Legal billing glossary
Legal billing — defined
Plain-language definitions of legal billing concepts that matter for firms evaluating how voice capture fits their practice.
Terms
All definitions
Contemporaneous time capture
The practice of recording time entries at or close to when the work is performed — not reconstructed from memory later. The foundation of accurate legal billing.
Legal time entry
A billable record of legal work performed for a client — including client/matter reference, a description of the work, the time value, and billing rate. The core unit of legal billing.
Billing narrative
The written description in a time entry — what work was done, for whom, and in what context. Narrative quality affects client satisfaction, billing acceptance, and write-down risk.
Write-down risk
The risk that a billed amount will be reduced or eliminated — proactively or in response to client objection — because an entry is vague, duplicative, or difficult to justify.
Billing leakage
Billable time performed but not captured, not entered, or not billed — and therefore never invoiced. The gap between work that occurred and work that was recovered as revenue.
Time entry defensibility
The quality of a billing entry that can withstand client scrutiny — at invoice review, in a billing audit, or in a fee dispute. Defensibility depends on specificity, accuracy, and narrative quality.
OCG compliance
Adherence to Outside Counsel Guidelines — billing requirements set by corporate clients that specify how time must be recorded, described, and invoiced. Non-compliance leads to write-downs or rejected invoices.
Matter mapping
The process of associating a time entry with the correct client matter — so the work is billed to the right file, at the right rate, in the correct billing period.
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