Attorney Time Tracking Templates
Legal time is billed in tenths of an hour, described in narratives a client's billing auditor will read, and coded so a corporate client can compare one firm with another. A lawyer's timesheet is therefore a more structured document than a consultant's, and an entry that is late, vague or block-billed is an entry that gets cut at pre-bill or rejected by the client.
The templates here follow the conventions corporate clients expect: six-minute increments, one task per entry, a narrative that says what was done and why, matter numbers, and the UTBMS task and activity codes used in LEDES e-billing. There is a trust and retainer tracker, because client funds and fees must never mix, and a pre-bill summary that lets a billing partner review before the invoice goes out.
Download the templates
Free files: Word, Excel and PDF
Three files, free, no email required. Word to edit, Excel to track, PDF to print or share.
Templates open in Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Docs and Sheets, LibreOffice and any PDF reader. Free to use and adapt for your organization.
What is in the templates
- Daily log in tenths. Client, matter number, task and activity codes, narrative and time; Excel converts minutes to tenths, rounding up to the next six minutes as most engagement letters allow.
- Matter timesheet. Every entry for a matter with hours and fees to date against a cap or estimate.
- UTBMS codes. The litigation task codes and activity codes most corporate clients require for LEDES e-billing.
- Trust and retainer tracker. Deposits, fees and costs applied, and the running balance per client, kept separate from operating funds.
- Pre-bill summary. Recorded, written off and billed hours per timekeeper, for review before the invoice goes out.
The rules that shape a legal timesheet
Model Rule 1.5 requires fees to be reasonable and, for new clients, communicated in writing; the timesheet is the evidence of reasonableness. Rule 1.15 requires client funds, including advance fee retainers in most states, to be held in trust and applied only as earned, which is why the tracker separates deposits from fees applied. Billing guidelines from corporate clients add their own rules: no block billing, no entries over a stated length without approval, no billing for clerical work, narratives that state the purpose, and increments of a tenth.
Contemporaneous entries matter beyond accuracy. Courts assessing fee applications and clients auditing bills both discount reconstructed time, and some billing guidelines refuse entries recorded more than a set number of days after the work. Log the same day.
Writing narratives that survive review
A narrative answers what, for what purpose, and sometimes with whom. "Review documents" gets cut; "Review opposing party's production (Bates 1200 to 1480) for privilege and responsiveness to RFP 7" is paid. Avoid block billing, where several tasks share one time entry, because auditors reduce or reject blocks they cannot allocate. Keep one task per line even when the tasks were done in the same sitting.
The six-minute increment is the convention, not a license to round every two-minute email to 0.1. Many clients cap short communications or require them to be aggregated. The log's minutes column records what actually happened; the tenths column applies the rounding once.
Flat fees, caps and contingency
Hours still need logging when the fee is not hourly. A flat fee matter without hours cannot be priced next time, a capped matter needs the running total against the cap, and a contingency matter needs hours for a fee petition or a lodestar cross-check. The by-matter sheet carries the arrangement and the cap so the number is visible before it is exceeded.
Key takeaways
- Log one task per entry, the same day, in a narrative that states what and why; block billing and late entries get cut.
- Record minutes and let the sheet round to tenths once, as the engagement letter allows.
- Keep retainer and trust balances separate from fees applied, per Rule 1.15.
- Log hours on flat, capped and contingency matters too; the pre-bill review needs them.
Frequently asked questions
What increment do attorneys bill in?
Tenths of an hour, where 0.1 equals up to six minutes, is the standard in most engagement letters and client billing guidelines. Some clients require quarter-hour increments or cap how short communications are billed; the engagement letter governs.
What is block billing and why is it a problem?
Block billing groups several tasks into one time entry. Clients and courts cannot tell how long each task took, so they reduce or reject the entry. One task per line, each with its own time, is the rule in nearly every corporate billing guideline.
What are UTBMS codes?
Uniform Task-Based Management System codes classify legal work by task (for example L330 depositions) and activity (A103 draft and revise) for electronic billing in LEDES format. Corporate clients use them to compare firms and audit invoices; the template includes the common litigation set.
Can an advance retainer go into the operating account?
In most states an advance fee retainer belongs to the client until earned and must be held in a trust account, with fees transferred as they are billed. A true retainer paid for availability may be earned on receipt where the agreement says so and state rules allow. Check your state's version of Rule 1.15.
Do I need to track time on a flat fee matter?
Yes. The hours show whether the flat fee was priced correctly, support a fee petition if one is ever needed, and demonstrate reasonableness under Rule 1.5 if the fee is challenged.