A day in the life of a fee earner at a law firm – sa.global
During a webinar, our speaker spoke of how our IP solution for legal firms, empower, can optimize the work of fee earner at law firms. Here’s how it streamlines the work of Chris, a fee earner at a law firm.
A day in the life of a fee earner at a law firm
For a fee earner at a law firm, the workday rarely follows a neat script. Priorities shift, client needs emerge unexpectedly, and administrative tasks compete with billable work for attention. What defines a productive day is how smoothly each part of the day fits together within the broader law firm fee earner workflow.
Morning setup and priorities
The morning sun peeked through Chris’s office window as he booted up his computer. Today was packed; client meetings, overdue timesheets, and a complex case review. But Chris wasn’t fazed. As a fee earner at a law firm, he has learned how to work in a steady flow, even on busy days.First things first, Chris logged into empower pulse, right from his Microsoft Teams screen and checked his client and task list. With a quick filter, he narrowed it down to check out details on the client he was meeting today. A quick glance at the list helped him flag a pending task, a prompt reminder to finish it so he could be ready before the meeting.
Capturing time during client work
Armed with this information, Chris hopped on a Teams call with his first client. Between discussions, he accessed the empower time feature. This intuitive tool is running in the background, intelligently understanding his actions and recording time suggestions that he can use later. It actively reviews his Teams, Teams Meetings, Emails, Outlook, Word (any part of the platform), to create suggested time entries and activities for that day, so that he doesn’t have to spend time wondering, “Against which task do I need to log my hours of the day?!”He proceeds to edit one time entry recommendation and saves it. He has seamlessly logged his billable hours through empower time right from the Teams interface, a feature that saved him the hassle of context switching. Back at his desk, he reviewed the notes and attached them to the time entry for easy reference later
Managing expenses on the go
Lunch break brought a sigh of relief, but also a nagging worry as he took a last bite of his sandwich, those pesky expense reports. Chris pulled them up within the empower pulse platform on his phone. One report from a recent trip required a receipt, which he quickly photographed and attached with a few clicks.With everything in order, submitting the reports took mere seconds. Handling these tasks during the break in the day helped maintain legal fee earner productivity, without distracting from client work or adding pressure later in the afternoon.
Responding to client queries efficiently
The afternoon flew by in a flurry of client enquiries. One client called with questions about a specific matter. Chris used empower Copilots to pull up the client’s matter in seconds. With AI-powered legal matter management, he can explore more about the status of the matter with a single click to evergreen for supporting details without breaking the conversation.With a comprehensive view, he was able to address the concerns clearly and efficiently, leaving the client satisfied. He can also check the status of the invoices. For a fee earner at a law firm, having this information immediately available made client interactions smoother and more productive.
Wrapping up the day with clarity
As Chris reviewed his day’s work, he received a prompt from empower to submit his timesheet. When he opened his saved time entry, he noticed a significant amount of unbilled time. Thanks to the platform’s intuitive interface, diving into the details was a breeze. He identified a few missed entries and quickly added them, ensuring that his firm can bill accurately and that he too is closer to his targets.Before calling it a day, Chris glanced at empower matter’s financial dashboards. The WIP amount seemed a bit high. With a click, he drilled down to uncover the cause, a specific matter with outstanding approvals. Knowing this, he could follow up with finance teams in law firms and ensure the matter progressed smoothly.
As Chris shut down his computer, a sense of accomplishment washed over him. The day’s tasks, which could have easily become overwhelming, were handled efficiently thanks to the empower modules. For a fee earner at a law firm, having visibility and structure throughout the day made it easier to stay focused, productive, and in control of the law firm fee earner workflow.
Conclusion
For a fee earner at a law firm, productivity is shaped by how seamlessly each part of the day connects. From client meetings to time capture and follow-ups, a structured law firm fee earner workflow reduces friction and helps legal professionals stay focused on the work that matters. This day in the life of a fee earner shows how small efficiencies across the day can have a meaningful impact on legal fee earner productivity.
