Hyperlinking

There are no out of office (OOO) fees for hyperlinking, the costs are the same regardless of when they are made. The OOO fees will only be applicable for the upload/insert/replacement part of the task if applicable to the instruction. 

Region Link TypeRate per Link*
UK (GBP)Automated£1.00
UK (GBP)Manual£3.00
SG (SGD) Automated$1.50
SG (SGD)Manual$5.00
HK (HKD)Automated$9.00
HK (HKD)Manual$30.00

*Rates are only applicable to standard Arbitrations and Litigations. They are not applicable to Inquiries or Inquests. 

We only need to bill for new links created and not any existing links within a document. For example, if you are replacing a document that already has 100 links on the platform and after deleting and re-linking it there are now 110 links, you should only bill ten links.

Hyperlink Testing

In and OOO rates will be applicable to hyperlink testing depending on the scenario which are outlined below.

Scenario 1 - Upload document, no client access Document is provided and client asks us to test the hyperlinks. They do not want access to the file.
  • SO Action
    • Document is uploaded to a test folder either In Progress on the Master or on the Opus 2 mirror. To keep things tidy and clear, the folder name should follow the Y-Drive structure 'YYYY.MM.DD HH.MM Client Name'.
    • Document is hyperlinked as normal. Make sure transcript references have been included too.
    • Broken Links Report (BLR) is created and task is put up for a QC.
    • Once QC is complete, BLR is sent to client.
  • SO Billing
    • Hyperlink Testing
      • Charged at content management (CM) rate. Need to make sure you bill OOO if actioned between 6-8pm or at the weekend / UK Bank Holiday.
      • Ensure the task is only billed to the clients in copy to the email and not all parties if it is a single party instruction.
Scenario 2 - Upload document, client has access Document is provided and client would like it hyperlinked but they want access to the linked document.
  • SO Action
    • Document is uploaded to a client specific folder on their workspace. You will need to create a folder if it does not exist already – can be titled '[Firm Name] Only Documents'. A sub-folder within this should then be created for the date to avoid a long list of documents building up.
    • Document is hyperlinked as normal. Make sure transcript references have been included too.
    • Broken Links Report (BLR) is created and task is put up for a QC.
    • Once QC is complete, BLR is sent to client.
  • SO Billing
    • Private Workspace Inserts/Replacements/Uploads
      • Charged at content management (CM) rate. Need to make sure you bill OOO if actioned between 6-8pm or at the weekend / UK Bank Holiday.
    • Hyperlinks (Automated)
      • Bill as normal hyperlinking task i.e. number of links created.
      • No need to list documents individually - folder name can be written with the total number of links e.g. Hogan Lovells Only: 100
Scenario 2a - Replace document, client has access Client updates document in scenario 2 and would like it linked with access to the document.
  • SO Action
    • Document should be replaced in client specific folder on their workspace – query if it is a replacement if it is unclear from the email. Remember to check the number of current links before replacing as usual.
    • Delete all existing autolinks before hyperlinking and ensure transcript references are included.
    • Broken Links Report (BLR) is created and task is put up for a QC.
    • Once QC is complete, BLR is sent to client.
  • SO Billing
    • Private Workspace Inserts/Replacements/Uploads
      • Charged at content management (CM) rate. Need to make sure you bill OOO if actioned between 6-8pm or at the weekend / UK Bank Holiday.
    • Hyperlinks (Automated)
      • Bill as normal hyperlinking task i.e. number of links created.
      • No need to list documents individually - folder name can be written with the total number of links e.g. Hogan Lovells Only: 10. Only need to bill for new links i.e. if the previous document had 100 links and the new document has 110, you should only bill for 10 links.
Scenario 3 - Client uploads document to their workpsace Client has uploaded a document to a folder on their workspace and would like the links activated.
  • SO Action
    • Document is hyperlinked as normal. Make sure transcript references have been included too.
    • Broken Links Report (BLR) is created and task is put up for a QC.
    • Once QC is complete, BLR is sent to client.
  • SO Billing
    • Hyperlinks (Automated)
      • Bill as normal hyperlinking task i.e. number of links created.
      • No need to list documents individually - folder name can be written with the total number of links e.g. Hogan Lovells Only: 100
Scenario 4 - Client has access and requests manual links Document from Scenarios 2, 2a and 3 have broken links and client would like them created manually.
  • SO Action
    • Advise client that they can create the links themselves and will just need to ensure they are shared to 'My Team'.
    • If the client pushes back and still asks us to create them, they will just need to be made on the relevant workspace where the document has been uploaded to.
    • Get task QC'd as normal and confirm once complete.
  • SO Billing
    • Hyperlinks (Manual)
      • Bill as normal manual linking task i.e. number of links created.
      • No need to list documents individually - folder name can be written with the total number of links e.g. Hogan Lovells Only: 9
Ensure all hyperlink testing / private linking tasks are only billed to the clients in copy to the email and not all parties if it is a single party instruction.  
The main point to note when billing hyperlink testing is if the document has been uploaded to an internal environment that clients do not have access to, the task should be billed as hyperlink testing. If clients have access to the links, the links need to be charged at the standard linking rate.