Policy · Costs, billing & litigation funding
Billing and time-recording policy for AI-assisted work
Firm policy on recording time and billing for work done with AI tools, so bills reflect real legal work, efficiencies reach the client, and verification or rework does not inflate costs.
- Kind
- Policy. A policy or procedure for a firm or client.
- Where it applies
- New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Australia, United States
- AI use
- Yellow AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at
- 17 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 17 October 2026 against the 5 authorities it cites, for 5 jurisdictions.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Adopt as a firm policy alongside the law firm AI use policy. Apply to all fee earners and to the responsible principal reviewing each bill. Revisit fixed-fee pricing when AI changes the effort for a matter type.
How AI may be used
AI can group time entries, flag AI-assisted entries and compare a draft bill with the disclosure, but the responsible principal decides what is charged and signs off every bill.
AI may
- Turn time entries into a draft bill grouped by task, flagging entries outside the disclosed scope.
- List AI-tagged entries and compare the time charged with the time typical for the task.
- Line the bill up against the last costs disclosure and list undisclosed work, rates or totals.
AI must not
- Must not create, inflate or "round up" time entries.
- Must not decide write-offs or approve a bill.
- Must not be given access to trust or billing systems with authority to issue or send bills.
The lawyer checks
- Every AI-assisted entry reflects time actually spent and is proportionate to the task.
- Rework caused by unusable AI output has been written off where it exceeded the time the task would otherwise take.
- Any tool cost charged was disclosed and agreed, at cost.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Official form
Open the official form. Always use the current version from the issuer.
Read the full text
The full text is for signed-in accounts. It is free. When you sign in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Costs, billing & litigation funding
- Uniform Law standard costs disclosure form (matters likely to cost $750 to $3,000): completion guide
- Costs disclosure and costs agreement letter (Uniform Law ss 174 and 180)
- Engagement and costs agreement clauses: AI use, client consent and charging for AI-assisted work
- Notice to client of a significant change in legal costs (Uniform Law s 174(1)(b))
- Litigation funding agreement review checklist (including class actions)
All precedents for Costs, billing & litigation funding · Tasks and AI use in this area