The Oklahoma Bar Journal February 2023

L aw P ractice T ips

The Trouble With Timesheets

By Jim Calloway

W HEN LAWYERS LEAVE private practice to take an in-house counsel or government position, they are often asked about the differences in their new roles. Many of them say they are pleased not to have to complete timesheets anymore – it is a relief not to have to look at the day in six-minute increments. As most of you know, I’ve long been a proponent of employing flat fees or task-based billing when possible, particularly when representing consumers. But hourly billing is still used for many types of representation.

Before we get to timesheets, let’s discuss artificial intelligence. Over the last several weeks, an AI draft ing program called ChatGPT from OpenAI 1 has been garnering a lot of attention. It offers a conversational interface, so you can have the AI create something for you without understanding anything about how it works. It accepts conversa tional input and then applies its massive data collection to complete the assignment. OBA Practice Management Advisor Julie Bays asked it to write a short story about law practice management software. was enough. He knew that there had to be a better way to handle the many tasks that lawyers deal with on a daily basis. After some research, he dis covered practice management software specifically designed for law firms. The senior partner quickly implemented the software into the firm’s workflow, and the lawyers were amazed at how much easier their job became. With the software, they were able to easily track their cases and deadlines, store and access important documents, and communicate with clients more efficiently.

The results were amusing and amazing; the story is included in the sidebar. Other generative AI tools include DALL-E/Stable Diffusion for image creation and VALL-E for mimicking voice. VALL-E can apparently mimic any voice after hearing a short sample. The implica tions of that are concerning. ChatGPT represents a signifi cant step forward for innovation in applying data. But it is a step, not a destination. One lawyer posted on social media that a case cited by ChatGPT in a legal memo apparently did not exist. So this

Request: ChatGPT, write a short story about law practice management software. ChatGPT: Sure! Here is a story about practice manage ment software for lawyers: Once upon a time, in a busy law firm, there was a group of lawyers who were strug gling to keep track of their cases, deadlines, and clients. They were constantly miss ing important dates, losing documents, and feeling over whelmed by the sheer volume of work they had to manage. One day, the senior partner of the firm decided that enough

The software also helped the firm save time and money by automating many of the tedious and time-consuming tasks that lawyers often have to deal with. The lawyers were able to focus more on the actual work of practicing law and less on administrative tasks. As a result, the law firm became more productive and successful, and the lawyers were able to provide better ser vice to their clients. The senior partner was grateful for the prac tice management software and knew that it had been a crucial investment for the firm’s future.

42 | FEBRUARY 2023

THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL