Legal billing best practice of recording time immediately as work is performed, rather than reconstructing hours retrospectively. Supported by ABA Model Rule 1.5, this practice ensures accuracy, prevents revenue loss, and maintains ethical billing standards.
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Contemporaneous Time Entry
Contemporaneous time entry is the practice of recording billable time immediately as work is performed, rather than attempting to reconstruct hours days or weeks later. This practice is fundamental to accurate legal billing and is implicitly required by professional ethics rules.
Supported by ABA Model Rule 1.5, which requires legal fees to be reasonable. This standard implicitly demands accurate and contemporaneous time records to demonstrate that billed hours reflect actual work performed.
84.4% of law firm respondents report that the #1 cause of delay in pre-bill generation is "lack of contemporaneous timekeeping habits." Many lawyers try to recreate their workday hours days or even weeks after the fact.
The average lawyer loses significant revenue due to contemporaneous recording failures. When time is logged retrospectively:
Reconstructing time entries from memory leads to:
Capturing time in real-time ensures that all billable work is recorded and billed, preventing revenue leakage from forgotten activities.
Immediate entry allows for detailed, accurate descriptions of work performed, which strengthens the defense of billing if ever questioned.
Eliminating the need to reconstruct days or weeks of work saves hours of administrative time that could be spent on billable work.
Time entries that are "accurate, detailed, and contemporaneous" become important if the time spent on a matter comes into dispute, particularly when a court reviews the reasonableness of billed time.
Develop written policies that outline standards for accurate, contemporaneous timekeeping, including:
Time tracking software that:
Use timers that start when beginning work on a matter and stop when switching tasks. This provides precise tracking without requiring later reconstruction.
Software that automatically detects which matter you're working on based on documents opened, emails sent, or calendar entries.
Set multiple daily reminders to log time if not using automatic tracking, ensuring entries are made before details are forgotten.
Enter time as soon as you complete a task, while details are fresh and no billable minutes are forgotten.
Provide detailed descriptions that would allow a third party to understand exactly what work was performed and why it was necessary.
Require time entry at least once per day, preferably multiple times throughout the day.
While time should be entered contemporaneously, review entries for completeness and accuracy before submitting for billing.
Record all time, including non-billable work, to:
Hold each timekeeper accountable for contemporaneous entry through:
Managers should regularly audit:
Make contemporaneous timekeeping a firm priority through:
Some attorneys resist pausing work to record time, viewing it as disruptive to their flow.
Lawyers working remotely or in court may struggle to access time tracking systems immediately.
Switching between numerous matters throughout the day makes contemporaneous tracking feel burdensome.
Some practitioners prefer traditional paper methods that make real-time entry more difficult.
Provide mobile access to time tracking from phones and tablets for entry anywhere.
Allow voice-to-text time entry for quick capture without typing.
Integrate time tracking with email, calendaring, and document management to reduce manual entry.
Streamline time entry to require minimal information initially, with details added later the same day.
Track metrics including:
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