Services
Explore
Free AI assessmentAnswer 15 questions about one process and see where AI could help.
Start an assessmentReduce routine legal administration
Review correspondence, file summaries and case updates for a suitable pilot. We help you pick the task, test drafts with the fee-earners who check them and decide whether the change is worth keeping.
Reducing non-billable time starts with listing the routine tasks fee-earners do that do not appear on an invoice, such as client update letters, chasers, file summaries and case management updates. A pilot then tests whether AI can prepare a usable draft for the fee-earner to check. Time recovered this way does not automatically become billable work, so the firm decides how it is used.
See it run
Contract review agent in practice
The workflow as it runs day to day, with a person signing off at the end. Sample data.
- Read the contractClauses extracted and labelledDocuments
- Check clauses against the playbookThe firm’s own positionsPlaybook
- Flag deviations with a risk ratingHigh, medium or lowModel
- Prepare a structured summaryEach point linked to its clauseDocuments
The problem
Where non-billable time goes in a law firm
Reducing non-billable time starts with listing the routine tasks fee-earners do that do not appear on an invoice, such as client update letters, chasers, file summaries and case management updates. A pilot then tests whether AI can prepare a usable draft for the fee-earner to check. Time recovered this way does not automatically become billable work, so the firm decides how it is used.
Status updates, document chasers, formatted letters, standard forms and case record updates take time that is rarely recorded against a matter. Some of this work follows a predictable pattern, which makes it a reasonable place to test an AI tool. Some of it is better handled by templates or by automation already built into your case management system, and that can be the simpler choice.
A pilot uses a single type of task and a small set of real examples. We compare the time taken to produce and check the finished work under the current method and with an AI draft, including corrections, before you decide whether to continue.
Where time goes
Tasks worth testing first
These tasks often follow a pattern, which makes the drafts easier to check:
Client update letters, chaser emails and standard communications drafted from the matter record, for the fee-earner to check and adjust before sending.
Summaries of long documents or bundles that point to the relevant pages, so the fee-earner can check each point against the source.
Notes from calls and meetings arranged in your firm's format, ready for the fee-earner to correct and save to the case management system.
Standard forms and case record fields filled from information already on file, with the fee-earner confirming the entries.
How we help
Working with Reformat Labs
We can help you choose the task, build and test the tool, and support it once your fee-earners are using it.
Our page on AI for law firms covers other legal tasks we can help with.
Common questions
Questions about AI and legal admin
Which non-billable tasks can AI help with in a law firm?
Good candidates follow a predictable pattern: routine correspondence, case status updates, file summaries, attendance notes and form completion. Tasks that depend on legal judgement stay with the fee-earner, who also checks each draft before it is used.
How much time could we recover?
That depends on the task, the volume and how much correction the drafts need. We measure it during a pilot by comparing the total time for finished, checked work under both methods. Recovered non-billable time does not automatically turn into billable time.
Can we use AI with confidential client information?
That depends on the tool, its contract terms and your firm's own obligations. Business plans and consumer tools from the same provider can have different terms on how data is used and stored. Before anything goes live, we work through the confidentiality and data protection rules that apply with you and agree the safeguards and checks.
How do we know whether it is worth continuing?
Set the measure before the pilot starts, for example the time to produce and check a client update letter. If the drafts need so much correction that the total time does not fall, a better template, a change to the process or keeping things as they are may be the right answer.
Do we need to change our case management system?
Not necessarily. We check what your current system allows another tool to connect to, such as an API or a data export, and design around it. Where no connection is possible, the tool can still prepare drafts that someone copies into the system.
Talk to us
Tell us how the task works today
Bring the task that takes your team the most time. We reply within one working day.