Criminal Law Codes
The ABA criminal law codes structuring white-collar and criminal defense across four phases, with an unusually rich pre-indictment phase. A committee draft, presented with that status.
UTBMS criminal law codes structure white-collar and criminal defense engagements across four phases: pre-indictment, pre-trial, trial, and appeal.
The set is unusually rich in the pre-indictment phase, reflecting where white-collar defense cost actually concentrates: government interactions, voluntary disclosures, proffers, search response, and subpoena compliance. This is a current ABA committee draft, marked subject to Section approval, and presented here with that status. Every code is searchable alongside all sets at the UTBMS code database.
Corporate white-collar defense is episodic and can be very high-value, which makes phase visibility valuable, and that is what a legal spend management program provides here: seeing how much of an engagement is pre-indictment government interaction versus trial work changes how the matter is budgeted and staffed.
What are criminal law codes used for?
Criminal law codes follow a defense engagement through four phases, from pre-indictment through pre-trial, trial, and appeal. The structure reflects that white-collar matters often resolve, or concentrate their cost, well before trial.
The signal that matters most is the weight of the pre-indictment phase. Because government interactions, disclosures, and subpoena response drive white-collar cost, the pre-indictment codes are where a reviewer learns the real shape and stage of an engagement.
What does each criminal law code cover?
T110: Fact GatheringABA draft
Gathering and researching case facts, including physical collection of documents, devices, and messages.
When to use this code: Use for factual development.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Collection work overlapping eDiscovery workstreams billed elsewhere.
What invoice review checks: Read with any L600-series vendor work for the full collection cost.
T111: Document ReviewABA draft
Reviewing client documents.
When to use this code: Use for document review.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Attorney-rate review at scale, the L320 economics in defense form.
What invoice review checks: Review staffing model and per-document cost.
T112: Witness InterviewsABA draft
Meeting with fact and character witnesses.
When to use this code: Use for witness interviews.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-interview cost variance.
What invoice review checks: Unit cost per interview.
T113: Client SessionsABA draft
Client meetings on facts, status, and government debriefing preparation.
When to use this code: Use for client sessions.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Status meetings at full team strength.
What invoice review checks: Attendance per session.
T120: Voluntary Disclosure/Self-DisclosureABA draft
Researching, preparing, and presenting voluntary disclosures, including expert cost analysis.
When to use this code: Use for disclosure workstreams.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Disclosure preparation without a decision checkpoint on whether to disclose.
What invoice review checks: The disclose-or-not decision documented before presentation work begins.
T130: Queen for a DayABA draft
Negotiating proffer immunity, preparing for, and attending client proffers.
When to use this code: Use for proffer work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Proffer preparation depth against the exposure at stake.
What invoice review checks: Preparation hours per proffer session.
T140: Reverse ProfferABA draft
Meetings where the government presents its case.
When to use this code: Use for reverse proffer sessions.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Full-team attendance.
What invoice review checks: Attendance against session value.
T150: Prepare Client for Possible SearchesABA draft
Preparing client and employees on search response procedures.
When to use this code: Use for search readiness.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Readiness programs rebuilt per matter for the same client.
What invoice review checks: Program reuse across matters.
T160: Document RetentionABA draft
Legal hold preparation and retention implementation.
When to use this code: Use for hold work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Manual hold administration, the L612 pattern.
What invoice review checks: Hold tooling economics.
T170: Search WarrantABA draft
Presence during warrant execution and inventory of seized materials.
When to use this code: Use for search response.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Post-event inventory at senior rates.
What invoice review checks: Staffing mix on inventory work.
T171: Debriefings After Search WarrantABA draft
Employee interviews following execution.
When to use this code: Use for post-search debriefings.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-employee interview cost.
What invoice review checks: Unit cost per debriefing.
T180: Subpoena ComplianceABA draft
Analyzing subpoenas, collecting and reviewing responsive documents, production preparation.
When to use this code: Use for subpoena response.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Compliance review at attorney rates where tiered staffing fits.
What invoice review checks: Per-subpoena response cost and staffing mix.
T190: Self-Surrender and Bond NegotiationsABA draft
Negotiating bond, surrender logistics, and processing.
When to use this code: Use for surrender and bond work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Logistics time at counsel rates.
What invoice review checks: Event-anchored review.
T210: Bond and/or Detention HearingABA draft
Preparing and attending bond hearings, including family coordination and sureties.
When to use this code: Use for detention proceedings.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Preparation multiples on routine bond matters.
What invoice review checks: Prep-to-hearing ratio.
T220: Discovery MotionsABA draft
Suppression and compel motions, including witness preparation for hearings.
When to use this code: Use for discovery motion practice.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Motion volume as strategy versus necessity.
What invoice review checks: Cost per motion against outcomes.
T221: Motions to DismissABA draft
Indictment analysis and dismissal motions.
When to use this code: Use for dismissal practice.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Duplication with trial-theory development under T290.
What invoice review checks: The motion-versus-strategy boundary.
T222: Motions in LimineABA draft
In limine motion research and drafting.
When to use this code: Use for in limine work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Motion multiplication, the L430 pattern.
What invoice review checks: Count against genuinely disputed evidence issues.
T223: Other MotionsABA draft
Any other pre-trial motion work.
When to use this code: Limited expected usage.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Catch-all concentration.
What invoice review checks: Catch-all hygiene metric.
T230: Attendance at HearingsABA draft
Court time for hearings not otherwise coded.
When to use this code: Use for miscellaneous hearing attendance.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Multi-attendee routine hearings.
What invoice review checks: Docket-anchored attendance.
T240: Fact InvestigationABA draft
Witness interviews, site inspections, document and evidence review in the pre-trial phase.
When to use this code: Use for continuing investigation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Investigation recurring without new-issue triggers.
What invoice review checks: Timeline shape against case developments.
T250: Electronic DiscoveryABA draft
Building databases of government discovery and client documents, search terms, and review workflow.
When to use this code: Use for defense-side eDiscovery.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Blended eDiscovery costs without unit visibility.
What invoice review checks: Apply the L600-series unit economics; per-GB and per-document rates govern here too.
T260: Discovery Inspection of Documents in Law Enforcement PossessionABA draft
On-site review at law enforcement facilities.
When to use this code: Use for warehouse review.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Senior-rate warehouse review.
What invoice review checks: Staffing mix on inspection work.
T270: Witness PreparationABA draft
Preparing witnesses to testify at trial.
When to use this code: Use for pre-trial witness preparation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Preparation repeated across continuances.
What invoice review checks: Hours per witness with continuance attribution.
T271: Expert Witness PreparationABA draft
Identifying, interviewing, and preparing experts, including analysis sessions.
When to use this code: Use for expert workstreams.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Dual-billing with expert invoices.
What invoice review checks: Combined cost per expert.
T280: Plea NegotiationsABA draft
Negotiating pleas, guideline calculations, and client discussions.
When to use this code: Use for plea work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Late-stage pleas carrying full trial preparation cost behind them.
What invoice review checks: Resolution timing against cumulative spend, the L160 strategic signal.
T281: Debriefings with Government Pursuant to CooperationABA draft
Cooperation preparation and government debriefings.
When to use this code: Use for cooperation sessions.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Per-session team size.
What invoice review checks: Attendance per debriefing.
T290: Trial PreparationABA draft
Defense theory development, witness identification, and examination development.
When to use this code: Use for pre-trial trial preparation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Overlap with T320 once trial begins.
What invoice review checks: The phase boundary at trial commencement.
T291: Trial BriefsABA draft
Internal trial memoranda and court trial briefs.
When to use this code: Use for trial briefing.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Multi-timekeeper briefs.
What invoice review checks: Hours per brief.
T292: Jury InstructionsABA draft
Researching, drafting, and reviewing instructions.
When to use this code: Use for instruction work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Instruction research rebuilt per matter for standard charges.
What invoice review checks: Charge-library reuse.
T310: TrialABA draft
Court time during trial.
When to use this code: Use for in-trial attendance.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Attendance beyond trial-day roles.
What invoice review checks: Staffing plan enforcement, the L450 rule.
T320: Trial PreparationABA draft
In-trial witness preparation, cross-examination preparation, and daily trial work.
When to use this code: Use for in-trial preparation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Daily burn without a trial-phase budget.
What invoice review checks: Trial-phase budget variance, the L440 approach.
T330: Post-Trial Motions Excluding SentencingABA draft
Post-trial motions such as judgment of acquittal.
When to use this code: Use for post-verdict motions.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Standard motions at bespoke depth.
What invoice review checks: Cost per motion type.
T340: Sentencing PreparationABA draft
Client allocution preparation, character witnesses, themes, and mitigation video work.
When to use this code: Use for sentencing preparation.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Mitigation production cost without pre-approval.
What invoice review checks: Mitigation vendor costs pre-approved and at cost.
T350: Sentencing MemorandumABA draft
PSR objections and sentencing memoranda.
When to use this code: Use for sentencing briefing.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Multi-timekeeper drafting.
What invoice review checks: Hours per memorandum.
T360: Sentencing HearingABA draft
Sentencing preparation and hearing attendance.
When to use this code: Use for the sentencing event.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Full-team attendance.
What invoice review checks: Event-anchored review.
T410: Appellate Motions and SubmissionsABA draft
Notices of appeal, deadline research, transcript requests, and procedural filings.
When to use this code: Use for appellate procedure.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Procedural work at merits rates.
What invoice review checks: Procedural benchmarks per court.
T420: Bond IssuesABA draft
Bond pending appeal motions.
When to use this code: Use for appellate bond work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Standard motions at depth.
What invoice review checks: Cost per motion.
T430: Appellate BriefsABA draft
Brief research, drafting, and assembly.
When to use this code: Use for merits briefing.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Distributed drafting.
What invoice review checks: Hours per brief, the L520 benchmark.
T440: Oral ArgumentABA draft
Argument preparation and presentation.
When to use this code: Use for argument work.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Large moot audiences billing.
What invoice review checks: Pre-cycle staffing agreement.
How should legal departments use criminal law codes in invoice review?
Criminal defense review is phase-shape work with an unusual center of gravity. Track how much of an engagement concentrates in the pre-indictment phase, since that is where white-collar cost and strategy actually live, and use the phase distribution to budget and staff matters that may never reach trial.
Getting that phase visibility depends on the matter and eBilling systems capturing the pre-indictment detail cleanly, which is where legal technology implementation matters: the rich pre-indictment coding only pays off when the system preserves it for budgeting and review.
How do Criminal Law Codes support legal spend management?
Criminal Law Codes only deliver value inside a program that enforces them. Our legal spend management and enterprise legal management hubs cover how coded invoices become spend control, and our guides to matter budgets, what to put in outside counsel billing guidelines, and outside counsel spend benchmarks go deeper on the review programs, guidelines, and eBilling rules that put UTBMS coding to work.
Bottom Line
The criminal law set is built around where white-collar defense cost actually concentrates: the pre-indictment phase. Its four-phase structure and detailed pre-indictment coding give corporate legal departments visibility into engagements that often resolve before trial. The draft status means confirming the current version before implementation.
Coded to phase, white-collar defense reveals its real shape, and that shape is usually pre-indictment.
Frequently asked questions
What are UTBMS criminal law codes used for?
They structure white-collar and criminal defense engagements across four phases: pre-indictment, pre-trial, trial, and appeal. They give corporate legal departments funding outside defense counsel visibility into how an engagement's cost distributes across those phases.
Why is the pre-indictment phase so detailed?
White-collar defense cost concentrates before any indictment, in government interactions, voluntary disclosures, proffers, search response, and subpoena compliance. The set gives that phase extra detail because it is where the money and the strategy actually are.
Are the criminal law codes a final standard?
They are a current ABA committee draft, structured as a combined code set and budget template and marked subject to Section approval. This page presents them as the current draft standard with that status stated, so confirm the current version before implementing them.
How should criminal law codes be used in invoice review?
Track how much of an engagement concentrates in the pre-indictment phase, and use the phase distribution to budget and staff matters that may resolve before trial. Each code below lists the patterns reviewers commonly see and what invoice review checks.
How do UTBMS codes relate to outside counsel billing guidelines and legal spend management?
UTBMS codes are the shared vocabulary that outside counsel billing guidelines and a legal spend management program depend on. Guidelines define what each code should and should not contain, the eBilling system enforces those rules, and consistent coding is what makes spend analytics and cross-firm benchmarking possible. Without agreed codes, guidelines cannot be enforced and spend data cannot be compared.
About this reference
UTBMS code sets are standards published by their respective bodies, including the ABA, the LEDES Oversight Committee, UTBMS.com, the CBA, DRI, the Judiciaries of England and Wales, and the Yerra Global KM Expert Group. All copyrights and trademarks are the property of their respective owners; Swiftwater & Company is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Code identifiers follow the published standards, while all descriptions and annotations are original Swiftwater commentary, developed with human expertise, proprietary consulting knowledge, and AI assistance.
This is general reference material, not legal advice. Standards are revised over time, so confirm the current version with the originating body before implementing.
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