Java Reference
In-Depth Information
<expense>
<charge_date>19990910</charge_date>
<tk_id>tk002</tk_id>
<charge_desc>special photocopy expense.</charge_desc>
<acca_expense>e101</acca_expense>
<charge_type>U</charge_type>
<units>608</units>
<rate>0.08</rate>
<base_amount>48.64</base_amount>
<total_amount>48.64</total_amount>
</expense>
</matter>
</invoice>
</client>
</ledesxml>
From the comments in
Listing 2 -1
, it is easy to identify the main constituents of a
LEDES 2000 invoice, which are as follows:
Originating law firm data
Client data
Invoice header data, including information on:
Alternative fee arrangements (time & expense, flat fee, contingency, and staged billing)
Fee sharing
Discount schedules
Taxes
Electronic funds transfer reference support
Matter invoiced
Summary of timekeeper fees
Itemized fees and expenses
In addition, you can see that the format can support multiple clients and multiple
matters if required. All in all, LEDES 2000 is a flexible eXtensible Markup Language
(XML) specification for electronic billing. The only simplification made in
Listing 2-1
is
to drop the XML element that defines the software vendor and version information,
which would probably not be saved as a database item anyway.
Cross-Reference
In
Chapter 17
, which is about using JDBC and XML together,
you will find a more detailed discussion of the eXtensible
Markup Language.
Designing the Tables