How AI Time Tracking Helps Law Firms Increase Billable Hours Without Extra Work
For small law firms in the U.S. and Canada, time is more than just money; it’s your core product. Yet lawyers often spend hours each week manually logging their time, switching between emails, and Clio time entries. The result? Incomplete records, missed billable hours, and staff burnout from administrative overload.
But what if you could recover that time without adding more work?
With AI-powered legal time tracking, firms using Clio can automatically capture emails, sync them to the right matters, and record billable time without any extra clicks.
This article explores how AI-based tools like Tempello help small law firms increase monthly billing by 20% or more while giving back hours to attorneys every week.
Why Traditional Timekeeping Falls Short
Before we talk about automation, it’s essential to understand where traditional timekeeping tools fail small legal teams:
1. Manual Entry is Inaccurate and Time-Consuming
Lawyers are busy. Between hearings, client calls, and research, the last thing they want to do is recall how much time was spent responding to an email or drafting a document. According to the 2022 Clio Legal Trends Report, lawyers spend only 2.6 hours daily on billable work, yet many work closer to 8–10 hours daily.
Much of the remaining time is lost to:
- Logging time after the fact
- Searching for relevant matters
- Categorizing communications manually
2. Timers Disrupt Workflow
Yes, Clio offers timers. But for attorneys bouncing between client matters all day, constantly starting, stopping, or forgetting to use timers can be more trouble than it’s worth.
3. Missed Emails- Missed Billables
Email is still the default communication tool for legal work, yet many emails never get logged. If an attorney doesn’t manually attach that email to the right matter and record the time, it’s lost revenue.
The Real Cost of Incomplete Time Capture
Let’s put a number on this.
Say an attorney misses logging just 15 minutes per day. That’s 1.25 hours per week or 5 hours per month. At $300/hour, that’s $1,500 in lost billables per attorney monthly.
Multiply that by a 10-person firm, and you’re looking at $15,000 in lost revenue monthly, $180,000 per year, simply due to poor time capture.
These numbers are not unusual. In fact, according to the ABA Journal, law firms lose up to 30% of their billable time due to poor tracking practices.
Enter Tempello: AI Time Tracking Built for Clio
Tempello is designed to fix this.Here’s how it works:
- Every email sent or received by a lawyer is automatically captured.
- It’s then matched to the right matter in Clio using context-aware AI.
- The time spent writing or reading the email is calculated and logged to Clio with no action required from the user.
Key Benefits for Small Law Firms:
1. 20%+ Increase in Billings
On average, firms using Tempello see at least a 20% jump in monthly billed hours, without working longer or adding staff. That’s equivalent to finding a new client without marketing or sales effort.2. 3 Hours Saved Weekly, Per User
Lawyers and staff regain around 3 hours each week, which they can reinvest into client service, business development, or getting home on time.3. Improved Matter Management
Audits, invoices, and reporting become easier and more accurate because each captured time entry is tied directly to the correct matter in Clio.4. Full Clio Integration
Tempello is purpose-built for Clio. There’s no new interface to learn, no system overhaul, and no disruption to your current workflow.How AI Time Tracking Works in Practice
Let’s walk through a day in the life of a Tempello user:Before Tempello:
- Attorney Sarah spends 8 minutes replying to a client’s email about a case.
- She moves on to a Zoom call and then to drafting a brief.
- By day’s end, she forgets about the email and doesn’t log the time.
- That 0.1 billable hour? Gone forever.
With Tempello:
- Sarah replies to the email.
- Tempello instantly logs the time to the correct matter in Clio.
- Nothing else required.
Common Objections (And Why They Don’t Hold Up)
“I don’t trust AI to log time accurately.”
Reality: Tempello doesn’t guess; it records time based on real activity (e.g., sending and reviewing emails) and logs conservatively to avoid overbilling. You can also review entries before they’re finalized if you prefer.“Our firm is too small for this kind of automation.”
Reality: Small firms benefit the most. When each hour is critical, and administrative help is lean, automation can level the playing field with larger firms.“We already use Clio’s built-in features.”
Reality: Tempello doesn’t replace Clio—it enhances it. It adds a layer of automation that works invisibly in the background, making Clio even more powerful.
Bonus Benefit: Better Client Trust
Clients are wary of vague or inflated time entries. With Tempello:
- A digital paper trail backs each time entry.
- Time is tracked and directly tied to recorded work done.
- If ever questioned, firms have detailed, defensible records of time spent.
This builds trust and minimizes billing disputes.
Industry Proof: AI in Legal Services Is Growing
Legal tech is on the rise. According to a 2023 report by Gartner, legal departments are expected to automate 50% of legal work related to significant corporate transactions by 2027. While large firms lead the way, small firms quickly adopt tools like AI time capture to stay competitive.
Time tracking is one of the easiest and most impactful places to start.
Getting Started: What to Look for in AI Time Tracking
If you’re considering AI tools for your firm, here’s a quick checklist:
| Feature | Why It Matters |
| Email time capture | Email is where most untracked time hides |
| Clio integration | Avoids duplication, fits your workflow |
| Passive tracking | No user action required = better adoption |
| Transparency | Easy to audit or adjust logged entries |
| Data privacy & security | Essential for legal compliance and ethics |
Tempello checks all of these boxes.
Real Results: What Users Are Saying
“We’ve added thousands in monthly billables without working longer hours. Tempello just quietly gets the job done.”
— Managing Partner, Ontario-based Firm
“Our attorneys were skeptical at first. Now, they never want to go back. Timekeeping is no longer a daily chore.”
— Firm Administrator, Texas
“The ROI was immediate. We covered the cost in the first week.”
— Small Practice Owner, Florida
Conclusion: Stop Losing Time. Start Gaining Revenue.
Your firm doesn’t need more work—it needs more innovative tools.
By automating email-based time tracking with Tempello, you can:
- Increase billable hours by 20%+
- Eliminate hours of admin work per week.
- Build client trust with an accurate, defensible record.
- Fully leverage your Clio investment.
Tempello does all of this invisibly, accurately, and in real time without timers, manual entries, or new systems to learn.
Ready to Capture More Billable Time Automatically?
Visit https://tempello.ai/ to book a free demo and see how AI-powered time tracking can transform your law firm’s billing performance without changing how you work.