MoraeSpend Intelligence
Financial Services edition

Outside counsel guidelines, compiled

Source: "Outside Counsel Guidelines, Group Legal, January 2026" (PDF) · compiled from the document · 3 clauses needed human confirmation
OCG v2026.1 · 18 rules · group legalShared with 31 firmsPublish 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-apply$6,510K
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.”
Specialist$2,720K
OCG-2.4
First-year associate time is non-billable; document review above 500 documents must use legal-tech or contract reviewers at approved rates. R-FIRSTYEAR
Auto-apply$3,780K
OCG-2.6
Clerical tasks (Bates numbering, loading, indexing, scheduling, billing preparation) are non-billable. R-ADMIN
Auto-apply$1,420K
OCG-5.2
One partner per meeting unless pre-approved. Exception: two partners at enforcement-division meetings (engagement letter, parsed). R-DUP
Specialist$1,510K
OCG-6.1
Time and staffing leverage must be reasonable against comparable matters of the same type; auto-apply above 2.0× median; partner share above 1.5× median triggers a covenant. R-TIME
Auto-apply$2,990K
OCG-7.1
Due diligence on acquisitions is billed under a scoped AFA with contract count, jurisdictions and deliverables stated; hourly diligence requires corporate development approval. New in v2026.2
Advise—
7 of 18 rules shown · 3 clauses could not be compiled unambiguously and are marked for confirmation