Abstract: A method for tracking and approving legal expenses incurred by a business entity using a legal budgeting system is provided. The business entity is engaged in the business of providing financial services to a plurality of customers. The method includes creating within the legal budgeting system a legal matter reflecting legal work to be performed by an outside counsel, creating a purchase order for the legal matter including a budgeted amount which is expected to be paid to the outside counsel for performing the legal work, receiving at the legal budgeting system from the outside counsel an invoice including invoice data and an invoice amount for at least a portion of the legal work performed on the legal matter, and prompting an account manager to designate a method of reimbursement for the invoice including at least one of paid at close, charge to good faith, charge to loan, customer to wire money, and a non-reimbursable charge to cost center.

Abstract: The invention features computer-based methods and apparatuses to automate document generation. The methods include user interaction to identify a collection of available modifiable text segments and user interaction to identify customization data. The identified text segments are used to form the package of interrelated documents and the customization data can be used to complete the identified text segments. The customized package of interrelated documents is automatically assembling based on the identified collection and customization data. The method may also include identifying a collection of information element questions that will be used to request information element data from a user. Interacting with a user to identify associations being between the collection of information element questions and a collection of available modifiable text segments.