Internet-based attorney-client billing system

• US 6,622,128 B1
• Filed: 06/25/1999
• Issued: 09/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bottomline Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Dennis W. Mckevitt, Jerry L. Bedell
• Inventors: Bedell, Jerry L., McKevitt, Dennis W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rice, Kenneth R.
• Application Number:
  US09/344,455
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7, 705/30
• US Class Current: 705/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A process by which litigation or legal billing may be both recorded and monitored in conjunction with budgetary constraints. Legal work products and expenses are logged by a user and recorded in a sortable database. Financial expectations (in the form of budget guidelines) held by an insurance carrier or client can be continuously kept in mind, while time and expenses accrue from an attorney'"'"'s or legal team'"'"'s efforts. As time or expenses are entered, corresponding budget information may be displayed. A unified interface provides easy browsing, data entry, and report generation. A navigation bar may provide ready means by which different aspects of the present invention are available.

Claims

1. A method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information, the steps comprising:

providing a computer network;

gathering actual time and expense data via said computer network;

gathering predicted time and expense data via said computer network to effect a budget indicating allocated funds for legal activities and legal expenses;

identifying said actual time and expense data and said budget with a specific case of a specific client;

storing said actual and predicted time and expense data in a database related to said case;

presenting said budget to a user when said user enters actual time and expense data so that said user is notified of compliance with said budget as indicated by said budget less already billed actual time and expense data and said user is notified of potentially remaining budget as indicated by said budget less already billed actual time and expense data plus unbilled actual time and expense data;

transmitting said actual time and expense data and said budget to a third party, said third party monitoring said actual time and expense data and said budget;

whereby

legal billing for time and expenses and review of such legal billing may occur in a contemporaneous and ongoing manner over said computer network, allowing legal costs and fees to be entered, recorded, and monitored more easily by geographically dispersed parties.

2. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 1, the steps further comprising:

previewing bills reflecting said actual time and expense data based upon said stored time and expense data; and

submitting bills reflecting said actual time and expense data based upon said stored time and expense data.

3. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 2, the steps further comprising:

generating reports derived from said database.

4. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 3, wherein said computer network further comprises:

a global computer network such as the Internet.

5. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 4, wherein said actual and predicted time and expense data is collected via web pages displayed by a web browser.

6. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 5, the steps further comprising:

gathering data and storing said data in said database, said data selected from the group consisting of;

specific work product information, specific attorney or legal team member information, and specific expense provider information.

7. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 1, the steps further comprising:

forcing said user to select a client, case and work product before allowing said user to enter data regarding actual time or actual expenses.

8. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 1, the steps further comprising:

entering information regarding said specific case of said specific client;

entering information regarding an entire budget for said specific case;

designating work product categories associated with said specific case;

entering budget information for each designated work product category;

entering actual time and/or expense data and associating said data with one of said designated work product categories; and

storing said case information, said entire budget information, said work product designations, said work product budget information, and said work product time and/or expense data in said database.

9. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 5, the steps further comprising:

providing a navigation bar, said navigation bar providing access to different areas or portions of the method.

10. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 9, wherein said different areas of portions of the method comprise:

a case information branch;

a firm and case roster branch;

a work product identification and information branch;

a time and expense entry branch;

a billing branch; and

a case summary branch.

11. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said case information branch further comprises:

case information entry and editing fields.

12. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said firm and case roster branch further comprises:

a firm member list, said firm member list providing an option to add new firm members and information regarding said new firm members; and

a case roster list, said case roster list created from designations made from said firm member list, said case roster list listing firm members entering billing on said specific case.

13. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said work product identification and information branch further comprises:

a list of work product types available for designation, said list of work products including an option to designate and create a new work product type; and

a list of work product types designated for said specific case, each of said designated work products having associated budget information pertinent to said designated work product.

14. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said time and expense entry branch further comprises:

time and expense entry fields;

present and projected budget fields, said present and projected budget fields not being editable by a user but being calculated using said time and expense entry fields;

said time and expense entry branch only available when a work product has been designated and with which information entered regarding time spent for legal activities or expenses may be associated.

15. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said billing branch further comprises:

a work product billing list, said work product billing list indicating unbilled fees and unbilled expenses with respect to individual designated work products; and

said work product billing list providing access to individual work product bill previews, said individual work product previews showing all firm members'"'"' contributions to said individual work product bills, said individual work product bill previews able to be actually billed upon user actuation of such billing.

16. The method for entering and sharing legal billing and budget information as set forth in claim 10, wherein said case summary branch further comprises:

a report list, said report list listing available reports, said reports being ordered and compiled extractions of said database; and

said report list providing access to said reports.

17. An Internet-based method for entering, sharing, and monitoring legal billing and budget information, the steps comprising:

providing access to a shared database over the Internet;

gathering actual time and expense data via the Intern et;

gathering predicted time and expense data via the Internet to effect a budget indicating fund allocation for legal activities and legal expenses;

said actual and predicted time and expense data collected via web pages displayed by a web browser, each of said web pages providing ready access to available options, areas, or portions by a navigation bar at a top of said web pages;

gathering data and storing said data in said database, said data selected from the group consisting of;

specific work product information, specific attorney or legal team member information, and specific expense provider information;

identifying said actual time and expense data and said budget with a specific case of a specific client by forcing said user to select a client, case, and work product before allowing said user to enter data regarding actual time or actual expenses;

entering information regarding said specific case of said specific client;

entering information regarding an entire budget for said specific case;

designating work product types associated with said specific case;

entering budget information for each designated work product type;

entering actual time and/or expense data and associating said data with one of said designated work product types;

storing said actual and predicted time and expense data in said database in a case-related manner in conjunction with storing said case information, said entire budget information, said work product designations, and said work product budget information in said database;

presenting said budget to a user when said user enters actual time and expense data so that said user is notified of compliance with said budget as indicated by said budget less already billed actual time and expense data and said user is notified of potentially remaining budget as indicated by said budget less already billed actual time and expense data plus unbilled actual time and expense data;

transmitting said actual time and expense data and said budget to a third party via the Internet, said third party monitoring said actual time and expense data and said budget;

previewing bills reflecting said actual time and expense data based upon said stored time and expense data;

submitting bills reflecting said actual time and expense data based upon said stored time and expense data;

generating reports derived from said database;

said navigation bar providing continual access to different areas or portions of the method, said different areas or portions comprising;

a case information branch, a firm and case roster branch, a work product identification and information branch, a time and expense entry branch, a billing branch; and

a case summary branch;

said case information branch comprising case information entry and editing fields;

said firm and case roster branch comprising a firm member list, said firm member list providing an option to add new firm members and information regarding said new firm members, and a case roster list, said case roster list created from designations made from said firm member list, said case roster list listing firm members entering billing on said specific case;

said work product identification and information branch comprising a list of work product types available for designation, said list of work products including an option to designate and create a new work product type, and a list of work product types designated for said specific case, each of said designated work products having associated budget information pertinent to said designated work product;

said time and expense entry branch comprising time and expense entry fields and present and projected budget fields, said present and projected budget fields not being editable by a user but being calculated using said time and expense entry fields, said time and expense entry fields only available when a work product has been designated and with which information entered regarding time spent for legal activities or expenses may be associated;

said billing branch comprising a work product billing list, said work product billing list indicating new and unbilled fees and new and unbilled expenses with respect to individual designated work products, and said work product billing list providing access to individual work product bill previews, said individual work product previews showing all firm members'"'"' contributions to said individual work product bills, said individual work product bill previews able to be actually billed upon user actuation of such billing; and

said case summary branch comprising a report list, said report list listing available reports, said reports being ordered and compiled extractions of said database, and said report list providing access to said reports;

whereby

legal billing for time and expenses and review of such legal billing may occur in a contemporaneous and ongoing manner over the Internet, allowing legal costs and fees to be entered, recorded, and monitored more easily by geographically dispersed parties.