Billing Right from Day One: Ethical, Efficient, and Defensible Timekeeping for Today’s Lawyers (2026 Edition)

Fred M. Blum, Founding Partner | Edlin Gallagher Huie + Blum

Fred M. Blum is a founding partner at Edlin Gallagher Huie + Blum and one of Northern California’s most accomplished trial attorneys, with more than 30 years of litigation experience across some of the most complex and consequential matters in the state and federal courts. His practice spans complex litigation, environmental law, employment, business litigation, civil rights, and product liability — and his record reflects success on both sides of the aisle, having secured defense verdicts in mass toxic tort and property contamination cases as well as multi-million-dollar plaintiff verdicts. Beyond the courtroom, Fred has developed a specialized command of legal billing practices — having reviewed thousands of attorney bills to assess their compliance with the expectations of insurers, insureds, individual clients, and corporate clients — making him an authoritative voice on what makes a time entry defensible, credible, and client-ready.

• Education & Credentials

Fred earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Davis in 1978, and his Juris Doctor from Whittier College School of Law in 1981. He is admitted to practice in the State of California, all federal district courts within the state, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court.

• Recognition & Leadership

Fred has been recognized as a Northern California Super Lawyer continuously since 2004 — initially in Environmental Law, and more recently in Business Litigation, Employment, and Labor Law. His firm, Edlin Gallagher Huie + Blum, has been listed on Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework and named a Forbes Top Trusted Corporate Law Firm, reflecting the caliber of the practice he helped build.

• Professional Involvement

Fred is an active contributor to the legal community through both writing and speaking. His published articles have appeared in the Environmental Claims Journal, where his most recent piece addressed disputes over attorneys’ fees in environmental cases — a subject that sits squarely at the intersection of litigation strategy and billing ethics. He is a frequent speaker at legal education programs and has presented on billing practices, professional responsibility, and complex litigation topics to practitioner audiences across California.

• Experience

Over the course of his career, Fred has tried numerous cases in an exceptionally broad range of practice areas, including antitrust, mass toxic torts, civil rights, toxic property contamination, trademark, unfair competition, and white-collar crimes. He has represented individuals, government entities, and Fortune 500 companies, demonstrating versatility and depth that few litigators can match. His deep familiarity with how billing is scrutinized — by courts awarding fees, clients auditing invoices, and insurers reviewing litigation costs — gives him a practitioner’s perspective that is both earned and rare. For attorneys seeking to understand how judges, clients, and auditors read billing narratives, Fred Blum brings the kind of insight that only decades of real-world exposure can produce.

Diane L. Camacho, CLM, Founder & CEO | DLC Consulting Services

Diane L. Camacho is the founder and President of DLC Consulting Services, LLC, a legal management consulting firm dedicated to helping solo and small law firms across the country operate more efficiently and profitably. With more than 25 years of experience as a legal manager in San Francisco — spanning firms of every size — Diane brings a practitioner’s depth of knowledge to the full spectrum of law firm operations. Her expertise in billing systems, bookkeeping, and practice management software has made her a trusted resource for attorneys who want to build the kind of operational infrastructure that protects their fees, keeps their teams consistent, and ensures their billing practices hold up under client scrutiny.

• Education & Credentials

Diane holds a degree in Organizational Behavior and Leadership from the University of San Francisco — a foundation that informs her people-centered, systems-driven approach to legal management. She is a Certified Legal Manager (CLM), a credential awarded by the Association of Legal Administrators that reflects demonstrated excellence across the full range of law firm management disciplines, including financial management, human resources, and legal industry knowledge.

• Recognition & Leadership

Diane is deeply rooted in the Bay Area legal community. She served on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators for more than 15 years, including two terms as Chapter President. She also served as co-chair of the Solo and Small Firm Section brown bag lunch series for the San Francisco Bar Association. Her firm has earned recognition as a Clio Certified Partner and a NetDocuments Certified Implementation Expert and Trainer — credentials that reflect DLCCS’s commitment to technology-forward legal practice management.

• Professional Involvement

Diane is a frequent speaker in the legal community on topics including law firm operations, IOLTA accounting, legal practice management software, and firm start-ups. She teaches law office management at San Francisco State University, bringing her real-world consulting experience directly into the classroom. Her webinars, online courses, and published resources for attorneys reflect a consistent commitment to translating complex operational and financial concepts into practical, actionable guidance for practitioners at every stage of their careers.

• Experience

Since founding DLCCS in 2013, Diane has consulted with solo and small firms nationwide on billing and bookkeeping, software selection and implementation, marketing, and the full operational arc from start-up through growth. Prior to launching DLCCS, she spent more than 25 years embedded in law firm management in San Francisco — giving her an insider’s understanding of how billing systems succeed or fail in practice, how teams become inconsistent in their timekeeping, and how the gap between billed and collected revenue quietly erodes a firm’s financial health. Her experience working alongside attorneys navigating the growing pressures of AI tools, remote work, and evolving client expectations gives her a uniquely grounded perspective on what it takes to build billing practices that are not just efficient, but defensible.

SESSION 1 – Effective Billing: Writing Defensible Time Entries | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Master the art of billing with precision and confidence. Learn to write time entries that withstand judicial scrutiny, avoid audit triggers, and protect your fees—while meeting your ethical obligations as a supervising attorney.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Modern Billing Risks: Technology, Teams, and Clients | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

Navigate the evolving risks of modern legal billing. Learn to manage AI tools, remote timekeeping, and team billing challenges while building systems that prevent disputes, withstand client audits, and stop billing issues before they escalate.