Part of Nova Aurora — clarity tools for people the legal system was never designed for. Results in minutes · single bills from $19.99
For individuals & small businesses

Was your legal bill actually fair?

Upload your attorney's invoice. Our analysis engine compares every charge against industry billing guidelines and returns a line-by-line review in plain English — usually within minutes. Flat fee. No appointments. No lawyer required.

Results in minutes
Flat fee · no subscription
30-day launch pricing
8–15% Of legal billings are commonly flagged as questionable when reviewed line by line against industry guidelines.
Minutes From upload to your review report — automated analysis, no scheduling, no consultation calls, no waiting weeks.
$29.99 Flat fee for a single-bill review (currently $19.99 during 30-day launch). Multi-bill matter reviews from $39.99.
How it works

Three steps. No phone calls. No paperwork.

We built this for people who are already exhausted by their legal matter. The whole process is async, document-based, and finished in about as long as it takes to read a contract.

01

Send us the invoice

Upload a PDF, photograph the paper, or paste the text. One invoice for a single-bill review, or all the invoices on one matter for a matter review.

02

We review every line

Our analysis engine compares each entry against industry billing guidelines, professional responsibility rules, and comparable market rates — instantly, line by line.

03

You get a clear report

Usually within minutes: every line categorized, the top concerns flagged with the guideline behind each one, comparable cost ranges, and options you may want to consider next.

Why this exists

Legal bills routinely contain charges that wouldn't survive a careful read.

This isn't an opinion — it's documented in bar association advisories, ABA ethics rules, federal court decisions, and peer-reviewed research. A few of the findings:

10–30%

How much block billing can inflate a bill

The State Bar of California's fee arbitration committee found that block billing — lumping multiple tasks into one time entry — “may increase time by 10% to 30%.” It's one of the most common patterns we flag.

Source: State Bar of California, Arbitration Advisory 2003-01

10–50%

How much federal courts cut block-billed fees

When block billing shows up in fee disputes, federal courts apply standardized reductions: 10% in the D.C. Circuit, 20% upheld in the Eighth Circuit, up to 50% in egregious cases. The same patterns are visible on a typical invoice.

Source: Troutman Pepper analysis (2024) citing federal circuit decisions.

Want a documented example? In 2018, the firm Rosicki, Rosicki & Associates paid $6.118 million to the U.S. Department of Justice after admitting it had submitted inflated bills to Fannie Mae and the VA — with markups as high as 750% on third-party charges. Patterns like that don't only happen at the institutional scale.

A real (anonymized) review

This is exactly what you get back.

We don't show testimonials we don't have. Instead, here's an excerpt from an actual review — the same format every customer receives. See it before you pay.

Sample report · Texas matter (premises liability) Reviewed under: Texas state-bar fee guidelines + ABA Model Rules

Henderson v. Coastal Property Mgmt LLC · Cause No. D-1-GN-25-003817 · $24,780 total, $3,420 flagged. Cited under Tex. Disc. R. 1.04(b)(1), ABA Formal Op. 93-379, and In re Polybutylene Plumbing.

Download full sample PDF (8 pages) Anonymized real-world matter · same format every customer receives

Your invoice (excerpt)

Before
09/14/24 Email correspondence with co-counsel re: scheduling $262.50
09/15/24 Research, draft motion, review file, calls with client $3,937.50
09/16/24 Travel to courthouse and waiting time (partner) $2,625.00
09/17/24 Internal conference re: strategy (3 attorneys) $1,800.00

Our review report

$2,750 flagged
09/14/24 Email correspondence (scheduling) $262.50 Questionable
Administrative task billed at attorney rate. Most fee guidelines treat scheduling correspondence as non-billable or paralegal-rate. Suggested adjustment: $0–$87.50.
09/15/24 Bundled work, 6 different tasks $3,937.50 Block billed
Block billing limits the ability to review reasonableness. Many courts apply 10–30% reductions to block-billed time. You may want to request itemization with time per task before paying.
09/16/24 Travel + waiting time at full partner rate $2,625.00 Excess rate
Travel and waiting are typically billed at half rate under most engagement letters. Likely excess at full rate: ~$1,312.50. Worth raising with the firm directly.
09/17/24 Three attorneys, single internal call $1,800.00 Questionable
Multi-attorney internal conferences are commonly questioned. Worth verifying whether all three timekeepers were necessary; if not, this is a line worth discussing with the firm.
Start your review

Two flat fees. Pick the one that fits.

One invoice or many, the depth of review is the same — every line compared against industry guidelines, every concern explained in plain English. The matter package adds pattern analysis across all the invoices on a single case.

  • Every line categorized: consistent with guidelines, commonly questioned, or commonly disallowed.
  • Top concerns flagged with the specific guideline or precedent each one references.
  • A comparable cost range so you know what this work typically runs.
  • Talking points and options — questions to ask your firm, fee-arbitration paths, or attorney referrals.
  • Your documents are encrypted, processed only to generate your report, and auto-deleted right after we send you the PDF.
Single-bill review
$19.99 $29.99 · 30-day launch pricing · one invoice
For a single attorney invoice, any length.

Upload your invoice

PDF, image, or text — whatever you have works. Your report is generated and emailed within minutes.

Choose your review
Employment contracts and engagement letters usually fix the place of law. Pick the state if you know it — your report will cite that state's bar rules.
We'll send your review here, usually within minutes of upload.

Legal Bill Review is an analytical service operated by Nova Aurora Ventures LLC. We are not a law firm, do not provide legal advice or representation, and do not establish an attorney–client relationship. Our reports flag billing entries against publicly available industry guidelines and case law for your information. Any decision about how to act on those flags is yours alone, and we recommend consulting a licensed attorney before disputing a bill or filing fee arbitration.

Common questions

The questions everyone asks first.

Is this legal advice?
No. Legal Bill Review is an analytical service. We compare your invoice against industry billing guidelines, professional responsibility rules, and comparable case data — but we don't represent you, can't appear in court, and won't tell you whether to file a fee dispute. We give you the information; you (or a licensed attorney) decide what to do with it.
What's the difference between a single-bill review and a matter review?
A single-bill review covers one invoice — the depth of analysis is the same regardless of how many pages it is. A matter review covers all the invoices from one case, with the same depth on each, plus pattern analysis across them (e.g. recurring administrative time, escalating rates over the course of the matter, double-billing across statements). If you've received more than one bill on the same case, the matter review usually pays for itself many times over.
What if my lawyer finds out I had their bill reviewed?
They almost certainly won't unless you tell them, and you have every right to do so anyway. Reviewing a bill you're paying is not a hostile act — it's basic financial diligence. Most firms expect (and many encourage) clients to scrutinize line items.
What happens to my invoice and case details?
Your documents are encrypted in transit and at rest, processed only to generate your report, and auto-deleted as soon as we send you the PDF. Once the report is in your inbox, the job is done and the file is gone. We never share, sell, or train models on your data.
How accurate is the review?
Every flag is citation-backed — we point to the specific guideline, fee-arbitration precedent, or industry billing rule behind each one, so you can verify the reasoning yourself. The analysis is automated and applied consistently to every bill, no exceptions and no soft-pedaling. If something looks borderline, we say so explicitly rather than guess.
Can you review hourly bills, contingency fee disputes, and flat-fee arrangements?
Yes to all three. The review format adjusts to the fee structure. For contingency disputes we focus on cost itemization and proper allocation. For flat-fee arrangements we evaluate scope-of-work compliance. Email us before submitting if you're not sure your matter fits — we'll tell you honestly.
Do I need the original engagement agreement?
Helpful but not required. The audit is sharper if we can compare invoices to your engagement letter (rates, fee structure, scope), but we can run a meaningful audit on the invoice alone.