Paste into SafeAppeals chat for guided help with this topic.

Legal Time Tracker

Track billable hours the way legal teams expect — 6-minute increments, UTBMS task codes, matter assignment, and LEDES export. This is your billing timer, not the session timer in the Audio Recorder.

6-Minute Increments

Standard legal rounding — up, down, or nearest

UTBMS Codes

Litigation and workers' comp task/activity codes

LEDES Export

Industry-standard 1998B billing format plus CSV/JSON


Opening the Time Tracker

  • Activity bar: Click the clock icon in the left sidebar
  • Status bar: Click today's hours display when idle or running
  • Keyboard: Ctrl+Shift+T (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+T (macOS) to toggle the timer
  • Command Palette: Time Tracker: Toggle Timer

Starting and Stopping

  1. Open the Time Tracker sidebar
  2. Select a Matter (optional), Billing Rate, and UTBMS codes
  3. Enter a description of the work
  4. Toggle Billable if needed
  5. Click Start Timer — elapsed time appears in the status bar
  6. Click Stop (or toggle again) to save a time entry with rounded increments

Auto-stop on exit: Optionally save a running timer when you close SafeAppeals so you do not lose billable time accidentally.


Exporting Time

From the Time Tracker sidebar, export entries for a date range:

  • CSV — Spreadsheet-friendly review
  • JSON — API and integration use
  • LEDES 1998B — Standard legal billing interchange format

Agent Tools

In Agent mode, the assistant can check timer state and start or stop the billing timer on your behalf — with confirmation before each action.

ToolWhat it does
safeappeals_timer_getStateCurrent running state, elapsed time, matter, rate, description
safeappeals_timer_startStart the timer (optional matter, rate, description) — confirmation required
safeappeals_timer_stopStop and save a time entry — confirmation required

Example prompts: "How long have I been timing?", "Start the timer for drafting the appeal letter", "Stop the timer and save this entry." See the full tool catalog in Agent Tools.

Not the audio recorder: The Audio Recorder has its own session timer for hearings and transcription. The Legal Time Tracker is for billable matter time and LEDES export.


Data Storage

Time entries are stored in a workspace-specific encrypted database under managed extension storage — isolated per case workspace, same pattern as Private Search.


Next Steps