Block Billing: What It Is and How to Avoid Invoice Cuts
Block billing is recording several distinct tasks in one time entry with a single total, e.g. "Research duty to defend; draft memo to client; call with adjuster — 3.5". The reviewer can't tell how long each task took, so most insurance-defense and corporate billing guidelines prohibit it and cut the entry, often by a fixed percentage.
How to fix it
Split the entry into one line per task, each with its own time and UTBMS code:
- L120 A102 — Research case law on duty to defend — 2.0
- L120 A103 — Draft memo to client re: duty to defend — 1.2
- L120 A106 — Telephone conference with adjuster re: coverage position — 0.3
Other entries reviewers commonly cut
- Vague descriptions — "review file", "attention to matter", "work on case".
- Clerical work billed at attorney or paralegal rates — scheduling, filing, copying, organizing files.
- Internal conferences between firm staff.
- Minimum charges above the billing increment, and entries not in 0.1-hour increments.
- Excessive daily hours for one timekeeper.
LedesReady's pre-bill review flags all of these before you send the invoice, so you can rewrite the entries instead of losing the time.