What is Computer Event Reconstruction (CER)?

Computer Event Reconstruction (CER) rebuilds a person's working day from the events their computer produces, across every application, without screenshots or separate application integrations. Developed by Unison Labs, it powers Sixminute, which turns that record into time entries for lawyers to review before releasing them into the firm's existing system.

Computer Event Reconstruction supplies a record for review

CER gives lawyers a record of what they worked on, in which application and for how long. It follows work across applications, so a task can be reconstructed even when the lawyer moves between a court portal and a document editor. That record supplies the basis for a timesheet the lawyer can check.

Recording the day addresses a documented problem with memory. In Primary Research Group's 2014 survey of lawyers at US firms with at least 25 lawyers, 57.7% said they had reduced time recorded for a task because they could not remember how long it took.

For example, a contract-review entry needs to identify the clause revised and the matter concerned. The lawyer can then check the description alongside the duration before approving it.

Capture methods differ in what they collect

Automatic time capture technology can collect application activity, window details, screen images or structured computer events. These approaches give the timesheet different evidence, even when their finished entries look similar.

Integrations capture work in connected applications

Integration-based capture depends on supported applications. Smokeball's AutoTime page documents automatic activity logging and matter assignment in Word, Outlook and Smokeball. For work in other software, a firm should request confirmation of coverage.

Activity trackers record foreground-window details

Memtime documents foreground-window recording, including file names, email subjects and browser-tab titles, and automatic time-entry creation. Those details identify the document or correspondence. A file name alone does not explain which provision the lawyer revised or why.

Screen capture reads visible content

Ajax says it captures screen grabs and reads screen text. It also documents automatic matter matching, client-ready narratives and application exclusions. Firms should examine what visible material is collected and how exclusions work.

CER uses structured computer events

CER adds a fourth approach: events across every computer application, filtered on the device. It combines complete application coverage with selective collection, without requiring a connection for each application.

CER combines coverage with selective capture

CER covers every computer application while limiting what leaves the device to what the timesheet needs. That combination gives firms concrete points to assess when protecting client confidentiality during automatic time capture.

Complete: capture covers every application on the computer, including case-management systems and court portals. A lawyer can use a specialist PDF reader without arranging another application integration.

Selective: only what the timesheet needs leaves the device, and the computer keeps no copy of captured activity afterwards. No screenshots are taken and no keystrokes are logged. Collecting less limits the confidential material shared for timekeeping.

Fast to start: setup takes about 5 minutes. Lawyers can begin without configuring application-by-application connections, and using another work application needs no new capture integration.

Forensic reconstruction serves a different purpose

Forensic event reconstruction investigates past events using digital evidence. NIST's guide to forensic techniques describes bringing together application data sources to reconstruct events during incident response. Computer Event Reconstruction uses the term for a professional's own working day: its purpose is to produce a timesheet for that person to review and release.

How Sixminute turns the record into time entries

Sixminute records the whole working day automatically and writes one time entry per task. It automatically matches each task to its client and matter, calculates its duration and writes a client-ready AI narrative. CER covers every application without integrations to set up, so specialist tools receive the same coverage as the firm's everyday software.

Phone calls are covered through the mobile app, and meetings through Outlook and Google Calendar. Capture takes no screenshots and logs no keystrokes. Only what the timesheet needs leaves the device; it is encrypted with the firm's own key and hosted in the EU.

The day stays private to the lawyer. Partners and administrators see only released entries. The lawyer checks and edits the drafts, then releases the appropriate entries into the firm's existing practice-management or billing system.

Lawyers using Sixminute spend about 6 minutes a day reviewing and releasing their timesheet. In Sixminute's tests, lawyers billed 9 to 15% more hours for the same work. Automatic capture, matter matching and AI narratives bring completed work into a timesheet ready for that daily review.

Frequently asked questions about Computer Event Reconstruction

CER timekeeping keeps the lawyer in control of reviewing the working record and releasing entries. Its scope covers automatic capture and entry preparation, with the lawyer deciding what reaches the firm's system.

Who developed Computer Event Reconstruction?

Unison Labs developed CER as proprietary technology. It is the company behind the software that applies CER to legal timekeeping.

Does CER take screenshots or log keystrokes?

CER takes no screenshots and does not log keystrokes. Work is reconstructed from computer events.

Does CER need integrations?

No per-application integration is needed for computer capture. Coverage extends to every application on the computer.

What is CER used for?

CER reconstructs a professional's working day for timekeeping. Today, Sixminute uses it to produce law-firm time entries that lawyers review and release.

Is CER the same as screen recording or employee monitoring?

CER uses computer events without recording the screen. The lawyer's day stays private, so colleagues and managers see only entries the lawyer chooses to release.

Test capture against a complete working day

A firm should test capture against a representative working day and follow the results into its billing system. Include a specialist application outside the main practice suite and check that the trial covers phone calls and calendar meetings.

Check whether the resulting entries identify the client, matter, duration and work performed. Compare them with the lawyer's own account of that day and correct missing or misallocated work before release.

Then examine what leaves the device and who can see it. Ask for a demonstration of the lawyer's review and release controls as part of the firm's confidentiality assessment. Finish by releasing reviewed entries into the existing billing system and checking that each arrives with the correct matter, duration and narrative.