DRI Revised Litigation Codes
The DRI revised litigation codes, insurance defense refinements to the ABA litigation set from the Defense Research Institute, with per-code DRI change badges.
The DRI revised litigation codes came from the heaviest users of task-based billing: insurers and insurance defense firms.
An ad hoc UTBMS Insurance Update Initiative surveyed insurers, interviewed panel firm lawyers, and resolved not to reinvent UTBMS but to fix task gaps and remove catch-all codes that let uncategorized time hide. The result refines the ABA litigation set for insurance defense work. Codes that DRI changed are marked with a DRI change badge. Every code is searchable alongside all sets at the UTBMS code database.
Because the DRI set was built by and for insurers running large defense panels, it fits the panel-management discipline of a legal spend management program: sharper task definitions and fewer catch-alls make cross-firm comparison on the same claims more reliable.
What are dri revised litigation codes used for?
The DRI set follows the ABA litigation phases but sharpens task definitions for insurance defense and removes catch-all codes. All the per-code review logic from the ABA litigation page applies here unchanged; the DRI change notes cover only what DRI altered.
The signal specific to this set follows from removing the catch-alls. Because the standard deliberately provides nowhere for uncategorized time to hide, catch-all volume on a DRI-coded invoice is a per-se flag rather than a judgment call.
What should invoice review know about the DRI codes?
For invoice review the DRI set matters two ways. On insurer-panel invoices coded to DRI definitions, the sub-bullets function as billing guidelines with the standard's own authority: an entry that does not match a listed bullet invites a coding question. And the removal of catch-all codes means catch-all volume on a DRI-coded invoice is a per-se flag, since the standard deliberately provides nowhere for uncategorized time to hide. All per-code review logic from the ABA litigation page applies here unchanged; the notes below cover only what DRI changed.
What does each DRI litigation code cover?
When to use this code: Same scope as the ABA original, with each task's contents enumerated.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Initial-assessment research continuing past evaluation; DRI folds initial legal research explicitly into L110.
What invoice review checks: The enumerated bullets as the compensability checklist, especially L160's explicit inclusion of mediation travel and pre-litigation demand letters.
L110: Fact Investigation/DevelopmentDRI (2007)
Investigating and understanding facts: interviews, document review, investigator work, initial-assessment legal research, and related communication.
DRI change: Initial case-assessment legal research explicitly included here
L120: Analysis/StrategyDRI (2007)
Case strategy: discussions, writings, meetings, litigation plan preparation, and strategy communication.
DRI change: Litigation plan preparation named explicitly
L130: Experts/ConsultantsDRI (2007)
Research, interviewing, and working with experts and consultants; developing reports; expert communication.
DRI change: Report development placed here, not in expert discovery
L140: Document/File ManagementDRI (2007)
File organization and administration for database construction and management.
L150: BudgetingDRI (2007)
Developing, editing, and corresponding on the budget.
L160: Settlement/Non-Binding ADRDRI (2007)
Settlement-directed activities: discussions, conferences, implementation, mediation pursuit, mediation travel and attendance, pre-litigation demand letters, settlement research, and related communication.
DRI change: Mediation travel and demand letters made explicit
When to use this code: Pleadings and pre-trial motions other than discovery, with motion-to-dismiss work placed under pleadings.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Jurisdictional and dismissal motions coded to L240; DRI puts them in L210.
What invoice review checks: Consistent placement of dismissal and jurisdictional motions under L210, a DRI-specific convention.
L210: PleadingsDRI (2007)
Drafting and editing pleadings, answering complaints, counterclaims, third-party complaints, motions to dismiss or strike, jurisdictional motions, and pleadings research.
DRI change: Motions to dismiss and jurisdictional motions belong here under DRI
L220: Preliminary Injunctions/Provisional RemediesDRI (2007)
Remedy strategy, motions, affidavits, briefs, hearing preparation, hearing travel and attendance, witness preparation, and effectuating remedies.
DRI change: Hearing travel explicit
L230: Court Mandated ConferencesDRI (2007)
Preparing for, traveling to, and attending court-ordered conferences and hearings.
DRI change: Travel explicit
L240: Dispositive MotionsDRI (2007)
Strategy, research, summary judgment motions, affidavits, opponent pleading review, defensive motions, and hearing preparation, travel, and attendance.
L250: Other Written Motions/SubmissionsDRI (2007)
Developing, responding to, arguing, and researching motions other than dispositive, pleadings, and discovery.
L260: Class Action Certification and NoticeDRI (2007)
Class certification and notice proceedings unique to class and derivative litigation.
When to use this code: Same six-task discovery structure with materially expanded content inventories.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Subpoena and authorization work, non-party production notices, and non-subpoenaed record gathering, all now explicitly in L320; IME work explicitly in L340.
What invoice review checks: Record-acquisition and IME unit costs, which DRI's placement makes directly measurable on insurer portfolios.
L310: Written Discovery/InterrogatoriesDRI (2007)
Developing, responding to, and objecting to interrogatories and requests to admit; summarizing responses received.
L320: Document ProductionDRI (2007)
Document requests and responses, production and privilege review, requests to produce, non-party production notices, subpoenas and authorizations, obtaining non-subpoenaed records such as tax and disability records, and summarizing subpoenaed documents.
DRI change: Subpoenas, authorizations, and record gathering enumerated
L330: DepositionsDRI (2007)
Notices and subpoenas, scheduling communication, planning, strategy, witness preparation, document review for preparation, attendance, travel, and summaries.
DRI change: Travel and summaries explicit
L340: Expert DiscoveryDRI (2007)
Expert discovery notices, scheduling, strategy, expert preparation and consultation, reviewing expert documents, records, and films, expert summaries, and independent medical examinations.
DRI change: IME work explicitly placed here
L350: Discovery MotionsDRI (2007)
Developing, responding to, and arguing discovery motions including the protective order process.
L360: Discovery On-Site InspectionsDRI (2007)
Site inspection travel and attendance.
DRI change: A DRI addition the LOC litigation revision later reflected
When to use this code: Same seven-task structure, with jury instructions moved into L430 and enforcement enumerated at L470.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Jury instruction work coded per the ABA original; DRI places it in L430 with motions in limine.
What invoice review checks: L440's enumerated contents (mock trials, focus groups, off-site support offices) as pre-approval items, since DRI names the big-ticket trial preparation costs individually.
L410: Fact WitnessesDRI (2007)
Preparing examination and cross-examination of non-expert witnesses.
L420: Expert WitnessesDRI (2007)
Preparing examination and cross-examination of expert witnesses.
L430: Written Motions/SubmissionsDRI (2007)
Trial-stage motions, motions in limine, jury instructions, pre-trial filings, witness lists, proposed findings, and trial briefs.
DRI change: Jury instructions explicitly here
L440: Trial Preparation and SupportDRI (2007)
Trial preparation, openings and closings, off-site support offices, evidence identification, demonstratives, deposition abstracts, mock trials, focus groups, jury research, and preparation travel.
DRI change: Mock trials and focus groups named, making them reviewable line items
L450: Trial and Hearing AttendanceDRI (2007)
Trial and hearing appearances, court-mandated conference appearances, travel, and trial-progression communication.
L460: Post-Trial Motions/SubmissionsDRI (2007)
Developing, responding to, arguing, and researching post-verdict matters, with travel.
L470: EnforcementDRI (2007)
Enforcing and collecting judgments and stay-pending-appeal filings.
DRI change: Enumerated as a standard task, resolving the original's ambiguity
When to use this code: Same three-task appellate structure with expanded procedural inventories.
Patterns reviewers commonly see: Record preparation and appendix work at merits rates.
What invoice review checks: The procedural-versus-merits staffing split across L510 through L530.
L510: Appellate Proceedings/Motions PracticeDRI (2007)
Appellate research, motions and filings, responses, argument, motion hearings with travel, notices of appeal, record designation, extraordinary writs, petition responses, and appendices.
L520: Appellate BriefsDRI (2007)
Researching and preparing briefs, reviewing opposing briefs, and record review.
L530: Oral ArgumentDRI (2007)
Argument preparation, arguing, travel, appeals communication, and appellate record preparation.
How should legal departments use dri revised litigation codes in invoice review?
DRI review is ABA litigation review with two additions. Treat the DRI sub-bullet definitions as billing guidelines with the standard's own authority, so an entry that does not match a listed bullet invites a coding question, and treat catch-all volume as a per-se flag since the standard removed the places uncategorized time used to hide.
Enforcing DRI definitions across a defense panel depends on the eBilling system carrying them, which is where legal technology implementation matters: the DRI task definitions and the absence of catch-alls should be encoded as panel billing rules so the standard's discipline is applied automatically.
How do DRI Revised Litigation Codes support legal spend management?
DRI Revised Litigation 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 what to put in outside counsel billing guidelines, why billing guidelines fail, and outside counsel spend benchmarks go deeper on the review programs, guidelines, and eBilling rules that put UTBMS coding to work.
Bottom Line
The DRI revision is what task-based billing looks like when its heaviest users refine it: sharper insurance-defense task definitions and no catch-alls. For insurers running defense panels, that makes coding cleaner and cross-firm comparison more honest. On a DRI-coded invoice, catch-all volume is a flag the standard was designed to expose.
By removing the catch-alls, the DRI set turns uncategorized time from a hiding place into a per-se review flag.
Frequently asked questions
What are the DRI revised litigation codes?
They are insurance-defense refinements to the ABA litigation task codes, developed by an ad hoc UTBMS Insurance Update Initiative associated with the Defense Research Institute. Rather than reinventing UTBMS, the initiative fixed task gaps and removed catch-all codes for insurance defense work.
How is the DRI set different from the ABA litigation codes?
It follows the same litigation phases but sharpens task definitions for insurance defense and removes catch-all codes, so uncategorized time has nowhere to hide. Codes that DRI changed are marked with a DRI change badge; everything else works like the ABA litigation set.
Why does removing catch-all codes matter for review?
The ABA set includes catch-all codes where hard-to-classify time can accumulate. DRI deliberately removed them, so on a DRI-coded invoice any catch-all volume is a per-se flag: the standard provides nowhere for uncategorized time to hide, which makes lumping immediately visible.
How should DRI codes be used in invoice review?
Apply all the ABA litigation review logic, then treat the DRI sub-bullet definitions as billing guidelines and catch-all volume as a per-se flag. Each code below carries a DRI change note where DRI altered it 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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