Thomson Reuters and Laurel launched a partnership to help law firms track how artificial intelligence tools translate into billable revenue and matter profitability. The integration connects attorney activity in platforms like CoCounsel Legal directly to financial reporting, closing the gap between daily workflow and firm economics.
Why AI productivity gains are hard to prove
Law firms have invested heavily in generative AI to accelerate research and drafting, yet many still run their legal workflows and business operations in separate silos. Firm leaders cannot easily trace how much an attorney actually bills when they spend the morning reviewing documents in Westlaw, joining client calls, and responding to emails. Reconstructing timesheets from memory routinely leaves 10 to 30 percent of billable work off the invoice, according to Laurel estimates.
"Everybody is using AI, but nobody can tell you what it's actually doing for their firm," said Ryan Alshak, chief executive at Laurel. "That's the gap that Thomson Reuters and Laurel are closing together."
Without complete visibility, AI remains a line item rather than a competitive advantage. Leaders struggle to justify continued spending or renewals when they lack data on what those tools deliver. Tracking actual output instead of guessing at impact allows firms to align technology purchases with real financial returns.
Capture, classify, and measure AI-driven work
The partnership relies on two complementary capabilities built into the existing Thomson Reuters ecosystem. Laurel Time automatically records attorney activity across email, documents, calls, and integrated applications like Practical Law and HighQ. The system converts that raw activity into compliant, matter-tagged time without requiring manual entry.
Laurel Signal tracks how frequently attorneys use those same tools and calculates utilization rates alongside the true cost of matter delivery. This creates a live view of matter performance that replaces assumptions with hard numbers. "Our generative AI capabilities are helping firms save significant time and work more effectively," said Steve Assie, general manager of global and large law firms at Thomson Reuters. "The Laurel partnership gives firms a way to finally prove that impact, instead of estimating it."
Early adopters report recovering up to thirty minutes of additional billable time per fee earner each day. That reclaimed time covers revenue that would otherwise slip through incomplete billing cycles. Firms also use the data to spot scope creep and staffing imbalances while matters remain open.
Improve profitability before problems escalate
Profitability leaks rarely appear on quarterly reports. Scope changes and budget overruns quietly erode margins in fixed-fee engagements long before a matter closes. When extra research or drafting hours pile up week after week, the write-down gets locked in once the file wraps.
The new tracking layer surfaces those exact moments when extra hours start exceeding the original pricing model. Lawyers and project managers can adjust staffing, renegotiate scopes, or flag budget risks while the work is still underway. That visibility turns reactive billing practices into proactive matter management.
Why this matters for legal professionals
Attorneys and firm administrators should stop measuring success by adoption percentages and start tracking recovered revenue and reduced write-downs. Connecting your daily AI usage to actual billing outcomes requires the right data infrastructure and a clear strategy for translating usage into practice improvements. Teams looking to build those skills can explore dedicated AI for Legal resources that break down practical implementation steps. Firms that treat AI as a tracked business input rather than a standalone experiment will see faster returns on their technology budgets and tighter control over matter profitability.
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