The electronic billing data exchange format types provide a standard data format for electronically transmitted invoices, typically from a
law firm to a
corporate client. The LEDES e-billing format currently has the following variations: •
LEDES 1998, the first "LEDES" format, created in 1998, but no longer in use. The format does not appear on www.LEDES.org. •
LEDES 1998B, a pipe-delimited plain
text file. The standard was adopted in 1998, and it is the more commonly used LEDES format in the US. It lacks flexibility, having a rigid structure, and does not support taxes on legal fees. Another disadvantage of LEDES 1998B is that invoice-level data is repeated on every line item even though it is only needed once, as it does not vary per line. Many clients attempt to impose nonstandard customizations, thus defeating the purpose of having a standard. Nonetheless, US-based law firms prefer it for its simplicity and familiarity. •
LEDES XML 2000, adopted in 2000, is an older
XML format that uses a DTD. In LEDES 2000, although the structure is well defined, the specification defines "extend" segments, allowing the insertion of client-specific fields without breaking the format or violating the standard. The format is no longer supported by the LEDES Oversight Committee and information on the format will be removed from www.LEDES.org on February 1, 2024. •
LEDES 1998BI (international), a pipe-delimited plain text file, proposed in 2004 by the Legal IT Innovators Group (LITIG) and ratified by the LEDES Oversight Committee in 2006. Based on the LEDES 1998B standard, it includes all of the fields in the LEDES 1998B format, plus additional ones. This format was designed to accommodate legal bills generated outside of the United States and allows for one tax per line item. •
LEDES XML 2.0, an XML format that uses XSD. It was ratified in 2006 and addresses international needs in XML format. Unlike earlier LEDES formats, XML 2.0 represents the nature of the
financial transaction between the parties. It supports multiple taxes on line-items and provides AFA Support. It contains 15 segments and 156 data elements. •
LEDES XML 2.1, ratified in 2008. It contains all of the data points in XML 2.0, plus additional segments and data elements to provide: enhanced tax functionality with support for Withholding and Credit Notes; and invoice-level global extensibility. It contains 16 segments and 194 data elements. •
LEDES XML 2.2, ratified in 2020. It contains all of the data points in XML 2.1, plus additional segments and data elements to support tiered taxes. It contains 18 segments and 206 data elements. ==Other data exchange formats==