The Time Recording station is about visibility  -  visibility into how legal teams spend their most precious resource: time. While many lawyers leave private practice to escape the tyranny of the billable hour, the reality is that time remains the ultimate measure of cost and value. In-house lawyers are expensive assets, and their time is a finite commodity. Understanding how that time is deployed is essential for efficiency, prioritisation, and strategic decision-making.

Time recording in an in-house environment does not mean resurrecting the billable hour model. Instead, it is about periodic, structured capture of effort and activity data to unlock insights into workload patterns, resource allocation, and operational bottlenecks. These insights enable legal leaders to answer critical questions:

◼️Where is the team’s time going?

◼️Which work types consume the most effort?

◼️Are senior lawyers spending time on tasks that could be delegated?

◼️How do we justify headcount or senior hires?

For organisations operating shared services models, time recording becomes even more critical. When legal services are recharged between business units, accurate time data ensures fairness, transparency, and accountability. Without it, cost allocation becomes guesswork, and the legal team risks being perceived as a black box.

In short, time recording is not about turning lawyers into slaves to the clock. It is about equipping the legal function with the data it needs to operate like a business  -  efficient, transparent, and aligned with organisational priorities.

The scope of a Time Recording station typically includes:

◼️Effort Capture: Recording time spent on matters, tasks, and projects.

◼️Activity Categorisation: Tagging work types (e.g., contracts, compliance, litigation).

◼️Periodic Assessment: Structured intervals for time capture (weekly, monthly, quarterly).

◼️Workload Analysis: Identifying patterns and bottlenecks across the team.

◼️Resource Allocation: Informing decisions on delegation, outsourcing, and hiring.

◼️Shared Services Recharging: Supporting cost allocation between business units.

◼️Efficiency Benchmarking: Comparing time spent against industry norms or internal targets.

◼️Integration Capability: Linking with matter management and reporting systems.

The Time Recording station is considered a Specialist resource within the GLS Legal Operations model.

A Foundational Resource: Is responsible for determining the overall performance capabilities of a “critical” legal function. If it is not optimised, the function can never be optimised. 

A Repeater Resource: Supports the performance of multiple "critical" legal functions and as such represents a "ripple effect" productivity intervention point. 

A Specialist Resource: Is responsible for driving the performance of a very specific part of an individual legal function. Its productivity contribution is limited to that single legal function. 

The best practice features of the Time Recording Platform (TRP) are as follows:

◼️Simple Capture Interface: Easy-to-use tools that minimise friction for lawyers.

◼️Categorisation Framework: Standardised taxonomy for work types and activities.

◼️Periodic Recording: Flexible intervals to avoid daily time-sheet fatigue.

◼️Analytics Dashboard: Visual insights into workload distribution and trends.

◼️Integration Ready: Connectivity with matter management and reporting systems.

◼️Role-Based Access: Ensuring confidentiality and appropriate data visibility.

◼️Mobile Access: Allowing time capture on the go for busy lawyers.

◼️Data Validation: Checks to ensure accuracy and completeness of entries.

◼️Customisable Reporting: Tailored outputs for leadership, finance, and operations.

◼️Scalable Architecture: Ability to handle growing teams and complex structures.

The Time Recording station delivers the following value to the Business:

◼️Cost Transparency: Provides visibility into how legal resources are deployed.

◼️Efficiency Gains: Identifies opportunities to streamline processes and reduce wasted effort.

◼️Resource Optimisation: Supports decisions on outsourcing, automation, and headcount.

◼️Fair Cost Allocation: Enables accurate recharging in shared services environments.

◼️Strategic Alignment: Ensures legal effort is focused on high-value business priorities.

◼️Faster Decision-Making: Data-driven insights accelerate resourcing and budgeting decisions.

For the legal team, Time Recording offers:

◼️Operational Insight: Reveals workload patterns and bottlenecks.

◼️Justification for Resources: Provides evidence for headcount and senior hires.

◼️Improved Prioritisation: Enables smarter allocation of tasks to appropriate levels.

◼️Enhanced Collaboration: Facilitates discussions with the business about value and demand.

◼️Performance Benchmarking: Supports continuous improvement and efficiency initiatives.

The Time Recording station is essential for:

◼️Legal Departments: Seeking visibility into workload and resource utilisation.

◼️Shared Services Models: Where cost recharging between business units occurs.

◼️Legal Operations Teams: Driving efficiency and data-driven decision-making.

◼️Finance Teams: Monitoring cost allocation and budgeting accuracy.

A legal team operating without a Time Recording capability will face a wide range of inefficiencies including:

◼️Blind Spots: No visibility into workload distribution or resource utilisation.

◼️Poor Prioritisation: Senior lawyers spending time on low-value tasks.

◼️Inefficient Resourcing: Inability to justify headcount or outsourcing decisions.

◼️Cost Allocation Issues: Lack of transparency in shared services environments.

◼️Missed Efficiency Gains: No data to support process improvement initiatives.

Time Recording is a technology-enabled station, with the following profile:

◼️Cloud Deployment: For scalability and global accessibility.

◼️Integration Hooks: APIs for linking with matter management and reporting systems.

◼️Mobile Capability: Allowing time capture on the go.

◼️Analytics Engine: Providing dashboards and trend analysis.

◼️Security Protocols: Encryption and role-based access to protect sensitive data.

1. Why do in-house legal teams need time recording?

To understand workload patterns, optimise resources, and justify headcount.

2. Is time recording the same as billable hours?

No, it is about capturing effort for analysis, not billing clients.

3. How often should in-house lawyers record time?

Periodic intervals (weekly or monthly) are recommended to avoid daily time-sheet fatigue.

4. What insights does time recording provide?

Workload distribution, efficiency gaps, and prioritisation opportunities.

5. Does time recording improve legal efficiency?

Yes, by identifying bottlenecks and enabling smarter resource allocation.

6. Is time recording necessary for shared services models?

Absolutely, it ensures fair cost allocation between business units.

7. Can time recording justify senior hires?

Yes, data on workload and complexity supports resource planning decisions.

8. What technology supports time recording?

Cloud-based platforms with integration to matter management systems.

9. Does time recording require daily input?

No, periodic capture is sufficient for meaningful insights.

10. Will time recording become standard in legal ops?

Yes, as legal teams embrace data-driven decision-making and efficiency metrics.