Task based billing codes for litigation were introduced by the ABA as an initiative of the ABA Section of Litigation, the American Corporate Counsel Association (now the Association of Corporate Counsel), and a sponsoring group of major corporate law departments and law firms coordinated and supported by Price Waterhouse LLP. Thereafter a Counseling Code Set, Project Code Set, and Bankruptcy Code Set were developed by a sponsoring group of major corporate law departments and law firms coordinated and supported by Price Waterhouse LLP. Subsequently a Workers Compensation Code Set was developed.
The Litigation Code Set has formed the basis for most, if not all, schemes to record and bill time on an hourly basis. As there have been changes in practice (e.g., electronically stored information and so-called “e-discovery”) and changes in client needs (e.g., more and more clients insisting on a greater percentage of their work being handled on a basis other than hourly fees), it has become apparent that the ABA task based billing codes are in need of updating to keep them relevant to our membership.
The Working Group on Task Based Billing Codes was challenged by ABA President Hilarie Bass to develop resources to help ABA members respond to these changing circumstances.