It generally involves a complete review and analysis of all billings to an individual matter or group of files. The legal fee audit can be performed on either an ongoing or completed matter, depending on the circumstances. Through this process, a company can benefit financially by identifying legal billing problems and inconsistencies that can threaten the bottom line.

The objective of a retrospective legal fee audit is to review such items as:

The mathematical accuracy of fees and expense portions of the firm's prior billing statements

• Identify and quantify the billing entries, activities, and fees that appear excessive, duplicative, inadequately documented or otherwise questioned
• Identify expense items billed by the law firm that are generally considered law firm overhead or do not appear to directly relate to the matter