Laurel’s compliance tools -- referred to as our Compliance Engine -- ensure that every time entry meets firm and client billing guidelines, automatically. When your firm sets compliance rules, those rules power the Engine, which works across all entries to ensure that narratives are compliant at the point of creation. This prevents non-compliant entries from ever reaching your billing system and dramatically reduces manual review work.
What is the Compliance Engine?
The Compliance Engine brings together Laurel’s AI-driven rule extraction, enforcement, and real-time narrative generation.
For administrators: Laurel automatically extracts compliance rules from your Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs), so you don’t have to set them manually. You maintain full control over how these rules are surfaced, applied, and enforced.
For timekeepers: Laurel’s AI uses those rules to generate complete, compliant narratives as they’re created. Timekeepers who prefer to write their own narratives see checks, warnings, and guidance in real time.
Why Compliance matters
Without automation, compliance issues often surface late in the process — after review or client rejection — creating rework and delays. Common problems include block billing, vague language, restricted activities, and inconsistent formatting.
The Compliance Engine helps firms avoid these issues by:
Automatically generating narratives that follow firm and client rules.
Providing real-time checks for manually written narratives.
Reducing review and rework for administrators.
Handling complex, multi-layered client requirements.
Improving realization by minimizing write-downs and rejections.
Promoting consistent, firm-wide compliance.
How the Compliance Engine works
Laurel’s AI extracts timekeeping rules from your OCG documents and applies them automatically through the Engine.
You can load your guidelines into Laurel in two ways:
Upload PDFs: Upload OCGs as PDF files. Laurel automatically extracts timekeeping rules for you to review and apply to specific clients or matters.
Connect Intapp Terms: If your firm uses Intapp Terms, connect via API to sync and update your templates automatically.
Once rules are active, the Engine uses them to generate compliant narratives and check manually written ones in real time.
How to use the Compliance Engine
Important: Only staff with Customer Administration or Super Customer Administrator permissions in Laurel can use compliance tools.
If you want to sync Laurel to Intapp terms, navigate to Compliance in the Laurel Admin panel, click “Integrations,” then “Connect.” Follow the prompts to connect Laurel and Intapp via API.
To upload and configure compliance rules in Laurel:
Navigate to Compliance in the Laurel Admin panel.
Click “Upload Rules” in the upper right. You can drag and drop your rules, or browse for them on your computer.
When you document is uploaded, it will appear in the list of uploaded rules. You need to map it to a client or matter using the drop-down to continue.
After mapping it to a client or matter, click “Extract” on the right to start rule extraction.
Wait for the extraction to run – run time varies depending on document length.
When the extraction is complete, the status of the rules will change to “Ready to Review.” Click the “Review” button to the right to review the extracted rules and make any changes to the AI-generated suggestions. If you make a change to a rule, you must click “Save Draft” to change it.
When you’re ready to apply the rules, click “Apply Rules” in the upper right. The new rules will be applied to timekeepers’ narratives on a go-forward basis.
As you work through the steps above, your OCGs will move through different status. Here is a guide to what each status means:
Awaiting mapping: The document has been uploaded but not yet mapped to a client or matter.
Ready to extract: The document has been uploaded and mapped to client or matter, but the rules have not been extracted yet.
Extracting: AI is analyzing and extracting rules.
Ready to apply: Extraction is complete; rules are available to review and edit.
Complete: Rules are active and applied to the mapped client or matter.
Please note: Only OCGs in PDF format can be uploaded. There is a limit of 50 documents per upload, and the maximum file size allowed is 10MB.
More about compliance rules
Laurel provides three types of rules, designed for different purposes:
Enforced rules
These shape AI-generated narratives and check entries against common billing requirements like restricted activities, vague language, or formatting standards. Each enforced rule can be set to one of four enforcement levels:
Disabled: The rule exists but isn’t active.
Alert: Laurel flags the issue but allows submission.
Acknowledge: Timekeepers must acknowledge before releasing the entry.
Block: The entry must be corrected before it can be released.
Awareness rules
These provide visibility into client guidelines without blocking or modifying entries. Awareness Rules appear alongside time entries so timekeepers can see relevant client requirements as they work.
Restricted words
These flag specific terms that shouldn’t appear in narratives. You can group restricted terms and create custom warning messages for each group.
Applying rules at different levels
You can apply compliance rules at three levels:
Firm-wide rules
These rules set baseline standards that apply to all time entries unless overridden.
Client-level rules
These rules apply to all matters for that client.
Matter-level rules
These rules apply only to a specific matter.
Matter-level rules override client-level rules, and client-level rules override firm-wide rules. This lets you maintain firm-wide consistency while allowing for client-specific exceptions.
What timekeepers experience
When compliance rules are set, Laurel’s AI model automatically generates narratives that follow your firm and client rules. This saves time for timekeepers and reduces review work for administrators.
For timekeepers who write their own narratives, Laurel checks each entry against the rules as they type. If an entry violates a rule, a warning appears with guidance on how to fix it.
Awareness Rules appear in a side panel to show client-specific requirements without interrupting the workflow. All feedback happens while the entry is being created, helping timekeepers learn and adjust quickly.
Important considerations
Rule changes apply only to new entries on a go-forward basis.
OCGs must be in PDF format to upload. There is a limit of 50 documents per upload, and the maximum file size allowed is 10MB.
Only Customer Administrators and Super Customer Administrators can configure compliance rules in Laurel Admin.