Draft an outside-counsel brief and check an invoice against the engagement
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the facts and questions the lawyer lists, assemble a brief that states the question, the documents to be sent, and the budget the lawyer has set. Compare each invoice line with the engagement terms the lawyer supplies and flag a line that does not match. Do not send the brief and do not approve an invoice.
- What the lawyer must review
- Sending a brief to outside counsel discloses information relating to the representation. ABA Model Rule 1.6(a) provides that a lawyer shall not reveal that information unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation, or paragraph (b) permits it. The lawyer decides what is included and whether the engagement authorizes the disclosure. ABA Model Rule 1.1 requires competence in the brief and in the check of the invoice. The fee arrangement is the engagement the client and the outside counsel made. The tool compares lines with that document. It does not decide that a charge is reasonable and it does not approve payment. ABA Formal Opinion 512 leaves the lawyer responsible for the draft.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes identifying points for review. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Trace every relied-on figure to its source, confirm dates and assumptions, and independently recalculate totals or derived amounts.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside-counsel guidelines on generative AI (United States) | Letter | AI use Yellow | Instructions from a client to outside counsel on generative AI: when counsel must say a tool was used, what must not be input, how AI-assisted time is billed, and that a lawyer reviews anything filed. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.