Block Billing: What’s Wrong With It (and How to Fix It)

As a lawyer, you understand that accurate billing helps foster client trust and ensures you’re paid for the work you do.

While block billing might seem like a time-saving shortcut, this outdated method creates more problems than it solves – and could even put your practice at risk.

Let’s examine why block billing falls short of modern billing standards and explore better alternatives for billable hours tracking that protect both your revenue and your client relationships.

Related article: How lawyers track billable hours

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Key Takeaways

• Block billing is an outdated way of legal billing mainly because it lacks transparency, accuracy, and accountability – all of which are essential in modern, data-driven workplaces.
• Block billing combines multiple tasks into single time entry, making it nearly impossible for clients to determine what they’re paying for.
• Most corporate clients and courts reject or automatically reduce block-billed invoices, often by 10-15% or more, leading to significant revenue leakage.
• Block billing increases client disputes and can damage relationships due to lack of transparency in legal invoices.
• Block billing raises ethical concerns as it may violate professional responsibility rules requiring reasonable fees.
• Detailed task billing is no longer time-consuming when you use automated time-tracking software.

What Is Block Billing?

Block billing is a method of tracking billable hours where you consolidate multiple tasks into a single time entry with one combined time block.

Block billing example: Instead of billing each task individually, you group various activities under a vague description like ‘legal work’ or ‘case preparation’.

In law firms, block billing has become increasingly controversial. Many clients, courts, and bar associations now view it as an unacceptable billing practice that fails to provide enough information about the work performed by a lawyer.

Recommended articles:

• Billable vs. Non-Billable Hours
• Billable and Actual Hours

Block Billing vs Task Billing

Task billing (also called itemized billing or detailed billing) means tracking billable hours for each discrete task with its own time entry and description. In contrast with block billing, this method provides transparency, accountability, and clear documentation of the work you performed by lawyers.

Understanding key differences between those two methods will help you see why one method clearly outperforms the other:

Block Billing Example

10/15/2024 – Legal Work on Smith matter – 4.5 hours – $1,800

This single entry tells your client virtually nothing. What specific work did you perform? Did you analyze relevant case law or draft legal documents? How much time did you spend on particular tasks? Was all of it necessary? Was the time reasonable for each activity?

Detailed Task Billing Example:

10/15/2024 – Reviewed plaintiff’s interrogatory responses – 0.8 hours – $320

10/15/2024 – Conducted research on summary judgment standards – 1.2 hours – $480

10/15/2024 – Drafted motion for summary judgment (initial draft) – 2.0 hours – $800

10/15/2024 – Conference call with client re: deposition strategy – 0.5 hours – $200

Recommended article: What is Project Billing?

Benefits of Block Billing

To be fair, block billing does offer a few apparent benefits, which is why some attorneys still use this method:

1. Faster initial entry: Grouping tasks together can feel quicker in the moment, especially when you’re rushing between matters and don’t want to stop to log individual activities. Less time creating billing entries can mean less administrative overhead in the short term.
2. Natural workflow: It can reflect how someone actually works, as tasks often overlap throughout the day, and it’s easier to group them in chunks. When analyzing a legal issue, for instance, a lawyer might switch contexts all the time and simultaneously review documents, draft sections of a motion, and discuss with other team members – activities that naturally flow together.
3. Simplified record-keeping: Fewer line items on your timesheet means less for you to review when preparing invoices.

However, these minor conveniences are vastly outweighed by the significant risks and disadvantages of block billing – especially when modern automated time tracking tools have eliminated any time-saving argument entirely.

• Recommended article: What is billabile utilization

Why You Shouldn’t Use Block Billing – Block Billing Cons

Law firms have moved away from block billing for compelling reasons. Here are the major drawbacks that should make you reconsider this approach:

1. Automatic Reductions and Rejections

Many courts and clients automatically reduce your block billed entries by 10-25% because they cannot verify the time claimed. Some clients will reject your invoices entirely until you provide proper detail.

2. Violation of Client Billing Guidelines

Most sophisticated clients like insurance companies, corporations, and government entities, explicitly prohibit block billing. Many state in their outside counsel agreements that they will not pay for block billed entries. This can result in invoice rejection, removal from approved counsel lists, and damaged professional reputation.

3. Increased Client Disputes

When clients can’t understand what they’re paying for, they’re more likely to challenge your invoices. Without transparency, clients assume you’re padding hours, which delays payment.

4. Risk of Under-Billing and Revenue Drops

When you don’t track time spent on each task separately, you often forget smaller activities that consumed billable time. Attorneys who use detailed time tracking usually capture 15-20% more billable hours than those who use block billing.

Recommended article: How to Increase Billable Hours

5. Difficulty Justifying Your Value

Your clients want to see the specific value you’re providing. Block billing makes it impossible to demonstrate your expertise and efficiency. Itemized billing tells a story: “I anticipated this issue, conducted thorough legal research, drafted a comprehensive motion, and protected your interests.” Block billing just says: “I worked on your case for four hours.”

6. Poor Business Management Data

Block billing creates internal problems: difficulty analyzing profitability by task type, inability to identify inefficiencies, challenges in staffing decisions, lack of data for alternative fee arrangements, and reduced ability to determine actual time required for future similar work.

When you don’t know how long different tasks actually take, you can’t make informed business decisions about pricing, delegation, or process improvements.

7. Weak Audit Trail

If your billing is ever audited – by a client, court, or in a malpractice case – block billed entries provide virtually no protection. You’ll struggle to reconstruct what you actually did, making it difficult to defend your time entries or demonstrate the care you exercised.

Is Block Billing Unethical?

While block billing isn’t explicitly prohibited by the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, it raises serious ethical concerns and potentially violates professional responsibility rules.

Rule 1.5 – Reasonable Fees

Rule 1.5 requires you to charge reasonable fees considering “the time and labor required” for each task. Block billing makes it impossible for clients or disciplinary authorities to assess reasonableness.

Rule 1.4 – Communication

Rule 1.4 states that you must “reasonably communicate” with clients about representation. Block billed invoices fail this standard by obscuring what work you performed and how much time you spent on each task.

Bar Association Guidance

Bar associations have flagged block billing as problematic. The Pennsylvania Bar Association noted it “makes it difficult, if not impossible, for the client or a reviewing court to determine whether the actual time spent was reasonable.” Bankruptcy courts find it inconsistent with rules requiring detailed records, and fee arbitration panels routinely reduce block billed entries.

The modern standard is clear: transparency in legal billing is not optional. Your clients have a right to understand what they’re paying for.

Spending hours reconstructing what you worked on last week for your block bills?

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Ways to Replace Block Billing

The good news: you can eliminate block billing without adding hours of administrative tasks to your day. Here’s how you can transition to better billing practices:

1. Use Automated Time Tracking Software

Modern legal time tracking tools automatically capture your activities throughout the day—tracking time you spend in different documents, applications, and websites without manual input.

These tools run in the background while you work. At the end of the day, you simply review the captured activities and convert them into billing entries with a single click.

This means itemized billing requires less time than block billing – you’re not reconstructing your day from memory. You’ll capture more billable hours while spending less time on administrative tasks.

Tools like EARLY provide this automation, offering features such as:

• Automatic activity capture: The software tracks what you’re working on in the background – no need to start/stop timers or remember to log your work.
• One-click time entry conversion: Review your day’s activities and turn them into billing entries with a single click.
• Real-time dispute protection: If clients question your invoices, you have detailed records showing exactly what you did and when.
• Rate management: Set your hourly rates once, and the system automatically calculates what you’ve earned as you work.
• Legal software integration: Works alongside the practice management tools you already use—no need to enter information twice.
• Secure backup storage: All your time records are saved automatically, giving you proof of your work if you ever need it.

2. Adopt Task-Based Time Entry Habits

Train yourself and your team to think in terms of discrete tasks:

• “Reviewed plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment” (not “reviewed documents”)
• “Legal research on hearsay exceptions under FRE 803” (not “legal research”)
• “Drafted motion for preliminary injunction (introduction and legal standard sections)” (not “drafted motion”)

Specific descriptions take no longer for you to write than vague ones, but they provide immensely more value to your clients and create detailed records that protect your practice during internal reviews or billing disputes.

3. Use Matter-Specific Codes or Templates

Many practice management systems allow you to create task templates specific to matter types. For example, if you handle personal injury cases, you might have pre-populated tasks like:

• Initial client intake interview
• Medical records review and analysis
• Demand letter drafting
• Settlement negotiation with opposing counsel

This makes task billing even faster for you because you’re selecting from pre-defined options rather than typing from scratch.

4. Track Time in Real-Time, Not Retrospectively

The biggest cause of block billing is when you try to reconstruct your entire day or week from memory. Instead, try tracking billable hours as you work or immediately after you complete each task.

Set reminders to log your time every few hours, or use a timer that you start and stop as you switch between tasks.

Real-time time tracking is more accurate and actually takes less time than trying to remember everything at the end of your day. This process also captures more of your billable hours by recording smaller tasks that you might otherwise forget.

5. Set Internal Billing Guidelines

Establish clear billing practices for your firm:

• Each time entry you create should describe a single task or closely related tasks
• Your billing entries should include sufficient information that a stranger could understand what legal work you performed
• No single entry you create should exceed 2-3 hours without breaking it into component tasks
• You and all team members should review and approve time entries daily, not weekly
• You must record time spent on administrative tasks separately from client work

6. Leverage Mobile Time Tracking

If you’re frequently away from your desk – at court, in depositions, at client meetings – use mobile time tracking apps that allow you to quickly log billable hours on the go. This prevents the end-of-day scramble when you’re trying to remember what billable time you spent on client work while at the courthouse.

7. Review Sample Invoices from Other Practices

Look at how top law firms in your practice area handle billing. You’ll likely find that the most reputable ones use detailed, specific time entries that list each task individually. Study attorney billing statements from respected law firms to see how they describe legal work performed, from legal research to contract drafting to communications with opposing counsel.

How to Implement Block Billing Effectively

If you decide to use block billing despite its risks, follow these practices to minimize problems:

• Review client guidelines first. Check your clients’ billing guidelines carefully. Many institutional clients, particularly insurance companies and large corporations, explicitly reject block-billed invoices. Review all contracts to avoid jeopardizing client relationships.
• Set clear internal policies. Establish guidelines for when block billing is appropriate:
  • Maximum 3-4 hours per block entry
  • Separate blocks for morning and afternoon work
  • New blocks when switching between matters
  • Keep court appearances separate from office work
• Use time-tracking tools for protection. Even if you send block-billed invoices, maintain detailed records privately. This is crucial when working as outside counsel for larger corporations where billing scrutiny is rigorous. You can do it with a time tracking tool like EARLY or manually with a free billable hours chart:
  • Daily attorney billable hours chart (24-hour)
  • Weekly attorney billable hours chart
  • Monthly attorney billable hours chart
• Group only related tasks. Combine only tasks that naturally flow together on the same matter. For example, you might group “reviewed case documents, drafted motion for summary judgment, and conducted legal research on precedent cases” since they’re all related to the same legal issue.
• Document as you work. Don’t wait until the end of the day or week to record your activities. Note specific tasks in real-time, even if you plan to block bill them later. This provides backup documentation if clients request details and helps you accurately recall your work when preparing invoices.

Conclusion

Block billing is an outdated method that no longer serves modern legal professionals. Today’s clients demand transparency, courts require detail, and automated time tracking has eliminated any efficiency argument for using it.

By switching to task billing with automated tools, you’ll protect your revenue, reduce disputes, and build stronger client relationships—while spending less time on billing administration.

The choice is clear: itemized billing is both the ethical standard and the smart business decision for your practice.

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