Slovensky Law case study: two pilots, one clear winner

Devon Rood Slovensky did the thing we tell every prospective customer to do: she made the vendors prove it.

Slovensky is the managing partner of Slovensky Law, a family law firm. When she went looking for AI timekeeping, another AI timekeeper was courting her firm aggressively, with competitive pricing and persistent follow-up. Rather than choose from the demos, she piloted both tools head to head on her team's real work.

What the comparison showed

The differences surfaced in daily use. On accuracy, her read of Ajax against the alternative: "It is categorizing better." Entries matched the right matters more often, which is most of what review time consists of.

On the setup experience: "I'm not trying to throw them under the bus, but I am slightly more impressed with your onboarding process." Ajax onboards each timekeeper individually, calibrating narratives to how that person actually writes, and the difference showed in the drafts. Her verdict on those: "I'm not changing my narratives at all. They're really good."

The firm signed with Ajax on a two-year commitment.

What her team found

Holly Belcher, one of the firm's attorneys, validated the accuracy day by day: "I had some yesterday that were spot on and I didn't have to change a thing." She also noticed the capture getting smarter: "It's starting to register when I'm just reading other emails versus when I'm actually drafting a new one. That's very helpful."

Meghan Guilliams described the fundamental problem Ajax solved for her: "I was having a really hard time billing my time because I'm working eight hours a day, but there's no way to really bill yourself for every minute. This really helps."

And Lauren Webb, a newer attorney at the firm, found it carried part of the learning curve: "This has been such a huge help. I'm a very new attorney, and it's like a lot of time management, figuring out what to prioritize. Having this tool is incredible." She also caught a category of time she had never thought to enter: "Ajax has been helping capture Slack conversations with my paralegals - time I wasn't thinking to enter."

Slovensky's summary, after running both tools: "I am impressed with Ajax. I like Ajax a lot."

Consolidating the stack

One outcome reached beyond timekeeping. Ajax files the firm's email activity to the right matters as part of capture, and that put a second tool on the chopping block. In Slovensky's words: "I think we're going to get close to pulling people out of using our email tool, which takes a lot of time for us to manage. Holly, who is our best beta tester, she's really impressed."

Belcher found the filed record useful in its own right: "I've actually been able to use it to look through email threads for other cases - having to review all the emails between attorneys to figure out what's been happening."

Fewer tools, one system of record, and nobody managing an email-filing workflow on the side.

The takeaway for firms being courted

AI timekeeping tools demo alike and perform differently. The gaps show up in matter categorization, narrative quality, and how much review the drafts actually need, and none of that is visible in a sales deck. A two-tool pilot on your own matters settles it in a couple of weeks, which is exactly how Slovensky Law settled it.

Frequently asked questions

How do you run a fair head-to-head pilot? Same group, same working days, both tools running. Compare captured time, how often the matter is right, and how much editing narratives need. Our guide to what to expect in an AI timekeeping pilot covers the cadence.

What made the difference here? Categorization accuracy, narrative quality, and onboarding. The firm's attorneys were releasing entries without edits within days.

Does Ajax capture chat tools like Slack? Yes. Ajax reads the actual work on screen, so Slack conversations, documents, email, and research all become drafted, matter-matched entries. More in automatic time tracking for lawyers.

Does Ajax handle email filing? Yes. Ajax files email to the right matters as part of capture, which is why Slovensky Law is close to dropping its separate email-filing tool entirely.

If a vendor is courting your firm right now, book an Ajax demo and run us side by side. That is how Slovensky Law chose.