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How LexCost Works

From Engagement to Insight

A complete platform for managing outside counsel billing. Set up firms, define scopes, review invoices, and surface insights — all in one place.

Phase 1 — Setup
1

Create Your Organization

Register your company, pick a plan, and set up your admin account. You're the owner — you control who gets access and what they can see.

L
LexCost
Create your organization
Get started with legal billing management in minutes
Organization Name
Whitfield & Associates
Admin Email
admin@whitfield.law
Admin Name
Sarah Whitfield
Password
••••••••••••
Strong
Select Plan
Starter
$99/mo
5 firms
LEDES only
Basic reports
POPULAR
Professional
$249/mo
25 firms
PDF + AI extraction
Full analytics
Enterprise
Custom
Unlimited firms
Dedicated CSM
SSO + API
Continue to Payment
Secured by Stripe·256-bit encryption
Your dashboard after signup
0
Firms
0
Invoices
$0
Spend
Start
Setup
Multi-tenantRole-based accessSSO ready
2

Onboard Outside Counsel

Add law firms, send branded welcome letters with portal credentials, and invite their billing contacts. Each firm gets scoped access to submit invoices and view their own data.

1
ADD FIRM
Firm Name
Morrison & Keller LLP
Contact Email
j.morrison@mklaw.com
Phone
(212) 555-0147
Create Firm
2
WELCOME LETTER
L
Welcome to LexCost
to: j.morrison@mklaw.com
Hi Morrison & Keller,
You have been invited to the LexCost billing portal. Use the link below to set up your account.
Set Up Your Account
Sent successfully
3
INVITE USERS
JM
James Morrison
legal_team
Active
AK
Anna Keller
billing_team
Pending
Welcome lettersFirm portalRole assignmentBulk import
3

Create Engagements

Define matters with approved attorney rates, either by uploading an engagement letter for AI extraction or entering details manually. Already have a signed letter? Mark it as on file and skip straight to billing.

AI-Powered Extraction
Extraction complete
SOURCE DOCUMENT
PDF
Engagement_Letter_MK.pdf
2 pages · 148 KB
Purple highlights = extracted fields
EXTRACTED DATA
Matter Name
Morrison v. DataCorp
Effective Date
January 15, 2026
Attorney Rate Schedule
TimekeeperTitleRate
S. ChenPartner$450/hr
L. ParkAssociate$275/hr
J. RiveraParalegal$150/hr
Budget Range
$85,000 — $175,000
Retainer
$25,000
Confidence
94%
Confirm & Create Engagement
Edit
Manual Entry— or enter details by hand
Engagement Name
Patent Litigation — Q1 2026
Law Firm
Walsh & Torres LLP
Retainer Amount
$25,000.00
Attorney Rates
NameTitleHourly Rate
R. WalshPartner$425/hr×
M. TorresAssociate$250/hr×
+ Add attorney
AI extractionRate schedulesExisting letter trackingRetainer trackingUTBMS codes
4

Define Scope & Budget

Authorize specific UTBMS phases, set budget caps per phase, and attach deliverable requirements. When scope changes, add dated addenda with justifications — every modification is tracked.

PHASE AUTHORIZATION
L100Case Assessment$15,000
Initial case memoRisk assessment
L200Pre-Trial Pleadings$30,000
Motion to dismissPre-trial briefAnswer
L300Discovery
L400Trial Preparation
L500Trial
Total Authorized Budget$45,000
BILLING GUIDELINES
No block billingEnforced
Minimum 6-minute incrementsEnforced
Travel at 50% rateOptional
Require UTBMS task codesEnforced
SCOPE TIMELINE
Original ScopeJan 15, 2026
Phases authorized:L100, L200
Total budget:$45,000
Approved by:S. Whitfield
Addendum #1Mar 02, 2026Scope change
+ Added L300(Discovery)+$40,000
New total:$85,000
“Discovery required due to amended complaint filed Feb 28. Defendant raised new counterclaims requiring expanded fact investigation.”
Scope finalizedMar 05, 2026
3 phases authorized · $85,000 total budget · 2 billing guidelines active
Phase authorizationBudget capsScope addendaPrintable addendum lettersDeliverable tracking
Phase 2 — Operations
5

Submit, Flag & Review Invoices

Firms submit invoices via LEDES upload, PDF with AI extraction, or manual entry. Upload historical invoices to establish a baseline without affecting compliance grades. Seven automated rules flag rate mismatches, unauthorized phases, budget overruns, and more.

.led
LEDES 1998B
Pipe-delimited upload
INVOICE_DATE|INVOICE_NUMBER|...
20260312|INV-1042|Morrison...
24 fields parsed
PDF
PDF + AIClaude
Structured extraction
date
amount
phase
94% confidence
Manual Entry
Form-based submission
INV-1043
$4,125.00
Direct data entry
FLAGGING ENGINE
7 rules·3 triggered
rate_mismatchS. Chen billed at $450/hr vs agreed $350/hrHigh
unauthorized_phasePhase L400 not in current scopeHigh
budget_varianceL200 budget utilization at 112%Medium
LINE ITEM REVIEW
Invoice#INV-1042·Morrison & Keller
DateTimekeeperTaskPhaseHoursRateAmountStatus
03/12S. ChenLegal researchL1003.5$450$1,575
03/13L. ParkDraft motionL2006.0$275$1,650
03/13J. RiveraDoc reviewL2004.0$150$600
03/14S. ChenTrial prepL4002.0$450$900
Total15.5$4,725
AI Recommendationpowered by Claude

Recommend dispute for 2 of 4 line items. S. Chen's rate exceeds engagement terms by $100/hr (lines 1, 4). Phase L400 is not authorized in the current scope agreement.

Draft dispute letter
Approve Clean Items
Dispute Flagged
Hold
LEDES 1998BPDF + Claude AIHistorical uploadsAuto-flaggingAI recommendationsDispute workflow
6

Report, Analyze & Audit

Real-time dashboards show spend, budget utilization, and compliance grades across all firms. Ask natural language questions to generate custom reports. Every action is logged with timestamps, actors, and full context.

DASHBOARDReal-time overview
3
Pending Review
1
Flagged
$42k
YTD Spend
8
Active Matters
Scope Health12 engagements
On track 60%At risk 25%Over 15%
SPEND BY FIRMQ1 2026
Morrison & Keller$18,240
Chen Associates$12,400
Walsh Legal$11,800
Total$42,440
BUDGET UTILIZATIONCurrent engagement
L100Case Assessment
67%
$10,050 / $15,000$4,950 remaining
L200Pre-Trial
89%
$26,700 / $30,000$3,300 remaining
L300Discovery
112%OVER
$44,800 / $40,000$4,800 over budget
COMPLIANCEFirm report cards
A
Morrison & Keller
98% compliance · 0 disputes
B
Chen Associates
85% compliance · 2 disputes
D
Walsh Legal
61% compliance · 5 disputes
AI REPORTSNatural language queries
“Total spend by firm this quarter”
AI
FirmQ1 Spendvs Q4
Morrison & Keller$18,240+12%
Chen Associates$12,400-8%
Walsh Legal$11,800-3%
Total$42,440+2%
AUDIT TRAILRecent activity
14:32
S. Whitfield approved invoice #1042
Morrison & Keller · $4,725
11:15
J. Morrison submitted invoice #1043
LEDES upload · 12 line items
09:48
System flagged rate mismatch
S. Chen · $450 vs $350/hr
08:30
A. Keller updated scope for Morrison v. DataCorp
Added L300 · +$40,000
KPI dashboardsBudget trackingCompliance gradesAI-powered reportsFull audit trail

Ready to take control?

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