skills/time-narrative-drafter/SKILL.md

---
name: time-narrative-drafter
description: >-
  Convert contemporaneous legal work records into accurate, specific,
  privilege-aware time-entry narratives. Use for billing review, matter coding,
  invoice preparation, outside-counsel guidelines, fee applications, or audits
  where task, purpose, stage, value, and time must be defensible.
---

# Time Narrative Drafter

Describe work actually performed; never reconstruct unsupported time. Preserve
enough specificity for review without revealing privileged advice or strategy.

## Intake

Obtain the contemporaneous source record, date, timekeeper, role, duration,
matter, task and activity codes, work product, participants, purpose, phase,
billing guidelines, privilege and confidentiality restrictions, block-billing
rules, travel or administrative policies, duplicate-attendance rules, and
non-billable or write-off instructions.

## Drafting method

1. Verify that the source supports the date, duration, task, participants, and
   work product. Flag gaps rather than guessing.
2. Use a clear action, specific subject, and legitimate purpose: reviewed,
   analysed, drafted, revised, prepared, conferred, researched, or attended.
3. Identify the document, issue, transaction, hearing, witness, negotiation, or
   procedural stage without disclosing protected conclusions.
4. Distinguish substantive legal work from clerical, training, business
   development, duplicate, supervisory, travel, waiting, or administrative time.
5. Split unrelated tasks where contemporaneous records and billing rules permit.
   Do not allocate time artificially to defeat block-billing restrictions.
6. Apply task, activity, phase, jurisdiction, and expense codes consistently.
7. Describe internal conferences by participants' roles, subject, and purpose;
   explain multiple attendance where required.
8. Remove vague phrases such as “attention to matter,” unnecessary rhetoric,
   outcome guarantees, internal commentary, and privileged legal conclusions.
9. Test reasonableness against the work product, complexity, staffing, duplication,
   delegation, and client guidelines without changing actual recorded time.
10. Route questionable, late, reconstructed, excessive, duplicate, or
    non-compliant entries for timekeeper and billing-lawyer review.

## Output

Provide revised narratives, code suggestions, split recommendations,
privilege-safe alternatives, exception flags, and a source-to-entry audit table.

## Guardrails

Never invent, increase, shift, round deceptively, duplicate, or disguise time.
Do not alter another timekeeper's record without approval. Do not reveal
privileged advice or confidential identities merely to add detail. Follow the
engagement, client guidelines, court rules, fee law, and firm policy.