Backdating a Fee Offer for Law Firms

Back dating fee offers is common when law firms change their rates. This is most commonly applied to detailed hourly fee structures and enforced with the standard rate rules. Other fee structures and rule sets could be very different. Some clients do not allow Law Firms to back date a fee offer.

Does the fee offer need back dating?

No, leave the effective date as NOW if:

• It is the first offer being made on the fee structure.
• The user is modifying existing fee offer by adding rates for one or more timekeepers who do not have rates listed.
  Note: The first time a timekeeper's rate is entered on a fee offer, their rate goes back in time indefinitely.

Yes, backdate if:

• The user is modifying existing fee offer by modifying rates for one or more timekeepers.

Future Effective date:

• The user is modifying existing fee offer by editing rates for one or more timekeepers that begins on a future date.
  Note: The user should choose the future effective date using the calendar feature.

If Corporate Client allows back dating

• The law firm enters effective date of rates.
• The law firm cannot save a fee offer with a starting date that is on another active or inactive fee offer.

If Corporate Client does not allow back dating

• The law firm leaves effective date as NOW and clicks Save.
• If the law firm enters a date prior to today's date, they receive an error message. The law firm should type NOW as the effective date and click Save.
• Once the fee offer has been saved, the law firm should send an email to the client asking for the fee offer to be back dated.

How are detailed hourly rates enforced?

Most clients that use detailed hourly fee structures, use a rate rule that looks at the charge line date, timekeeper, per hour rate, law firm office the matter is assigned to, and fee structure ID on the matter.

This is compared to the active or inactive fee offer (voided fee offers are ignored) for that fee structure ID, for that law firm office, with that effective date.

• If the timekeeper is found, then that is the rate used to check rates.
• If the timekeeper is not found, it looks for the timekeeper on the next fee offer, etc. etc.
• So, the first time a timekeeper is on a fee offer, their rates effectively go back in time indefinitely.
• If a timekeeper was on an earlier fee offer, then is not on the fee offer with the effective date of the charge line, then on a later fee offer, the timekeeper does not have approved rates for the effective date.