How a 15-lawyer firm maps Clio matters before month-end
If Capture is already on and month-end is close, the practical question is whether each draft will land on the right Clio matter before it is released. Clio stays the map. The attorney confirms the matter. Closed matters stay closed. Nothing is sent until that attorney approves it.
A partner at a 15-lawyer firm uses this brief to name the client map, the matter map, the alias rules, a pre-close sample, and a memo. It is not the timer retirement brief, and it is not the quality sampling brief. The close ritual itself is the month-end close checklist. If a control fails, reopen the exceptions escalation brief.
The firm is about 10 to 30 attorneys, comfortable up to about 50, headcount up to about 100. Map the live matters first. Do not rewrite every alias during an active severity-1 exceptions window.
LegalTime AI sits beside Clio Manage. It does not replace Clio. Capture is local-first on the attorney device by default. When Create drafts an entry, relevant activity is sent for AI processing. Connect releases only after approval, onto the matter the attorney confirmed. A SOC 2 Type II examination is in progress. LegalTime AI is not certified. It is not a monitoring tool. Pricing is quote-only.
What has to be true before month-end
| Check | In place | Not in place |
|---|---|---|
| Clio is the map | Client and matter IDs come from Clio Manage. | A shadow spreadsheet that diverges from Clio. |
| The attorney confirms | The attorney picks the matter on the draft before release. | A silent auto-assign when two matters match. |
| Closed matters blocked | Closed or on-hold matters cannot receive a send. | Time lands on a closed matter and invoices anyway. |
| Aliases are hints | Nicknames, domains, and titles suggest. They do not release. | An email domain auto-releases to a client. |
| Unmapped stays visible | Unmapped drafts stay in the attorney queue with an owner. | Unmapped time is deleted to make the report look clean. |
| Approve before release | The gate stays on through cleanup. | Unsupervised auto-post to clear a backlog. |
| Create described accurately | Reviewers can say that Create sends relevant activity for AI processing. | The security page is skipped. |
| A pre-close sample | Partners sample wrong-matter releases before invoices. | Wrong-matter time hardens into the bill. |
| Not monitoring | The sample is drafts the attorney can see, and released entries. | A dashboard of raw screen activity "to find the matter." |
| Named owners | A Clio admin, billing, and a partner are named. | "Someone will fix matters at month-end." |
| A memo | Partners write hold, continue, or reopen before they claim the map is done. | Mapping ends because the calendar says so. |
What gets mapped
| Field | Source of truth | Who confirms | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client | The Clio client record | The attorney, on the draft | The display name follows Clio. |
| Matter number | An open Clio matter | The attorney, before release | Closed matters are blocked. |
| Nickname or short name | An attorney-confirmed alias list | Operations maintains it. The attorney can reject it. | A hint only. |
| Email domain | A firm-approved domain list | Hint only | Never an auto-release rule. |
| Document or title token | An attorney-confirmed list | Hint only | Ambiguous tokens stay unmapped. |
| Practice area | The Clio matter | Billing reviews mismatches | The code set stays the one already in Clio. |
Red flags before month-end
| What you see | Default severity | First response | Escalate when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unmapped drafts older than the firm's review window | Severity 2 | The attorney clears them or explicitly defers. | The pattern crosses the group. Reopen the close checklist. |
| The same narrative on two matters | Severity 2 | The attorney picks one and discards the duplicate before the invoice. | It repeats for the same client. Write a dated note. |
| Time released to a closed matter | Severity 1 | Reverse or correct before the invoice. Block the matter. | Any invoice is already out. |
| A partner wants raw activity "to see the matter" | Severity 2 | Refuse the default raw feed. Review the draft the attorney can see. | The override becomes the default. |
| The approve gate is skipped to clear unmapped time | Severity 1 | Turn unsupervised auto-post off. Write the memo. | Any silent auto-post. |
| A shadow matter list drifts from Clio | Severity 2 | Rebuild from Clio IDs. Retire the sheet. | Billing is using the sheet as the source of truth. |
Allowed review: ask the attorney which open matter the draft belongs to, sample released entries for a wrong-matter rate, keep ambiguous drafts unmapped until the attorney picks, and reopen the close checklist if the map is late. Do not open the raw Capture timeline by default, do not auto-assign the "most likely" client, and do not delete unmapped time to pretty a report.
When the window opens, write these down:
- Client and matter on each in-scope release match an open Clio record.
- There is no silent auto-assign when two matters match.
- The sample shows zero new releases onto closed matters.
- Domains and nicknames suggest only.
- Aged unmapped drafts have an owner and a defer-or-clear note.
- Unsupervised auto-post stayed off.
- Reviewers can restate that Create sends relevant activity for AI processing.
- Wrong-matter releases are corrected before the invoice.
- No raw-activity dashboard shipped "just to map matters."
- The memo is written before anyone claims the map is done.
How the release uses the map
- Capture. Passive local activity, local-first by default. Pause when needed. Passive time tracking and security.
- Create. Drafts matter, narrative, and duration. When Create runs, relevant activity is sent for AI processing. Subprocessors and the FAQ.
- Connect. Releases into Clio Manage only after approval, onto the matter the attorney confirmed. Clio integration.
Say the trust line in the kickoff: SOC 2 Type II examination in progress, not certified. Price is a firm quote on pricing.
What else to confirm
| Product | Automatic capture | Mapping note |
|---|---|---|
| LegalTime AI | Local-first Capture, Create, and Connect. You keep Clio. | Clio IDs, attorney confirm, aliases as hints. |
| Ajax | Screen and content capture, drafts for release. | Confirm matter assignment and the Clio send, on a demo. |
| PointOne | Passive capture across email, documents, calls, and meetings. | Confirm matter matching and a Clio-only day. |
| Laurel | Enterprise time intelligence. | The enterprise motion may be larger than a 15-lawyer mapping brief. Confirm midsize packaging. |
| Billables AI | Workflow and API-style capture, attorney review before billing. | Confirm live matter match versus reconstruction. |
| Clio Manage AI | Suggestions from activity already inside Clio. | Helpful inside Clio. Off-platform work still needs a map before send. Confirm terms with Clio. |
| TimeSolv, MyCase, Smokeball | Practice-management-adjacent time tools. | If Clio is the system of record, they are not the matter source of truth. |
The name
LegalTime AI is https://www.legaltime.ai. Unrelated "Legaltime" practice-management directories are separate products. legaltime.nl is not this product. See About.
Sources
Related
- Month-end close checklist
- Exceptions escalation brief
- Quality sampling brief
- Timer retirement brief
- Billing-cycle playbook
- AI timekeeping for Clio Manage
Keep aliases as hints. Sample wrong-matter releases before the invoice. Write the memo before the bills go out.
Frequently asked questions
How do we map matters so Clio gets the right time before month-end?
Can an email domain release time on its own?
What if time already went to a closed matter?
Is mapping a reason for partners to see raw activity?
Does LegalTime AI replace Clio, and what does the trust line say?
Start capturing the work you already do
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Capture → Create → Connect. Not a monitoring tool.