Legal Invoice Template
A legal invoice bills time in tenths of an hour at different rates by fee earner, plus disbursements paid out on the client’s behalf, with any retainer already held deducted from the balance. A worked example and a free generator are below.
Two things separate a legal invoice from an ordinary services invoice: time is billed to the tenth rather than rounded, and costs the firm paid out, court fees, courier, expert reports, are passed through at cost, not marked up and not folded into the hourly total.
What goes on a legal invoice
- Firm name, address and the matter reference
- Client name and matter description
- Invoice number and issue date
- Fee earner name and rate for each entry, since partner and associate time bill differently
- Time recorded in tenths of an hour, with a short description of the work
- Disbursements as their own section: filing fees, courier, expert or search fees
- Retainer held, and the amount drawn down against this invoice
- Tax, total, and balance due after the retainer draw-down
A worked example
Matter: lease review. Partner, 0.6 hours reviewing terms at $420/hr, $252.00. Associate, 2.4 hours drafting comments at $260/hr, $624.00. Paralegal, 0.5 hours filing at $110/hr, $55.00. Disbursement, courier to landlord’s counsel, $18.40. Subtotal $949.40. Tax at 8%, $75.95. Total $1,025.35. Retainer drawn down, -$1,025.35. Balance due $0.00.
Name the fee earner against each line. That lets a client query one entry without disputing the whole bill, and it is usually the first thing they check.
Disbursements are not the same as fees
A disbursement is money the firm paid to a third party on the client’s behalf, a filing fee, a courier, an expert witness. It should appear at cost, itemised, separate from billable time, because disbursements are often treated differently for tax and are the figures a client is most likely to ask to see receipts for. Folding a disbursement into an hourly line is the fastest way to lose a client’s trust in the rest of the bill.
Create a legal invoice free
The free invoice generator has these fields ready. Fill it in, preview it, and download the PDF. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account to make.
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Frequently asked questions
Why is legal time billed in tenths of an hour?
A tenth, six minutes, is fine enough to reflect short tasks like a phone call or a quick review without rounding everything up to a full quarter or half hour, which is the industry standard increment.
What counts as a disbursement?
Money the firm pays to a third party on the client’s behalf: court filing fees, process server fees, courier costs, expert or search fees. They are billed at cost, not marked up.
How should a retainer appear on the invoice?
Show the retainer balance held and the amount drawn down against this specific invoice, so the client can see what was billed and what remains in the retainer rather than only a final balance.