How to Set Up Matter Budgets, Fee Caps, and Cost Controls at Your Law Firm: The 2026 Step-by-Step Guide

Fee caps only work if someone finds out before the cap is breached. Most firms discover overruns at invoicing — which is weeks too late to have a conversation with the client. This guide walks through building matter budgets, phase-level caps, and burn-rate alerts that actually fire in time to change the outcome.