Outside counsel guidelines, compiled

Source: "Outside Counsel Guidelines and Local Counsel Protocol, January 2026" (PDF) · compiled from the document · 3 clauses needed human confirmation

OCG v2026.1 · 19 rules · group legalShared with 44 firms in 19 countriesPublish v2026.2

Rules

Change enforcement here to see it in the draft; precision below the 95% bar blocks auto-apply

RuleWhat it checksEnforcementRealized YTD

OCG-1.2

Billed rate must not exceed the approved rate on the current rate card; annual increases capped at 3% without GC approval. R-RATE

Auto-applyEnforcement$4,680K

OCG-4.1

One task per entry; combined tasks are block billed; allowance from comparable single-task entries at the same phase. R-BLOCK

Source clause: “Each time entry must describe a single task. Combined entries will be reduced to the time reasonably attributable to the compliant portion.”

SpecialistEnforcement$2,050K

OCG-3.1

Local counsel, experts and e-discovery vendors are passed through at cost with the vendor invoice attached; no markup; local counsel engaged only from the approved country panel after sanctions and anti-bribery screening. R-PASSTHRU

Auto-applyEnforcement$3,190K

OCG-2.6

Clerical tasks (loading, Bates numbering, indexing, scheduling, platform filing) are non-billable. R-ADMIN

Auto-applyEnforcement$1,160K

OCG-5.2

One partner per hearing day or meeting unless pre-approved. Exception: two partners at tribunal hearings (engagement letter, parsed). Site visits are not hearings. R-DUP

SpecialistEnforcement$1,190K

OCG-6.1

Time must be reasonable against comparable matters of the same type and seat; auto-apply above 2.0× median; research duplicated by local counsel is reduced. R-TIME

Auto-applyEnforcement$2,310K

OCG-10.2

Site and international travel billed at 50% unless working; economy under 6h, premium economy under 10h; per-diem caps by country. Retuned in v2026.2

SpecialistEnforcement$1,240K

7 of 19 rules shown · 3 clauses could not be compiled unambiguously and are marked for confirmation

Rule OCG-4.1 as code

rule OCG-4.1            // one task per entry; combined tasks are block billed; allowan
scope     matter_type: arbitration, litigation, regulatory, transactional; phases: all
detect    narrative.tasks >= 2        // LLM classifier
allow     comparable_median(task_mix, phase)
evidence  comparables(n >= 30), source clause
enforce   specialist                // precision < 0.95
exception engagement_letter.waiver
appeal    allowed; window 30d; rounds 2
reason    R-BLOCK
utbms     codes retained; task split suggested
sali      Activity/Communication, Activity/Research

The same object runs in the firm's pre-bill check, in the specialist workbench, and in the appeal. Versioned; diffs are shared with the panel before they take effect.

Version diff · v2026.1 → v2026.2 (draft)

Changed OCG-10.2 travel test from narrative to reasonableness vs comparable itineraries.
Changed OCG-5.2 threshold 0.75 → 0.80 after appeal outcomes.
Added OCG-3.1 mandatory vendor invoice attachment for any pass-through above $5K.

Replay of the last 90 days: realized savings up, appeal volume down; shown per rule before publish.

Pack library

Group OCG and local counsel protocol (this pack) · Arbitration OCG (ICC/LCIA seats) · Environmental and regulatory OCG (US) · Asset transaction AFA schedule

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