, was alleged to have altered a dozen bills to clients over a four year period .
the rules governing international trade are complex and sometimes counterintuitive. for example, although export control requirements generally apply to military items and high technology
dual use
goods, even commonplace items like hammers and nails are controlled to certain parties and destinations. while specific issues under these rules should be discussed with counsel, a basic ability to
spot
international trade issues in the legal audit and due diligence contexts can benefit companies in significant ways, such as :
the emergence of labor relations, environmental protection issues, consumer protection regime and the intergovernmental relations have brought about consciousness of rights and regulation of businesses compliance of which is required in most cases as a matter of law. this has resulted in a more complex legal regime in which the regulators in the society impose heavy fines and stringent measures, such as criminal prosecution, for non - compliance with the laws and regulations in place to the financial detriment of the company .
the statement of assurance (sometimes referred to as the ‘das’ from the french “déclaration d’assurance”) is an annual financial and compliance audit exercise where the eca audits the reliability of the eu’s accounts and the regularity of the transactions underlying them. the findings and conclusions are published in the eca’s annual reports. the audit involves testing a random sample of transactions and evaluating supervisory and control systems to determine whether revenue and payments are calculated correctly and comply with the legal and regulatory framework .
it is also advisable to bring in a lawyer who is a qualified advocate so as to be covered under the advocate - client privilege and also so that incase there is an additional transaction or litigation work to be pursued he has the capacity to undertake it without putting the company in a further legal abyss. the advocate - client privilege will be vital in safeguarding the company’s information, documents and communication revealed to the lawyer so as to avoid their being used in litigation against the company .
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the business environment is getting more complex by the day with regard to the legal implications of transactions and relationships between companies and other stakeholders in the society. the emergence of an integrated global economy and international trade have in turn increased the rights and duties owed by the company to those more traditional ones. the responsibilities of a company and its leadership have widened from the traditional one to shareholders to a more diverse duty to the employees, consumers, suppliers and distributers, to the government and to the foreign governments in countries where the company operates or its products are sold .
auditors should be familiar with control criteria involving the legal department under the coso framework. for example, to test the implementation and effectiveness of the control environment, auditors can compile a list of significant instances of misconduct that occurred in recent years, and then review board or committee minutes and reports to determine whether directors and executive management were apprised of such misconduct in a timely manner. auditors can also review the minutes to see whether the board or committee followed up on allegations of a breach in internal controls, such as ordering special investigations, hiring outside advisers, requesting follow - up reports, and so forth .
it also helps the company become or remain compliant with the laws and policies in place as it exposes the laws that have not been complied with and provides for ways of complying with them thus safeguarding the company’s legal position. it fosters observance of rules and regulations in place, especially in a regulated industry, thus saving the company money that would be spent on the settlement of hefty fines imposed as a result of their breach. an example is with regard to the burgeoning environmental laws and policies coupled with strict regulators where such an audit will help the company to be steadfast in complying with the complex area of law. this also results in enhanced compliance reputation which is a sign of quality .
legislation may be enacted to direct the gao to examine a specific matter; special audits, surveys, and reviews may be performed for the committees, members, or officers of congress; professional staff members may be assigned to assist committees in conducting studies and investigations; the comptroller general or his or her representatives may testify before committees on matters considered to be within the special competence of the gao; and committees or members may request comments on, or assistance in, drafting proposed legislation or other advice in legal and legislative matters. further, the gao responds to numerous requests from congressional sources for information relating to, or resulting from, its work, and it provides advice on congressional, administrative, and financial operations .
a recent new jersey law journal by charles toutant, “ $ 160m settlement approved in class suit over reimbursement of ...
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baker & hostetler has charged the securities investor protection corp. $ 110 million so far for its work unraveling the madoff ponzi scheme. in april the law firm of irving picard, the trustee in charge of the madoff estate, submitted another bill for $ 43. 2 million plus $ 1. 1 million in expenses .
in it: $ 2, 000 for photocopying, $ 13, 065. 93 for stationery and
office supplies ,
and $ 50, 067 for preparing the bill itself .
baker & hostetler declined to comment. sipc said in a statement that it follows the rules established by bankruptcy courts to differentiate between legitimate expenses and overhead .
stationery ,
for example, actually refers to bound documents required by the court. baker & hostetler also notes in its fee application that its efforts have recovered more than $ 7 billion for madoff investors including $ 5 billion from the estate of jeffry picower and $ 470 million from union bancaire privee, the swiss bank that funneled money to madoff .
such justifications don' t satisfy paige, whose clients have included financial institutions like regions bank and homebuilders avalon bay and kb homes .
using a combination of software and human auditors, sterling snoops out charges for services like photocopying and making travel arrangements that law firms would dearly love to shove off on their clients, but properly belong under the category of
overhead .
one of his favorites: charging clients for the use of conference rooms. paige says he' s uncovered some law firms that form separate llcs to rent out their conference rooms, turning them into profit centers instead of a cost of doing business .
if you went into most non - law firm offices and sat in a conference room with a professional, you would not expect to get a bill for that ,
he says, speaking in the precise, unemotional tones of an insurance adjuster. (sipc says it refused to pay $ 16, 000 in conference - room charges sought by one firm. )
written by annette s. biesecker, executive vice president, accountability services, inc. , reprinted with permission by the financial management network .
no one can dispute that law firms sometimes engage in outright billing fraud. consider :
a copy of the retainer agreement and / or any billing policy or reimbursement guidelines that your company expects its outside firms or vendors to follow .
check for compliance with the retainer agreement or billing guidelines do not be surprised if you learn that there is no written contract with the law firm or that your company has no formal policy on law firm billing practices. for established attorney / client relationships, a written retainer agreement is the exception rather than the rule. if there is no billing policy, you might want to suggest creating one as part of your audit report recommendations. if there is one, evaluate whether its terms are being complied with .
billing errors: check for duplicate entries or double charges. look for entries with identical wording on the same day or consecutive days .
delayed billing: look for delayed charges or
recaptured time ,
i. e. time billed in a later month than the work was performed .
mystery entries: make sure that you are not being billed for some other client work. question an entry or a portion of an entry that does not seem to fit .
billing to multiple files: if your law firm is working on multiple matters for your company, add up the time billed during the same period for all company matters. you may discover that the same trip to court was billed to more than one case or that the same status conference with the home office appears on the time sheets of multiple matters .
when billed on an hourly basis, a client is entitled to an accurate accounting of the time spent on its matters. contemporaneous time records should be kept by each attorney and paralegal and should specify the date the work was performed, the hours expended and the nature of the work done. look for the following signs of poor record keeping practices :
formulaic descriptions. determine whether certain timekeepers use the same vague phrases over and over. (i. e. , conference with team members re strategy or review, analyze and digest privileged documents) .
formulaic time entries. do certain attorneys always charge the same (large) unit of time for certain tasks? most phone calls are brief and most letters should not take more than half an hour .
use of large billing increments. your firm should bill in small minimum increments, preferably no higher than. 1 hours (six minutes). remember: an extra 10 minutes a day, 200 days a year at $ 300 / hour is $ 10, 000 / year .
pattern of long days. not every event in an attorney' s day is billable. if timekeepers are billing their full time to your matter or frequently billing days of 8, 9 or 10 hours or more, this could indicate heavy handed timekeeping or an attorney who lets work expand to fill the time available .
inconsistent time records. perform a spot check to see if the timekeepers consistently report interoffice conferences or record the same time for meetings, court appearances and depositions .
this article is reprinted from tranmission online, with permission by the mis training institute. founded in 1978, mis training institute is the international leader in audit and information security education. mis offers leading - edge seminars, topical conferences, on - site training, and web - based training at urltoken
generally, the lawyer comes up with an audit plan which is discussed with the management and approved. once approval has been obtained, the lawyer comes up with a questionnaire which is submitted to the company’s employees with the relevant knowledge for answers and also requests for documents to be submitted for review. the lawyer then reviews the company’s transaction files and processes either randomly selected as is done in the accounting audits or the whole files with regard to the subject which is normally based on the complexity of the audit .
the audit may focus on various subjects including the form of business organization that is most suitable, review of taxation law compliance, review of intellectual property issues and use of internet, human resources and employee benefits, ongoing and threatened lawsuitsand corporate governance which is currently an important requirement when dealing with international investors and doing business in some of the developed countries among others .
if the lawyer requires any clarification as to the documents submitted or answers given he may interview the employees either by phone or in person. the lawyer will thereafter come up with an initial list of findings which will be submitted to the management for their feedback. after this the lawyer will analyze the findings and come up with recommendations which will be included in an audit report stating whether the company is compliant or not .
a written audit report is then issued and personal training sessions with the relevant employee carried out, if possible, with the aim of addressing the specific issues uncovered and promoting the best possible practices within the company .
it also demonstrates that the company’s directors and management have carried out due diligence with regard to the activities undertaken thereby minimizing their exposure to personal liability .
all time charges and expenses are scrutinized with the assistance of our proprietary software. in addition, our auditor and / or accountants visit the law firm to review work product, time sheets and underlying invoices for disbursements. with the audit report in hand, our clients are in an excellent position to negotiate or litigate appropriate reductions .
at rivadeneyra, treviño & de campo we apply the expertise of our various practice areas to study and diagnose your company’s situation in order to identify potential issues. the final diagnosis will point out the areas of opportunity found in your company, whether related to labor, environmental, administrative, corporate, intellectual property, contractual or other issues .
we apply the expertise of our various practice areas to study and diagnose your company in order to identify potential issues .
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according to the national association of legal fee analysis ( nalfa ) , legal auditing is a litigation management practice and risk management tool , used by insurance and other consumers of legal services , to determine if hourly billing errors , abuses , and inefficiencies exist by carefully examining and identifying unreasonable attorney fees and expenses . because the majority of corporate law firms charge clients on an hourly basis , and base attorney promotion and compensation almost entirely on the number of hours billed , rather than the results achieved for clients , lawyers and law firms have much incentive to bill as many hours as possible , and little incentive to work efficiently or to bill fewer hours . according to the california state bar , most lawyers who block-bill their time inflate each client bill by 10-30 percent , and at the average national billing rate of $ 661 per hour ( as of april 2012 ) that means that most big-firm lawyers overcharge clients anywhere from $ 150,000 to $ 400,000 each year . 
according to the national association of legal fee analysis (nalfa), legal auditing is a litigation management practice and risk management tool, used by insurance and other consumers of legal services, to determine if hourly billing errors, abuses, and inefficiencies exist by carefully examining and identifying unreasonable attorney fees and expenses. because the majority of corporate law firms charge clients on an hourly basis, and base attorney promotion and compensation almost entirely on the number of hours billed, rather than the results achieved for clients, lawyers and law firms have much incentive to bill as many hours as possible, and little incentive to work efficiently or to bill fewer hours. according to the california state bar, most lawyers who block-bill their time inflate each client bill by 10-30 percent, and at the average national billing rate of $ 661 per hour (as of april 2012) that means that most big-firm lawyers overcharge clients anywhere from $ 150,000 to $ 400,000 each year.
according to the national association of legal fee analysis (nalfa), legal auditing is a litigation management practice and risk management tool, used by insurance and other consumers of legal services, to determine if hourly billing errors, abuses, and inefficiencies exist by carefully examining and identifying unreasonable attorney fees and expenses. because the majority of corporate law firms charge clients on an hourly basis, and base attorney promotion and compensation almost entirely on the number of hours billed, rather than the results achieved for clients, lawyers and law firms have much incentive to bill as many hours as possible, and little incentive to work efficiently or to bill fewer hours. according to the california state bar, most lawyers who block-bill their time inflate each client bill by 10-30 percent, and at the average national billing rate of $ 661 per hour (as of april 2012) that means that most big-firm lawyers overcharge clients anywhere from $ 150,000 to $ 400,000 each year.