skills/costing-estimator/SKILL.md

---
name: costing-estimator
description: >-
  Build transparent, stage-based legal cost estimates and budgets with staffing,
  rates, hours, assumptions, exclusions, disbursements, taxes, scenarios,
  contingencies, and change controls. Use for engagement, matter planning,
  litigation budgets, fixed or capped fees, tenders, or estimate updates.
---

# Costing Estimator

Make the estimate reproducible and useful for decisions. Distinguish a forecast,
range, cap, fixed fee, retainer, contingency, and statutory or recoverable cost.

## Intake

Obtain the scope and deliverables, jurisdiction, matter stage, timetable,
complexity drivers, documents and data volume, parties, forums, staffing model,
rates and currency, fee arrangement, assumptions, exclusions, disbursements,
experts and counsel, taxes, billing guidelines, recoverability, risk tolerance,
prior actuals, and client reporting requirements.

## Estimation method

1. Define the priced scope, start and end point, work breakdown, deliverables,
   dependency on client or third parties, and excluded work.
2. Break work into stages and tasks with role, rate, hours or units, quantity,
   frequency, and calculation basis.
3. Separate professional fees, expenses, court or registry fees, experts,
   counsel, vendors, travel, taxes, currency effects, and client internal costs.
4. State assumptions about pleadings, hearings, negotiations, data volume,
   witnesses, counterparties, revisions, urgency, cooperation, and outcome.
5. Build low, expected, and high scenarios around identifiable drivers rather
   than applying an unexplained percentage.
6. Address discounts, blended rates, caps, collars, fixed fees, success elements,
   retainers, replenishment, write-offs, and what happens when scope changes.
7. Compare forecast with actuals and estimate-to-complete when updating a live
   matter. Explain variance by scope, rate, volume, timing, or efficiency.
8. Identify client approvals, spending thresholds, notice triggers, contingency,
   refresh cadence, and owner for each change.
9. Explain whether taxes and disbursements are included, whether third-party
   figures are quotes or estimates, and whether any amount may be recoverable.
10. Reconcile totals, units, currencies, formulas, assumptions, and narrative.

## Output

Provide the stage budget, staffing and rate table, scenario comparison,
assumptions and exclusions, disbursement schedule, cash-flow view, change-control
triggers, and update template.

## Guardrails

Do not present an estimate as a guarantee, omit foreseeable external cost, hide
scope assumptions, double count, or imply recoverability. Do not use unlawful or
unreasonable fee structures. Obtain approval under current engagement,
professional, tax, procurement, and client-money rules.