Common use of Billing Guidelines Clause in Contracts

Billing Guidelines. a. All tasks set forth in Special Counsel’s billing documentation shall be specific and detailed. Overly generalized listings of task descriptions such as “review contract” or “prepare for negotiations” are not acceptable. x. Xxxxxxxx under this Agreement shall not be provided in more than six (6) minute increments and shall represent the devotion of a full six minutes before an increment is billed. Under no circumstances shall Special Counsel use “block billing” procedures, wherein a list or series of activities is done each day with only an aggregate amount of time specified. c. Special Counsel shall keep the City advised of the identity and billing rates of those people working on the project account. d. All time shall be billed within 30 days of the end of the month in which services were performed. e. Counsel shall advise City whenever it anticipates the amount of services necessary to properly execute the task will exceed the amount of the contract. When accrued xxxxxxxx are equal to eighty percent (80%) of the Payment Limit, written notice shall be given to the City as soon as possible, via e-mail, to the City Attorney’s Office, of this fact. In order to satisfy this notification requirement, Counsel shall monitor its accrued xxxxxxxx on a weekly basis and immediately notify the City Attorney if the eighty percent (80%) threshold is met. Special Counsel acknowledges the fiscal constraints on City funding and therefore Special Counsel assumes risk of non-payment for services rendered in the event the amount of services rendered exceeds the amount of the contract unless prior written authorization is received. Authorization to exceed the amount set forth in Exhibit A may be given only by City Attorney in writing. f. Only those attorneys approved by the City may bill on the case. g. The City expects the attorney assigned to the case to handle all significant matters in the litigation. The City Attorney must approve in advance the assignment of other attorneys to the litigation or project. The City may request that the assigned work be instead handled by the primary attorney. h. Special Counsel shall not charge for more than one attorney at any hearing, deposition, or meeting of any kind without advance approval of the City Attorney. i. No more than two paraprofessionals may bill on a particular case without the prior approval of the City. j. The City has retained Special Counsel for its expertise, and therefore expects not to be billed for introductory or background research. City appreciates when Special Counsel has researched an issue previously and uses that research on present cases or projects. Do not charge the City for work Special Counsel has done and billed another client for in the past. k. Within thirty (30) days of the Effective Date of this Agreement, Special Counsel shall provide any manuals or policies describing Special Counsel’s billing practices. l. The City does not allow “double billing” of any sort. If Special Counsel is working on another client’s matter, do not bill City for that time. This applies to travel time or any other matter. m. Training time is not billable. Law clerks may be used only with prior approval. n. City will not pay for new attorneys to “get up to speed” on a file unless it has been preapproved. o. If a matter arises that requires Special Counsel to open a new file, the City Attorney should be informed immediately. p. City reserves the right to require additional substantiation of any item of claimed expense.