Start-Up Looks to Make Law Firm Billing More Transparent

The world of big law has been buzzing with talk about billing, especially after a client of DLA Piper accused the giant law firm of inflating bills through overstaffing and  performing unnecessary work.

Now, a start-up says it has a remedy.

David B. Schottenstein, a co-founder of a young company called Viewabill, says that nearly 80 law firms have signed on to his service, which aims to make the billing process more transparent. For a fee, Viewabill gives law firms a way to show their clients, in real time, what they’re being charged for.

(Mr. Schottenstein says he reached out to DLA Piper on Thursday to pitch the law firm on his service. The law firm declined to comment.)

Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, a law firm with offices in the Midwest, is testing the Viewbill service with a few clients.

“I like the transparency it will provide to clients,” John H. Banks, chief operating officer of Benesch, said in an e-mail.

No law firm wants to experience a public relations headache like DLA Piper had in March, the Viewabill pitch goes. DLA Piper, which contends its billing was proper, said in a memo to its lawyers that internal e-mails cited in the client’s lawsuit were an “offensive and inexcusable effort at humor.”

After selling his clothing company to a private equity firm, Mr. Schottenstein started Viewabill with Robbie Friedman, his lawyer and friend, who began his legal career at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. The inspiration came when the two devised a system to track Mr. Schottenstein’s legal bills.

The project attracted the interest of Alan M. Dershowitz, the prominent Harvard law professor, who joined Viewabill as a co-founder to advise on ethical matters.

“It’s a win for the honest law firm,” Mr. Dershowitz said. “One of the great conflicts of interest that exist is always between a lawyer and a client over financial matters.”

Law firms pay annual fees of $25 to $40 for each matter they give clients access to on Viewabill, or $25,000 to $48,000 for unlimited use, depending on the law firm’s size. Through an app, clients get to see who is working on their cases and what’s causing their bill to grow.

While the app is drawing interest, not all law firms are receptive.

“There are some firms,” Mr. Schottenstein said, “that frankly would have loved to see David Schottenstein stay in the clothing business and Robbie Friedman stay at Aiken Gump.”