Confusing e-billing capabilities and matter management systems

Scott Gawlicki quoted me in his Corporate Legal Times article in August (pg. 14): “[f]or a legal department using seven to 10 law firms and spending $1.5 million a year, e-billing is not worth it.”

The article cited some vendors who say it’s the number of invoices, not the amount spent on outside counsel, that makes e-billing worthwhile. Point taken.

But later the article profiles how Quest Diagnostics’ law department uses TrialNet’s “matter-management and e-billing system for nearly four years,” to process approximately 1,500 invoices a year on professional liability cases. Another example, the Convex Group, uses a Tymetrix product for both electronic invoicing and managing matters. On this point, the vendors were trying to say that e-billing benefits even small law departments.

My comment went to stand-alone, bolt-on e-billing; it did not conflate matter management – which can help even single-lawyer departments – and electronic billing.