Recording time from emails for lawyers: what actually works

A client asks one small question. You open their email, read the earlier thread, check the matter, write a reply and move on. If you have to open another program to log that work, it is easy to forget the entry. That does not mean every minute is billable. The firm still needs to follow its own engagement terms, billing practices and approval process.

Start by asking your team where their work happens. If most of the day happens in Outlook, a process that starts in the inbox is easier to maintain than a reminder sent at 5pm. If most of the day happens inside the practice management system, its built-in tools may already be enough.

Smokeball's own Getting Started with AutoTime page says AutoTime tracks work in its system, including matter administration, events, documents, emails, messages, memos, calls and tasks. It creates time entries from recorded activities overnight. Access depends on the firm's Smokeball subscription and setup.

That makes AutoTime an important first place to look if your firm already uses Smokeball. Do not buy a second tool without checking what your current licence gives you.

Smokeball also explains a significant difference between Outlook versions. Its documentation says classic Outlook tracks email-reading engagement differently from new Outlook, where viewing an email for more than ten seconds can produce a one-minute activity. Reopening the same email can produce another activity. Those figures need checking before being treated as billable time.

The vendor's AutoTime setup guide also describes options for grouping email activity by subject, controlling activity on closed matters and rounding email entries. These settings deserve attention before your team relies on the results.

A practical alternative is a small habit: read, respond, record. Finish the email, identify the correct matter and create the time entry before moving to the next client. In a small practice, keeping that process close to the inbox may help.

The risk is recording time against the wrong matter. Similar names, related parties and multiple open matters can make a quick guess unsafe. The firm should verify the matter identifier and description before confirming any entry. A useful system lets the lawyer correct the matter and time, rather than automatically billing an unverified guess.

A second risk is duplication. If AutoTime has already captured an activity, a manually entered item may record the same work twice. Before using any add-in to record email time, decide which system is the source of truth and what the lawyer is expected to check.

1. Where is the time captured? Inside Smokeball, inside Outlook, or in a separate sheet?
2. How does it find the matter? Does it use an actual matter list, or guess from the subject line?
3. Who can edit it? Does the practitioner get a chance to adjust the units and description?
4. Can it duplicate entries? How are existing activity records checked?
5. How does the entry reach the bill? Is it merely prepared, recorded against a matter, or already approved for invoicing?

Those questions are more useful than an unsupported promise to increase billings by a fixed percentage.

Pick two ordinary working days. Ask each lawyer to record a sample of email-related work as it occurs. At the end of the day, compare that record with the entries available in the practice system. Check the matters, descriptions and duplicate items. Then ask whether the process took less effort and whether the records are more useful.

Do not confuse activity duration with chargeable time. Some messages are administrative. Some engagement terms prohibit charging for certain work. The right process is the one that gives the practitioner an accurate starting point.

If the firm already uses AutoTime, trial its settings first. If you are evaluating an Outlook workflow, test how it proposes the correct matter and how clearly it shows the action before confirmation.

AI Legal Toolbox puts Nova inside Outlook. For a firm with a connected Smokeball account, Nova can help identify the matter, prepare the correspondence for filing and prepare a time entry for practitioner approval. It also offers inbox triage, email drafting and document work, whether or not Smokeball is connected. Smokeball is currently the only supported practice management integration. See the Smokeball integration page, the unbilled time calculator and the fictional workflow example. The example is not live AI processing.

This article is not saying Nova replaces Smokeball AutoTime. They support different ways of handling work. Check how each would fit your current setup before choosing one or both.

*This guide is general information, not legal advice.*

This guide is general information, not legal advice.