eDiscovery billing checklist

Many firms treat ediscovery software as general overhead because they assume billing clients for it would break ethics rules. It doesn’t. ABA Model Rule 1.5 and a series of ABA formal opinions give firms clear room to bill for ediscovery technology, as long as the charges are reasonable and clearly communicated. This checklist walks you through every step of building a billing process you can defend.

Can law firms bill clients for ediscovery software costs?

‍Yes. ABA Model Rule 1.5 and ABA Formal Opinion 93-379 allow firms to bill clients for ediscovery technology, provided the charges are reasonable, consistently applied, and communicated to the client, preferably in writing, at the start of the engagement. Billable costs fall into two categories: disbursements (actual payments passed through with no surcharge) and in-house services (such as a software subscription, billed at a reasonable, pre-agreed rate). ABA opinions are advisory, so always confirm your own jurisdiction’s rules. For the full ethical framework, see our guide to ethically passing through ediscovery costs.

Five reasons to download this checklist:

Stop treating ediscovery as overhead

Classify client-specific technology costs as disbursements or in-house services, so you recover what you spend instead of shrinking the partnership’s bottom line.

Know exactly what Rule 1.5 requires

Understand the reasonableness and communication standards behind every charge, plus what ABA Opinions 93-379, 00-420, and 08-451 say about profit.

Choose an allocation method you can explain

Pick a cost driver (active cases, data imported, data hosted, or users), compare your options with Nextpoint’s cost allocation calculator, and apply it the same way every month.

Put your billing approach in writing

‍Draft engagement letters that spell out which costs clients pay, how they’re calculated, and when invoices arrive.

Send client-ready invoices every month

Set up billable projects and bill-to parties, then generate PDF invoices with Nextpoint’s Subscription Pass-Through Invoice Generator in a few clicks.

This checklist gives you a repeatable process for recovering what you spend on ediscovery, including how to handle the profit question within ABA guidelines. Download it and put a defensible billing process in place. Download it below.

‍