Time Recording for NZ Lawyers: Rules of Conduct and Fair Fee Guide

Every New Zealand lawyer learns early in practice that time recording is not optional. While the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 do not contain a rule that says "you must keep time records," the practical reality is that accurate time recording is the foundation upon which fee reasonableness is assessed, complaints are defended, and profitability is measured.

This guide covers what NZ lawyers need to know about time recording obligations, the 6-minute unit system, what constitutes a fair and reasonable fee, and how modern tools can make the process less painful.

The legal framework: Rules of Conduct and Client Care

The Rules of Conduct and Client Care for Lawyers (commonly called the RCCC) are made under the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006. They set out the professional obligations every NZ lawyer must follow, including how fees are communicated and charged.

Several rules are directly relevant to time recording and billing:

Rule 3.4 — Client care information. Before starting work, a lawyer must provide the client with written information about how fees will be charged and when payment will be due. If fees are time-based, this means explaining the hourly rate, the billing increment, and how the time will be recorded.

Rule 9.1 — Fair and reasonable fees. A lawyer may charge only a fee that is fair and reasonable for the services provided. The rule lists factors to be considered, including the time and labour involved, the skill required, the complexity of the matter, the urgency, and the results achieved. While time spent is not the only factor, it is typically the primary one — and you cannot demonstrate time spent without records.

Rule 9.6 — Estimates. If a lawyer gives an estimate, they must inform the client promptly if it becomes apparent the estimate will be exceeded. This requires ongoing time tracking, not just end-of-matter reconstruction.

Rule 7.2 — Responding to client queries. Lawyers must respond promptly to client questions, including questions about fees. When a client asks "why is my bill so high?", you need detailed time records to provide a meaningful answer.

The disciplinary reality: what happens without proper records

Standards Committee decisions published by the New Zealand Law Society make clear that inadequate time recording carries real consequences.

In a 2024 decision, a lawyer acting in a relationship property matter issued invoices totalling over $211,000. The Standards Committee found the third invoice — for $150,000 — was not fair and reasonable and ordered it reduced to $80,000. The Committee noted that the lawyer could not produce adequate time records to justify the charges, calling the lawyer's explanations about destroyed handwritten records "implausible."

The key lessons from this and similar decisions are straightforward. Time records should be contemporaneous — recorded at or close to the time the work is performed, not reconstructed days or weeks later. Descriptions should be specific enough to allow a third party to understand what work was done. And the records need to actually exist — a lawyer who claims to have kept records but cannot produce them is in no better position than one who never kept them at all.

The 6-minute unit system

The standard billing increment in New Zealand law firms is 6 minutes, or one-tenth of an hour. This is the same system used in Australia and the United Kingdom, and it remains the dominant approach across NZ firms of all sizes.

Under this system, time is recorded in 0.1-hour increments:

• 1–6 minutes = 0.1 hours
• 7–12 minutes = 0.2 hours
• 13–18 minutes = 0.3 hours
• 19–24 minutes = 0.4 hours
• 25–30 minutes = 0.5 hours
• 31–36 minutes = 0.6 hours
• 37–42 minutes = 0.7 hours
• 43–48 minutes = 0.8 hours
• 49–54 minutes = 0.9 hours
• 55–60 minutes = 1.0 hours

Time is always rounded up to the next unit. A 14-minute phone call is recorded as 0.3 hours (18 minutes). A 2-minute email, strictly applied, becomes 0.1 hours. This rounding is standard practice and accepted by the profession and the courts, though lawyers should be mindful of recording excessive units for genuinely minimal work.

What good time entries look like

The difference between a defensible time entry and a problematic one usually comes down to specificity. Consider these examples:

Weak entry: "Research — 1.5 hrs." This tells the client and any reviewer almost nothing. What was being researched? For which matter? What was the outcome?

Strong entry: "Researching limitation period for contribution claims under s 17 Limitation Act 2010 in the context of the Palmer construction dispute; reviewing High Court authority on accrual of cause of action — 1.5 hrs." This entry explains what was done, why, and connects it to a specific matter.

Good billing descriptions typically follow a pattern. They start with a verb describing the activity (attending, perusing, drafting, researching, reviewing). They identify the document or person involved. They connect the work to the matter or issue. And they are concise — one to two sentences at most.

Common NZ billing description patterns include:

• "Attending upon client [name] regarding [topic]"
• "Telephone attendance upon [name] re [matter]"
• "Perusing and considering correspondence from [party] regarding [issue]"
• "Drafting and engrossing [document type]"
• "Reviewing and annotating [document] and advising [client] thereon"
• "Preparing correspondence to [party] re [topic]"

Common time recording mistakes

End-of-day reconstruction. The most widespread problem. By 5:30pm, the details of what happened at 9:15am are fuzzy. Studies consistently show that lawyers who record time at the end of the day capture 10-30% less billable time than those who record as they go.

Block billing. Recording multiple tasks in a single entry ("Emails, research, drafting — 3.0 hrs"). This makes it impossible for a client or reviewer to assess whether the time was reasonable for each individual task. Break activities into separate entries.

Vague descriptions. "Work on file," "Various attendances," "Review documents." These are professionally embarrassing and practically indefensible. Every entry should answer: what did you do, for whom, and why?

Forgetting to record small tasks. The five-minute phone call, the quick email review, the brief corridor conversation with counsel. Individually they seem negligible. Over a week, they can amount to hours of unrecorded billable work.

Not recording non-billable time. Even time you choose not to charge for should be recorded. It demonstrates the total work performed, helps justify the fees you do charge, and provides data for profitability analysis.

How AI can help NZ lawyers with time recording

The most effective way to improve time recording is to reduce the friction involved. Every additional step between performing work and recording it increases the chance the entry will be delayed, abbreviated, or forgotten entirely.

AI billing tools like LexUnits address this by automating the translation of raw work product — recordings, transcripts, emails, documents — into formatted time entries. Instead of reconstructing your day from memory, you feed the actual evidence of your work into the system and receive structured entries back.

For NZ firms, this means entries with professional descriptions in the formal billing style expected by New Zealand clients and courts, times calculated in 6-minute increments, matter references extracted from the source material, and output formatted for direct import into Clio, LEAP, Actionstep, or Smokeball.

The practical benefit is not just speed — though converting a 45-minute meeting into billing entries in 90 seconds versus 15 minutes is significant. The more important benefit is completeness. AI does not forget the side discussion about the bank guarantee that happened at minute 38 of the meeting. It does not lose track of the follow-up tasks mentioned in passing. It captures everything and lets the lawyer decide what to keep.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are NZ lawyers required to keep time records?

While the Rules of Conduct and Client Care do not explicitly mandate time records, Rule 9.1 requires fees to be fair and reasonable. Standards Committee decisions have consistently held that accurate time records are essential evidence for justifying fees. Without them, lawyers face a significantly higher risk of disciplinary findings for overcharging. In practice, time recording is a professional necessity for any lawyer who charges on a time basis.

What billing increments do NZ law firms use?

Most NZ law firms bill in 6-minute (0.1-hour) increments, which is the same system used in Australia and the United Kingdom. Time is rounded up to the next 6-minute unit. For example, a 14-minute task would be billed as 0.3 hours (18 minutes). Some firms use 15-minute increments, but 6-minute units remain the industry standard and are expected by most institutional clients.

What makes a legal fee "fair and reasonable" under NZ law?

Rule 9.1 of the Rules of Conduct and Client Care lists several factors: the time and labour involved, the skill and specialised knowledge required, the complexity and importance of the matter to the client, the urgency or circumstances in which the work was done, the degree of responsibility assumed, the results achieved, the experience and standing of the lawyer, and any fixed fee or estimate that was given. Time spent is typically the primary factor but not the sole consideration — a lawyer may charge more or less than a straight hourly calculation depending on these other factors.