Time worked is not the same as money collected. Between the two sit time entry, billing and payment.
This article reports two sources that measure this differently. It does not combine them and does not promise any result.
Clio's usage data today
Clio publishes benchmarks from its own customers on its Law Firm KPIs page. They describe firms that use Clio, not every firm.
Clio, Legal Trends Report 2025, Law Firm KPIs page, 2025 (https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/benchmarks/): in an 8-hour day, lawyers capture 3.0 billable hours, a utilization rate of 38%. The realization rate is 88%, which the page gives as 2.6 hours billed, and the collection rate is 93%, which the page gives as 2.4 hours collected.
The same report, looking back
The full Clio report also shows earlier figures. We report them as history, and we do not explain why they changed.
Clio, Legal Trends Report 2025, full report, 2025 (https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/read-online/): the report's figures for 2016 were a 28% utilization rate, a 76% realization rate and an 87% collection rate, with 1.5 hours collected in a day.
Clio, Legal Trends Report 2025, full report, 2025 (https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-trends/read-online/): in data from 2024, 59% of firms bill a flat fee alone or together with hourly rates, and 41% bill by the hour only.
A benchmark of larger firms
The Thomson Reuters Institute and Georgetown Law report on large and mid-size firms. Their universe and their definitions are different from Clio's.
Thomson Reuters Institute and Georgetown Law, 2026 Report on the State of the US Legal Market, 2026 (https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/01/2026-State-of-the-US-Legal-Market.pdf): among 184 large and mid-size firms, collection realization on worked time was 90.3%, and 85.6% for associates.
Why these two should not be compared
Clio's realization rate and the collection realization of the Thomson Reuters report use different definitions and cover different firms. We do not compare them and we do not mix them into one figure.
The same is true of earlier figures: they come from the same publisher but we make no claim about the reasons for the change.
Questions to ask about your own firm
- Where is time recorded late or not at all?
- Which invoices wait longest to be sent?
- Which clients pay slowest, and has anyone asked why?
- How does the firm define realization, and does everyone use that definition?
Sources
Clio, Legal Trends Report 2025, as shown on its Law Firm KPIs page, 2025
Page last modified October 16, 2025.
Clio, Legal Trends Report 2025, full report, 2025
Full report, read online.
Thomson Reuters Institute and Georgetown Law, 2026 Report on the State of the US Legal Market, 2026
Report published January 7, 2026, on large and mid-size firms.