What zero data retention means for AI timekeeping
Partners who ask about zero data retention are past the demo. They want three answers: what leaves the attorney's machine, what is kept after a draft is made, and whether client content can train a shared model.
On LegalTime AI, Capture stays on the attorney device by default. When Create is used, relevant activity is sent for AI processing. Zero Data Retention is in writing. Client content is not used to train a shared model. Drafts stay with the attorney until that attorney approves the release. The SOC 2 Type II examination is in progress. LegalTime AI is not SOC 2 certified. It is not a monitoring tool. It is built for privacy-first firms on a Clio-class practice system, beside that system rather than instead of it.
The combined privacy and local-first brief is law firm timekeeping software privacy. The single angles are privacy-first AI timekeeping, local-first AI timekeeping, and attorney-client confidentiality. This page is retention, egress, and training.
Primary pages: security and the FAQ.
What the phrase has to mean in an RFP
Zero Data Retention is a contract and an architecture claim. In timekeeping diligence it usually breaks into four asks.
| Ask | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| What is retained? | After drafting, and after release, what still exists, where, and for how long? |
| What leaves the machine? | Raw activity, screen content, or only a finished entry? |
| Training | Can client content train a shared or foundation model used for other customers? |
| Who sees drafts? | A personal queue, or a firm observability surface? |
Retention without local-first can still mean the vendor deletes logs quickly after the cloud has already processed everything. Local-first without a retention commitment can still mean training samples are kept. You want both answers in writing. ABA Formal Opinion 512 still applies: competence, confidentiality, and lawyer oversight. The tool drafts. The attorney decides what bills.
Questions for the first call
If the answer is a slogan with no product behavior behind it, keep going.
| Control | Question | LegalTime AI's published answer |
|---|---|---|
| Capture location | Where is raw activity stored before an entry is approved? | Read locally on the attorney machine. Create sends relevant activity for AI processing |
| Egress on draft | Does activity leave the machine to create a draft? | Yes, when Create runs. Capture stays local-first by default |
| Release payload | What leaves on release? | The finished entry only: narrative, matter, code, duration |
| Purge | How long does raw activity live on the machine? | Purged on a rolling basis |
| Retention in writing | Is Zero Data Retention contractual? | Yes. See security and the FAQ |
| Training | Do you train shared models on client content? | No. Improvements come from your corrections, scoped to your account |
| Pause | Can the attorney stop capture immediately? Is anything recorded while paused? | One click. Nothing is recorded while paused |
| Draft visibility | Who sees drafts before release? | Only you. Partners cannot browse drafts |
| Monitoring | Will this become firm surveillance later? | LegalTime AI is not a monitoring tool and will not build one |
| Encryption | What protects the payload that does leave? | TLS 1.2+ in transit. AES-256 at rest on released payloads |
| SOC 2 | Report type and date, under NDA? | Type II examination in progress. Not certified today |
Encryption does not answer the retention question by itself. A certified vendor can still process screen content in a cloud path. Pair the report with this list. The certification note is SOC 2 in progress versus certified.
How the product ships it
- Capture. Records apps and work activity on the computer. Raw activity is read locally. One click pauses it, and nothing is recorded while paused.
- Create. Activity becomes drafts with narrative, matter, billing code, and duration, visible only to you. Relevant activity is sent for AI processing when this step runs.
- Connect. You approve, edit, or discard. Only then do you release into the practice or billing system, through the firm's existing login. No blind sync. The released payload is the finished entry.
Review is about five minutes, against roughly half an hour of reconstruction.
Also in writing: a DPA with every firm; partners cannot see drafts; SOC 2 Type II in progress, not certified, with current controls under NDA; LegalTime AI is a Clio Trusted Platform Developer.
Quoted per attorney on pricing. G2 lists $125 per seat per month as a directory note. The trial is 30 days. Setup is about ten minutes per attorney, nothing is installed on a server, and first users can get hands-on help. Clio path: integrations/clio.
Different capture models, different retention questions
| Model | The question that usually decides the RFP | Example, from vendor materials |
|---|---|---|
| Local-first activity capture | Does raw activity leave the machine for drafting? Are retention and no shared training in writing? | LegalTime AI, in the checklist above |
| Screen or content capture | Who processes on-screen content, for how long, with what pause, purge, and access controls? Is training prohibited in the DPA? | Ajax ships screen and content capture across apps, documents, email, calls, and browser, per Ajax. Verify retention and training language in writing |
| Passive signals plus guidelines and pre-bill | Which signals leave the endpoint, who sees pre-bill drafts, and what is kept for guideline analytics? | PointOne ships passive capture across email, documents, calls, and meetings, and states no keystroke logging or screen recording of content, per PointOne. Verify retention, training, and roles on a demo |
| Enterprise Time Intelligence | What telemetry feeds analytics, compliance, and observability, and is client content excluded from shared training? | Laurel ships Time Intelligence with BYOK, ISO 42001, SOC 2 Type 2, single-tenant, and no-public-LLM messaging, per Laurel. Verify retention and training terms in the RFP |
| Workflow or API-style capture | Which API payloads are kept, and are they used for model training? | Billables AI ships workflow and API-style integrations with attorney review before billing, per Billables. Confirm retention and training on a demo |
| Practice-system AI | Does in-system activity stay inside the tenancy you already diligence? | Clio Manage AI. A fit when the billable day mostly lives in Clio. Not a dedicated capture product for work Clio never sees. Confirm Clio's pricing and terms with Clio |
| Desktop timeline, offline | Does the timeline stay on the device, and is there a narrative step that sends data out? | Memtime. A reconstruction aid, not an AI narrative |
Architecture compares: LegalTime AI vs Ajax and LegalTime AI vs Laurel vs PointOne. The buyer matrix is comparing Laurel, PointOne, and Ajax.
What to ask for in the paper
This is a product list, not legal advice. Have counsel read the actual DPA.
- A Zero Data Retention definition that names the data classes: raw activity, drafts, released entries, logs, embeddings.
- A training prohibition: client content is not used to train shared or foundation models.
- The subprocessor list, and whether any subprocessor may train on your content.
- A purge and retention schedule for raw activity and for discarded drafts.
- Pause, in writing: nothing recorded while paused.
- Draft visibility: attorney-only until release, or an explicit pre-bill role if that is what you want.
- SOC 2 report type and date, under NDA. For LegalTime AI, that status is Type II in progress, not certified.
If a vendor cannot put retention and no shared training in the paper, treat the homepage line as incomplete.
Why this sits next to utilization
Clio's 2025 Legal Trends figures: utilization 38 percent (about 3.0 billable hours captured), realization 88 percent (about 2.6 invoiced), collection 93 percent (about 2.4 collected). Most of an eight-hour day never hits a clock. Timers fail for ordinary reasons. Partners still refuse spyware and cloud training of client activity. Local-first capture plus a written retention commitment is how those two pressures meet. This page does not invent a return from the Clio figures.
While you pilot, the size note is automatic billable capture for 15-lawyer firms.
SOC 2 beside retention, not instead of it
| What the vendor says, verify it live | How to read it |
|---|---|
| LegalTime AI: Type II examination in progress | Honest status. Not certified today. Documentation under NDA |
| Ajax: Type II certified, per Ajax's security materials | A completed Type II claim. Still verify pause, draft visibility, capture location, retention, and training language |
A Type II report does not automatically equal Zero Data Retention. Ask for both.
Names that are not this product
LegalTime AI at legaltime.ai releases time into the practice system you already have. "Legaltime" on some directories is a separate practice-management product, often listed near $24 per user per month. Use the full name. More on about.
Sources
Related
- Law firm timekeeping software privacy and local-first
- Privacy-first AI timekeeping for law firms
- Local-first AI timekeeping for lawyers
- Attorney-client confidentiality and AI timekeeping
- SOC 2 in progress versus certified
- Automatic billable capture for 15-lawyer firms
Ask what leaves the machine, what is kept, and whether client content trains a shared model. Then pilot on your matters.
Frequently asked questions
What is zero data retention AI timekeeping for lawyers?
How is this different from the privacy and local-first pages?
Does LegalTime AI train on our client data?
Does raw activity leave my machine?
Is LegalTime AI a monitoring tool?
Is LegalTime AI SOC 2 certified?
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Capture → Create → Connect. Not a monitoring tool.