Summary
Clear legal billing descriptions help clients understand the work behind each charge. Record time while the task is fresh, describe the specific work and its purpose, keep distinct tasks in separate entries, and review descriptions before invoicing. LawBillity helps firms capture time by matter and review entries before sending a bill.
How to Write Better Legal Billing Descriptions
A legal invoice should answer a simple question: What work did the firm do for this matter? Yet descriptions such as “review file,” “emails,” or “work on case” leave clients guessing. Even when the work is necessary and the time is accurate, a vague entry can make the charge difficult to understand.
Better billing descriptions do more than document hours. They show the client how the matter is progressing, give billing reviewers enough information to assess a charge, and help your team spot errors before an invoice goes out. The American Bar Association recommends recording time as work happens and providing enough detail for clients to understand the work, subject to their billing guidelines.
Here is how to make every entry clearer without turning timekeeping into another lengthy task.
1. Write the description while the work is fresh
At the end of a busy week, it is easy to remember that you worked on a matter and much harder to recall precisely what you did. “Reviewed documents” might have meant reviewing a contract for termination provisions, comparing two drafts, or identifying records needed for discovery. Those distinctions matter to the person reading the bill.
Record the time and its purpose when you finish a task, or as close to that point as practical. A useful entry captures three things:
- The action: What did you do?
- The subject: What issue or document did you address?
- The purpose: How did the work move the matter forward?
For example, “Reviewed supplier agreement to identify termination and notice requirements” is more informative than “Reviewed contract.” It stays concise, but the client can see why the review mattered.
2. Replace generic labels with specific work
Words such as research, drafting, conference, and correspondence identify an activity type. On their own, they rarely explain enough. Add the topic and, where helpful, the work product or next step.
| Vague description | Clearer description |
| Research | Researched limitation-period issue for potential contract claim and summarized findings for counsel |
| Draft documents | Drafted first version of demand letter addressing unpaid invoices |
| Call with client | Spoke with client about proposed settlement terms and confirmed next steps |
| Review file | Reviewed medical records to prepare chronology of treatment |
Aim for accuracy, not impressive language. Avoid padding an entry with broad claims about strategy or outcomes that the work did not support. Clients should be able to read the description and recognize the service provided.
3. Keep separate tasks separate
One entry covering several unrelated activities makes it difficult to tell how much time was spent on each. Consider: “Reviewed disclosure, drafted letter, researched case law, and called client — 5.2 hours.” The work may all be legitimate, but the combined entry gives little basis for evaluating the time.
When tasks are distinct, create separate entries with their own durations. Some related communications may sensibly be grouped, depending on the client’s guidelines, but a substantial research task and a client call should generally be easy to distinguish. ABA guidance cautions that block billing can make it impossible to assess the time spent on individual tasks.
Separate entries also make internal review easier. If a client’s billing arrangement excludes a particular activity, your team can address that entry without revisiting an entire afternoon of work.
4. Use language your client can understand
Your team may know exactly what “prep re MSJ” means. A client may not. Spell out unfamiliar abbreviations, use the name of the document when useful, and describe the issue in plain language.
For example, “Prepared for hearing on motion for summary judgment” communicates more than “MSJ prep.” If the client has detailed billing rules or requires task codes, follow those requirements. Clear language and the required billing format can work together.
A description does not need to tell the whole story of the case. One focused sentence is often enough. Before saving an entry, ask: Would someone who was not present understand why this work appears on their invoice?
5. Protect confidential information
Specificity has a limit. Accounting staff, an insurer, an auditor, or someone else involved in payment may see an invoice. A billing entry should explain the work without revealing sensitive legal advice, privileged communications, or unnecessary personal details.
Compare “Analyzed client’s admission that…” with “Analyzed evidence relevant to defence strategy.” The second version describes the activity while sharing less of the substance. The appropriate level of detail depends on the matter, recipient, and applicable obligations, so your firm’s review process should account for those factors. The ABA likewise cautions lawyers against putting privileged information in billing descriptions.
6. Follow the client’s billing guidelines
A well-written description can still cause a problem if it misses a client’s requirements. Some clients specify how tasks must be described, whether certain activities are billable, which codes to use, or how entries must be submitted.
Make those guidelines easy for timekeepers to find before they start work. For recurring clients, a short internal reference can be more useful than asking everyone to search through an engagement file. Include examples of acceptable descriptions, required codes, and any restrictions on grouped tasks or expenses.
The goal is to catch issues at entry or review time, when they are easier to resolve, instead of discovering them after an invoice is submitted.
7. Review descriptions before sending the invoice
Even careful timekeepers make occasional mistakes. A pre-bill review gives your firm a chance to correct unclear wording, duplicate entries, wrong matters, inconsistent names, and charges that need further discussion.
Read the invoice from the client’s perspective. Does each entry explain a recognizable piece of work? Do several descriptions repeat the same phrase without making clear what changed? Does the sequence of entries tell a coherent story of progress?
Proofreading matters, too. A typo may seem minor, but a polished invoice reflects the same attention to detail clients expect elsewhere in their matter. ABA billing advice recommends proofreading time entries before they reach the client.
Make good descriptions easier to write with LawBillity.
Clear billing starts with a consistent way to capture work. LawBillity lets legal professionals record time against clients and matters using timers or timesheets, including through its mobile app. Recording an entry close to when the work happens gives you a better starting point for an accurate description.
LawBillity also supports time-entry approvals so that a reviewer can edit, reject, or approve submitted time before billing. When creating an invoice, your team can review selected entries, make revisions, and save a pre-bill for a final check. For clients with format requirements, LawBillity supports legal invoice formats including LEDES and LSS.
Software cannot decide what a client needs to know about a task. It can, however, make it simpler to record the work promptly and give your team a clear opportunity to review descriptions before they become part of an invoice.
A better habit: one entry at a time
The strongest legal billing descriptions are specific, brief, accurate, and appropriate for the reader. Name the task, identify its subject, explain its purpose when useful, and leave out sensitive details. Then review the entries together before sending the bill.
Ready to make time tracking and invoice review easier for your firm? Start your free 14-day LawBillity trial and select LawBillity. No credit card is required.
FAQs
What should a legal billing description include?
Include the action you took, the subject of the work, and its purpose when that adds clarity. For example: “Reviewed supplier agreement to identify termination and notice requirements.”
How detailed should a billing entry be?
Give enough detail for the client to understand the charge without adding unnecessary information or revealing confidential advice. One clear sentence is often sufficient.
What is block billing?
Block billing combines several distinct tasks into one entry with a single time total. Separate entries make it easier for clients and reviewers to see how time was spent.
When should lawyers record their time?
Record time and write the description when the work is completed, or as soon afterward as practical. The details are easier to recall while the task is fresh.
How can LawBillity help improve billing descriptions?
LawBillity lets your team track time by client and matter using timers or timesheets. Its entry approval and pre-bill review options give your firm opportunities to improve descriptions before an invoice is sent.