{"id":165193,"date":"2026-10-16T15:01:34","date_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/16\/small-time-entries-can-add-up-to-substantial-revenues-for-law-firms\/"},"modified":"2026-10-16T15:01:34","modified_gmt":"2026-10-16T23:01:34","slug":"small-time-entries-can-add-up-to-substantial-revenues-for-law-firms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/10\/16\/small-time-entries-can-add-up-to-substantial-revenues-for-law-firms\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Time Entries Can Add Up To Substantial Revenues For Law Firms"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Image via Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I recently had occasion to review another lawyer\u2019s invoices in connection with a case I was handling. As I examined the bills, I noticed that the attorney had recorded dozens of 0.1-hour time entries for relatively minor tasks performed during the representation. These entries included activities that many attorneys might not even think to record, such as reviewing short emails, sending brief correspondence, and addressing small issues that arose during the course of the matter. Although each entry represented only six minutes or less of work, the cumulative value of these entries was substantial. The experience reminded me that lawyers can leave a surprising amount of money on the table when they fail to record smaller increments of billable time.<\/p>\n

Most attorneys understand the importance of recording the hours they spend drafting motions, conducting depositions, appearing in court, and performing other substantial tasks. However, lawyers also spend considerable time each day performing smaller tasks that are necessary to advance their clients\u2019 interests. Attorneys might answer a quick question from a client, review a short email from opposing counsel, or consider how a new development affects litigation strategy. Since these activities often take only a few minutes, lawyers may not think they are worth recording. Nevertheless, these smaller tasks are legitimate legal work when they are reasonably necessary to a representation, and attorneys should not automatically disregard this time.<\/p>\n

The financial impact of recording smaller time entries can be significant. For instance, an attorney who bills $400 an hour generates $40 in revenue for each 0.1-hour entry. If that attorney records just five additional legitimate 0.1-hour entries each workday, this amounts to $200 in additional daily billings. Over the course of 250 working days, these entries would represent $50,000 in additional annual billings, assuming the time is ultimately collected. For a law firm with ten attorneys who each record similar amounts of previously overlooked time, the potential additional annual billings could reach $500,000.<\/p>\n

Of course, lawyers should never manufacture billable time or record more time than they actually spend performing work. Billing practices must comply with ethical obligations, client agreements, and applicable billing guidelines. If an attorney spends two minutes on a task, that does not necessarily justify billing six minutes, particularly if the client requires actual-time billing or prohibits minimum increments. Similarly, lawyers should not divide related activities into multiple entries merely to inflate the amount of time billed. The goal should always be to accurately record legitimate work rather than to increase invoices through questionable billing practices.<\/p>\n

One reason smaller billing entries may go unrecorded is that attorneys often do not appreciate how much time they spend on minor tasks throughout the day. A lawyer might read an email while walking between meetings, answer a client\u2019s question over the telephone, or review a document for a few minutes before turning to another matter. By the end of the day, the attorney may have forgotten these activities entirely. Even when lawyers remember performing these tasks, they might decide that recording the time is not worth the effort. However, when this happens repeatedly, the financial consequences can become significant.<\/p>\n

Law firms can address this problem by encouraging attorneys to record their time contemporaneously rather than attempting to reconstruct their activities at the end of the day or week. Modern billing software makes it relatively easy to enter time immediately after completing a task, and attorneys should develop habits that allow them to capture legitimate billable work without interrupting their workflow. Firms can also educate lawyers about the cumulative financial impact of small billing entries so that attorneys understand why accurate timekeeping matters. This is particularly important for smaller law firms, where relatively modest increases in collected revenue can have a meaningful impact on profitability.<\/p>\n

There is also a psychological component to this issue. Attorneys sometimes feel uncomfortable charging clients for tasks that take only a few minutes, especially when they have developed close relationships with those clients. I certainly understand this instinct, and there are situations in which writing off time makes good business sense. However, lawyers should distinguish between accurately recording time and deciding whether to charge a client for that work. Recording legitimate time gives attorneys and law firms the information they need to make informed billing decisions, while failing to record the time at all eliminates that option.<\/p>\n

Naturally, not every small task should result in a separate charge. Some client billing guidelines prohibit certain entries, and lawyers should exercise professional judgment about what work is reasonable to bill. Moreover, attorneys should be mindful that excessive or poorly described small entries can frustrate clients and create disputes over invoices. Transparency and reasonableness should remain central to every firm\u2019s billing practices.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the invoices I recently reviewed demonstrated how much financial value can be associated with relatively small amounts of legal work. A single 0.1-hour entry might not seem particularly important, but dozens of such entries over the course of a representation can add up to substantial sums. Lawyers should not be so focused on recording large blocks of billable time that they overlook the smaller tasks that occupy much of their workdays. When accurately recorded, reasonably billed, and ultimately collected, these small entries can make a big difference to a law firm\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

\n

Jordan Rothman is a partner of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Rothman Law Firm<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Student Debt Diaries<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>jordan@rothm<\/em><\/strong><\/a>an.law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Small Time Entries Can Add Up To Substantial Revenues For Law Firms<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Image via Getty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I recently had occasion to review another lawyer\u2019s invoices in connection with a case I was handling. As I examined the bills, I noticed that the attorney had recorded dozens of 0.1-hour time entries for relatively minor tasks performed during the representation. These entries included activities that many attorneys might not even think to record, such as reviewing short emails, sending brief correspondence, and addressing small issues that arose during the course of the matter. Although each entry represented only six minutes or less of work, the cumulative value of these entries was substantial. The experience reminded me that lawyers can leave a surprising amount of money on the table when they fail to record smaller increments of billable time.<\/p>\n

Most attorneys understand the importance of recording the hours they spend drafting motions, conducting depositions, appearing in court, and performing other substantial tasks. However, lawyers also spend considerable time each day performing smaller tasks that are necessary to advance their clients\u2019 interests. Attorneys might answer a quick question from a client, review a short email from opposing counsel, or consider how a new development affects litigation strategy. Since these activities often take only a few minutes, lawyers may not think they are worth recording. Nevertheless, these smaller tasks are legitimate legal work when they are reasonably necessary to a representation, and attorneys should not automatically disregard this time.<\/p>\n

The financial impact of recording smaller time entries can be significant. For instance, an attorney who bills $400 an hour generates $40 in revenue for each 0.1-hour entry. If that attorney records just five additional legitimate 0.1-hour entries each workday, this amounts to $200 in additional daily billings. Over the course of 250 working days, these entries would represent $50,000 in additional annual billings, assuming the time is ultimately collected. For a law firm with ten attorneys who each record similar amounts of previously overlooked time, the potential additional annual billings could reach $500,000.<\/p>\n

Of course, lawyers should never manufacture billable time or record more time than they actually spend performing work. Billing practices must comply with ethical obligations, client agreements, and applicable billing guidelines. If an attorney spends two minutes on a task, that does not necessarily justify billing six minutes, particularly if the client requires actual-time billing or prohibits minimum increments. Similarly, lawyers should not divide related activities into multiple entries merely to inflate the amount of time billed. The goal should always be to accurately record legitimate work rather than to increase invoices through questionable billing practices.<\/p>\n

One reason smaller billing entries may go unrecorded is that attorneys often do not appreciate how much time they spend on minor tasks throughout the day. A lawyer might read an email while walking between meetings, answer a client\u2019s question over the telephone, or review a document for a few minutes before turning to another matter. By the end of the day, the attorney may have forgotten these activities entirely. Even when lawyers remember performing these tasks, they might decide that recording the time is not worth the effort. However, when this happens repeatedly, the financial consequences can become significant.<\/p>\n

Law firms can address this problem by encouraging attorneys to record their time contemporaneously rather than attempting to reconstruct their activities at the end of the day or week. Modern billing software makes it relatively easy to enter time immediately after completing a task, and attorneys should develop habits that allow them to capture legitimate billable work without interrupting their workflow. Firms can also educate lawyers about the cumulative financial impact of small billing entries so that attorneys understand why accurate timekeeping matters. This is particularly important for smaller law firms, where relatively modest increases in collected revenue can have a meaningful impact on profitability.<\/p>\n

There is also a psychological component to this issue. Attorneys sometimes feel uncomfortable charging clients for tasks that take only a few minutes, especially when they have developed close relationships with those clients. I certainly understand this instinct, and there are situations in which writing off time makes good business sense. However, lawyers should distinguish between accurately recording time and deciding whether to charge a client for that work. Recording legitimate time gives attorneys and law firms the information they need to make informed billing decisions, while failing to record the time at all eliminates that option.<\/p>\n

Naturally, not every small task should result in a separate charge. Some client billing guidelines prohibit certain entries, and lawyers should exercise professional judgment about what work is reasonable to bill. Moreover, attorneys should be mindful that excessive or poorly described small entries can frustrate clients and create disputes over invoices. Transparency and reasonableness should remain central to every firm\u2019s billing practices.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the invoices I recently reviewed demonstrated how much financial value can be associated with relatively small amounts of legal work. A single 0.1-hour entry might not seem particularly important, but dozens of such entries over the course of a representation can add up to substantial sums. Lawyers should not be so focused on recording large blocks of billable time that they overlook the smaller tasks that occupy much of their workdays. When accurately recorded, reasonably billed, and ultimately collected, these small entries can make a big difference to a law firm\u2019s bottom line.<\/p>\n

\n

Jordan Rothman is a partner of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The Rothman Law Firm<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Student Debt Diaries<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>jordan@rothm<\/em><\/strong><\/a>an.law<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

The post Small Time Entries Can Add Up To Substantial Revenues For Law Firms<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Image via Getty) I recently had occasion to review another lawyer\u2019s invoices in connection with a case I was handling. As I examined the bills, I noticed that the attorney had recorded dozens of 0.1-hour time entries for relatively minor tasks performed during the representation. These entries included activities that many attorneys might not even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":165186,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-165193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}