DO:
- Be specific! If you are reviewing documents, put the bates range/number of pages/number of claims/number of files you reviewed. Clients need to see and be able to track progress for long-term projects.
- Include everything: if you saved new documents, updated a chronology, witness list, and claim tracking chart, make sure you bill for all of that (I recommend having separate entries for each of the charts/memos you updated). If you bates numbered a document production, reviewed for privilege and drafted a privilege log, your entry should list all of that, not just “preparation of document production”. Although bates numbering is clerical in nature, roll the time into your entry regarding review for privilege—the bates numbering was part of that project and should be included.
- No matter how small, bill it! Clients like 0.1 entries. You lose a good amount of time over the course of a year if you do not bill for 5 minute tasks.
- Use active words when you enter time: Research, review, analyze, and summarize are the bread and butter of paralegal time entries. Use these words as often as possible. If you pull a docket, your entry can be something like: “Research and prepare summary of key events in Smith v. Washington matter pending in Los Angeles Superior Court.”
- Be creative! Make sure you are capturing as much time as possible. Your entries should be both truthful and descriptive enough to show the added value of having a billing person complete the task.
- Be aware of each matter’s specific billing requirements: Is only one paralegal allowed to bill on the file? Do we represent multiple clients in the matter so need to split your time between matter numbers and include (shared) at the end of each entry? What task/activity codes should you be using?
- Do not bill for meetings/discussions with your attorney regarding an assignment: Instead, all conversations with your attorney should be rolled over and added to the time spent on the actual project; or, use different language to bill for team meetings (something like “review and strategize regarding upcoming discovery responses”).
- · Do not round out your time: Avoid entering time as “.5”, “1.0” or “2.0 hours. It often looks suspicious to the client when your time is rounded out. It looks made up. Be accurate about your time but try not to include too many “rounded-out” entries. Billing .7 hours looks more believable than .5 or 1.0 hours.
- Most important: Use proper punctuation and double-check your grammar and spelling. Your actual entries are added to the client’s invoice, so it’s imperative to be thorough, articulate and precise.
DON’T:
- Use any iteration of the phrase “for attorney review”
- Only “review” or “update” something – what did you review? what specific information did you update?
ASK YOUR ATTORNEYS IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BILL SOMETHING! Big or small, if you are not sure how to draft the entry, just ask. This saves the attorney and their legal assistant a lot of time later because they will not have to edit your billing entries on the pre-bills.