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\nAccording to the National Association of Legal Fee Analysis (NALFA)
legal auditing is a litigation management practice and risk management tool
Used by insurance and other consumers of legal services
To determine if hourly billing errors
Abuses
And inefficiencies exist by carefully examining and identifying unreasonable attorney fees and expenses.Because the majority of corporate law firms charge clients on an hourly basis
And base attorney promotion and compensation almost entirely on the number of hours billed
Rather than the results achieved for clients
Lawyers and law firms have much incentive to bill as many hours as possible
And little incentive to work efficiently or to bill fewer hours.According to the California State Bar
Most lawyers who block-bill their time inflate each client bill by 10-30 percent
And at the average national billing rate of $661 per hour that means that most big-firm lawyers overcharge clients anywhere from $150
000 to $400
000 each year.According to global e-billing standards LEDES partner
Legal Solutions Group
Legal auditing must include
Reference to guideline non-compliance (GNC) codes
Which should be established by consumers of legal services
Such as :
Enterprises and insurers.Best practices include
Ensuring the appropriate title of legal representation