Facilitator Guide

Timekeeping Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Facilitator Guide

Timekeeping Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Topic: Business of Law

What’s covered

Scenario 1: You shave your hours
Scenario 2: You enter your time late
Scenario 3: Your time descriptions are vague
Scenario 4: You’re unsure if the time is billable
Scenario 5: The matter number isn’t available yet
Scenario 6: You don’t ask about billing guidelines
Scenario 7: You make careless errors in your time entries

Before the session

Prepare the Attendees

Send the attendees an invitation for the session. Include this link, which has the videos and exercise they’ll need to prepare.

https://www.hotshotlegal.com/discussions/timekeeping-pitfalls-and-how-to-avoid-them/attendee

Prepare Yourself

Watch the videos and read the exercise so you’re familiar with the Hotshot material.

Course

Timekeeping Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

A practical, scenario-based guide to the most common timekeeping mistakes associates make—from shaving hours and late entries to vague descriptions and billing guideline violations—and the real economic and reputational consequences of getting them wrong.
Exercise
PDF

During the session

Part 1: Knowledge Check

Ask attendees these questions to ensure they understand the topic:

Why is accurate timekeeping important?
Who decides whether recorded time is billed to the client, written off, or adjusted?
What problems can arise when lawyers submit their time days or weeks after the work was done?
What should you do when you’re unsure whether your work is billable?
Why is it important to understand a client’s billing guidelines or outside counsel guidelines (OCGs)?
How can careless errors in time entries affect the firm’s relationship with a client?

Part 2: Group Exercise

Lead a group discussion based on the exercise. To encourage collaboration, divide the attendees into groups to discuss the exercise, then have a representative from each group summarize their views to the larger group. Call on people to share their thoughts and ask others to respond.

Tip for remote sessions: use your web conferencing system’s breakout room feature to divide people into groups.

Part 3: Firm Specifics

Share your own experiences and guidance, including:

Anecdotes
General practice tips (dos and don’ts)
Firm-specific guidance and practices

After the session

To continue learning, attendees can check out related courses in Hotshot’s Business of Law topic.

About Hotshot

Hotshot helps lawyers develop their legal, business, and technology skills through short videos, quizzes, and summaries, and we help law firms and law schools plan and deliver engaging training programs. Our customers include Am Law 200 firms, top law schools, and regional and international firms.