Uniform Task-Based Management System

The Uniform Task-Based Management System (UTBMS) is a set of codes designed to standardize categorization and facilitate analysis of legal work and expenses. UTBMS was produced through a collaborative effort among the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, the American Corporate Counsel Association, and a group of major corporate clients and law firms coordinated and supported by Price Waterhouse LLP (now PricewaterhouseCoopers). UTBMS codes are now maintained and developed by the Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES) Oversight Committee.

Background

UTBMS coding is reflected in legal bills sent from a law firm to its corporate clients.[1] Law firms will usually use coding on time and expenses only for those clients who explicitly request it. Most clients who use UTBMS also require electronic billing, usually with an invoice in a LEDES e-billing format.

Fees, which are charges for attorney and legal assistant time, are coded with task and activity codes. There are four sets of task codes: Litigation, Counseling, Project and Bankruptcy. The set used for a given matter (i.e., case or transaction) depends upon the nature of that matter. Tasks may be summarized into phases. Tasks are often reported without reporting the phase, as this can be deduced from the task. The phase/task hierarchy is uniform in the Litigation and Bankruptcy task code sets. In the Project set, only the second phase contains multiple tasks. The Counseling set has only a single level. (In such situations, a code may be considered both a phase and a task, and it may be necessary to program the time and billing software this way.) There is a single set of activity codes, which is used in conjunction with each of the four task code sets. There is also a single set of expense codes, which are independent of phase, task and activity codes.

The codes themselves are composed of a letter (the first letter of the task code set), followed by a three-digit number. Tasks sharing the same letter and first digit belong to the same phase.

From time-to-time, the LEDES Oversight Committee, the administrative body which oversees these codes, adds and changes codes. In 2011, a set of "eDiscovery" codes were ratified.[2][3] In 2015, the LOC ratified a set of Governance, Risk and Compliance codes based on the Open Compliance & Ethics Group (OCEG) GRC Capability Model.

Lists of the Codes

The code lists are taken from http://www.abanet.org/litigation/utbms/home.html, which has the following Disclaimer & Copyright message:

The authors hereby grant permission to use the codes and related definitions, in whole or in part, on a non-exclusive, royalty-free basis. In addition, this document may be freely reproduced and distributed in any electronic or hardcopy medium, on a nonexclusive, royalty-free basis, provided that this reproduction and distribution are not for profit, and that this title page is included in its entirety.

Litigation Code Set

eDiscovery Code Set

Counseling Code Set

Project Code Set

Bankruptcy Code Set

Patent Code Set

Trademark Code Set

[4]

Activity Codes

In late 2013, the Activity Code set was updated and ratified.

Expense Codes

In late 2013, the Expense Code set was reworked and ratified.

References

  1. ↑ Uniform Task-Based Management System, American Bar Association, retrieved 27 Feb 2016, The Uniform Task-Based Management System enables lawyers to budget and bill by litigation task, aiding client and counsel in understanding, managing and conducting litigations.
  2. ↑ Roach, Michael (20 Sep 2012), "LEDES Adds Activity, Expense to E-Discovery Billing Codes", EDD Update, ALM, retrieved 27 Feb 2016
  3. ↑ UTBMS eDiscovery Code Set, EDRM, retrieved 27 Feb 2016, The LEDES Oversight Committee (LOC) Uniform Task Based Management System (UTBMS) eDiscovery Code Set, ratified in 2011, is based on the EDRM Metrics Code set.
  4. ↑ http://utbms.com/download/545/

External links

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