How to Handle Billing for Interrupted, Cancelled, and Rescheduled Meetings

April 2026 · 9 min read

Billing for cancelled meetings is the process of determining which components of a scheduled but undelivered legal service — including preparation time, travel, and reserved capacity — are recoverable from the client under the terms of the costs agreement. For Australian lawyers, cancelled and interrupted meetings represent one of the most common billing ambiguities, sitting in a grey area between work performed and work not performed that costs agreements often fail to address explicitly.

The problem is widespread. According to a 2024 Clio Legal Trends Report, approximately 12% of scheduled client meetings across law firms are cancelled, rescheduled, or result in no-shows. For a lawyer who schedules 15 client meetings per week, that is nearly two disrupted meetings — each potentially involving unbillable preparation time, wasted travel, and an empty calendar slot that could have been used for other fee-earning work.

The Law Council of Australia does not prescribe specific rules for cancelled meeting billing, but the general obligation under the Legal Profession Uniform Law is that costs must be fair and reasonable and consistent with the costs disclosure provided to the client. This means the answer to "can I bill for this?" almost always depends on what your costs agreement says.

The Three Components of a Cancelled Meeting

When a meeting is cancelled, there are three potentially billable elements to consider, each governed by different principles.

Preparation time. This is the strongest component for billing. If you spent 45 minutes reviewing the file, drafting an agenda, and preparing advice points before the client cancelled, that work has been performed regardless of whether the meeting proceeds. Preparation time is billable as a separate time entry: "Perusing file and preparing for scheduled conference with client re [topic] — conference subsequently cancelled by client." The time is recorded in standard 6-minute units at your normal rate.

Preparation time should always be recorded as a separate entry from the meeting itself. This is good practice for all meetings, not just cancelled ones. When preparation and attendance are combined into a single entry, the cancellation creates an all-or-nothing billing decision. When they are separate, the preparation stands on its own merit.

Travel time. If you have already travelled to a meeting location when the cancellation occurs, travel time may be billable depending on your costs agreement. Many Australian law firms bill travel time at 50% of the standard hourly rate — a convention that applies whether the meeting proceeds or not. If you have travelled 30 minutes to a client's office only to learn on arrival that the meeting is cancelled, record the travel: "Travel to [location] for scheduled conference with [client] — conference cancelled on arrival." Whether to actually invoice for this is a commercial judgment. For a valued long-term client, waiving the travel charge while billing for preparation time may be the better relationship decision.

Cancellation fee / reserved capacity. Some firms charge a cancellation fee for meetings cancelled with insufficient notice — typically less than 24 or 48 hours. This compensates for the opportunity cost: the calendar slot was reserved for this client and could not be allocated to other fee-earning work. A cancellation fee is only enforceable if it is disclosed in the costs agreement. Under the LPUL, any fee arrangement must be disclosed to the client before or as soon as practicable after engagement. A cancellation clause added after engagement is unlikely to be enforceable without the client's express agreement.

Drafting Effective Cancellation Clauses

The best time to address meeting cancellations is at engagement, when the costs agreement is drafted. A well-crafted cancellation clause should specify the minimum notice period for cancellations (24 hours is standard for office meetings; 48 hours or more for court appearances or mediations), whether preparation time is billed regardless of cancellation, how travel time is handled for off-site meetings, and whether a cancellation fee applies and how it is calculated.

A sample clause: "If a scheduled conference or meeting is cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, a cancellation fee equivalent to 30 minutes at the applicable hourly rate may apply. Preparation time incurred prior to cancellation will be billed at the applicable hourly rate regardless of whether the meeting proceeds. Travel time, where applicable, will be billed at 50% of the applicable hourly rate."

This clause is clear, specific, and fair. It gives the client a defined notice window, caps the cancellation fee at a reasonable amount, and distinguishes between the different billable components. For guidance on costs disclosure obligations generally, see our article on costs disclosure for Australian lawyers.

Interrupted and Shortened Meetings

A meeting that starts but is cut short presents a different billing scenario. The client attended, substantive work was performed, but the meeting ended earlier than scheduled — perhaps due to a client emergency, a court call, or simply running out of things to discuss.

The billing approach is straightforward: record the actual time spent, rounded to the nearest 6-minute unit. A 25-minute meeting that was scheduled for 60 minutes is billed as 5 units (30 minutes), not 10 units (60 minutes). The billing description should note the actual discussion without reference to the originally scheduled duration — clients should not see "25 minutes of scheduled 60-minute conference" on their invoice, as this draws attention to the shortfall. Instead, describe the substance: "Attendance upon client to discuss settlement offer received from defendant; review of quantum and advising on counter-offer strategy."

The preparation time for the full 60-minute meeting remains billable as a separate entry. You prepared for a one-hour conference covering five agenda items; the fact that only three were addressed does not diminish the preparation performed.

Where a meeting is interrupted — the client takes an urgent call and does not return, or a fire alarm empties the building — the same principle applies. Bill for the time actually spent in conference, and separately bill for preparation. If the remaining agenda items will need to be covered in a follow-up meeting, note this in the file but do not bill for them until the follow-up occurs.

Court Appearances: Vacated Hearings and Adjournments

Court cancellations involve higher stakes because the preparation investment is typically larger and daily rates or brief fees may apply. When a hearing is vacated (removed from the list by the court) or adjourned (postponed to a new date), the billing considerations differ from client-initiated cancellations.

Preparation for the vacated hearing is fully billable. If a solicitor spent 15 hours preparing a trial bundle, witness statements, and submissions for a hearing that was vacated by the court one week before the hearing date, those 15 hours have been worked and are billable. The descriptions should be complete and specific, as they will survive any costs assessment challenge because the work was actually performed.

For barristers, vacated hearings may trigger brief fee arrangements. A brief fee compensates the barrister for the commitment to appear and the opportunity cost of reserving hearing dates. Whether the brief fee is payable when a hearing is vacated depends on the terms agreed in the barrister's memorandum of fees and the timing of the vacation relative to the hearing date. For more on barrister-specific billing, see our article on AI billing for barristers.

When a hearing is adjourned part-heard — the matter starts but does not finish within the allocated hearing time — the solicitor bills for the hearing days completed and the preparation to that point. Additional preparation for the resumed hearing is billed separately when it occurs. The key is to close out the billing for the completed portion promptly rather than waiting until the entire hearing concludes.

Recording Cancelled Meeting Time with AI Tools

AI billing tools can streamline the recording of cancelled meeting time. If you have already prepared for a meeting — reviewed documents, drafted an agenda, prepared advice points — you can upload those preparation materials to an AI billing tool to generate the preparation time entry.

For example, if you reviewed a 30-page affidavit and prepared a conference agenda before the client cancelled, upload the affidavit and agenda to LexUnits. The AI generates a detailed preparation entry: "Perusing affidavit of [Name] sworn [Date] (30 pages) and preparing conference agenda regarding cross-examination strategy, document tender sequence, and application for adjournment." The entry captures the substance of the preparation work with specificity that would be difficult to reconstruct manually after the fact.

For meetings that were partially completed before interruption, the voice recording approach works well. Even a 15-minute conference generates enough content for the AI to produce a substantive billing entry that accurately reflects what was discussed, rather than the vague "attendance upon client" description that time-pressured manual entry often produces.

Client Communication Best Practices

The most effective way to avoid billing disputes around cancelled meetings is proactive communication. When a client cancels within the notice period, acknowledge the cancellation and briefly note that preparation time may be billed: "No problem at all. I had already prepared for our meeting, so you may see a small charge for preparation time on your next invoice. Happy to reschedule at your convenience."

This approach is direct without being aggressive. It gives the client advance notice of the charge (reducing invoice surprise), frames the charge as reasonable (the work was done), and maintains the relationship by being accommodating about rescheduling.

For repeat offenders — clients who habitually cancel or no-show — a firmer approach may be necessary. A polite but clear email noting the pattern and referencing the cancellation clause in the costs agreement is appropriate after the second or third occurrence. For chronic no-shows, some lawyers require prepayment for the next scheduled meeting, which dramatically reduces the cancellation rate.

Can I charge a client for a cancelled meeting in Australia?

Yes, if your costs agreement includes a cancellation policy. You can bill for preparation time already incurred regardless of whether the meeting proceeds. You may also charge a cancellation fee if the cancellation occurs within a specified notice period (commonly 24 or 48 hours). The fee must be disclosed in the costs agreement to be enforceable under the Legal Profession Uniform Law.

Should I bill for travel time to a meeting that was cancelled on arrival?

If your costs agreement provides for travel time billing (many Australian firms bill travel at 50% of the standard rate), then travel time to a meeting cancelled on arrival is technically billable. Record the travel for your time records. Whether to actually invoice for it is a commercial judgment — waiving the travel charge while billing for preparation time may be the better client relationship decision.

How do I record a partially completed meeting for billing purposes?

Record the actual time spent in the meeting, rounded to the nearest 6-minute unit, with a description of the substance discussed. Do not reference the originally scheduled duration on the invoice. Record preparation time as a separate entry — it remains fully billable regardless of the meeting's actual length.

Last verified: April 2026.