Frequently Asked Questions
When will timekeeping begin and end?
The study will begin on Monday, February 3, 2014 and will continue through April 25, 2014.
What if I am unable to keep time for the entire 12 weeks?
Many people will take vacations, sick leave, or have other reasons to be away from work. To account for your time
during these periods, enter 8 hours per day of absence under the category of Personal Time (PT), or enter the actual
number of hours for partial days.
How do I access the online timekeeping system?
If you are registered for the study, you will receive an email with instructions to login to the timekeeping system through
a PC, Mac, Tablet, or Smartphone. The password contained in the email will need to be re-set after the first login. It is
recommended that you bookmark the link to the software for easy access throughout the study.
What will happen when I log-in for the first time?
First, you will be prompted to change your password, then you will be taken to the Registration Screen where you will
enter a little information about yourself and your practice.
How do I get back to the Registration Screen to change or update information.
You may return to the Registration Screen at any time to update your information or change your password. From the
Home Screen, select “My Info” then “Update Registration.”
Can you suggest some ways to get around the system efficiently?

Moving between Boxes. You can use the “tab” key to move quickly between fields, entering data as you go.
Whenever you tab from one field to the next, information you have entered is automatically saved.

Drop-Down Boxes. Select “return” to open a drop-down box. If the list is short (like Attorney), “up and down
arrow” keys can be used to choose your response. If the list is long (like County), start typing letters to find the
choice you are looking for.

Dates.
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Moving around the Calendar. Once you are in a calendar, use the arrow keys to move between dates and the
page up/down keys to move between months.
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Time Entry Rows. If you continue to tab through at the end of a time entry row, a new row will be added
automatically. This makes it possible to enter many rows of time data quickly.
There are several ways to enter dates.
Tab to the date field and hit “return” to get a clickable calendar; or
Tap or use your mouse to select the “down arrow” icon in the date field to get a clickable calendar; or
Select the field and enter a six-digit date (e.g., 020314). The system will convert it to the proper format
automatically (e.g., 02/03/2014).
What if I am unsure what something means?
Look for the “Information” icon:
They will open boxes that explain what many of the requested measures mean.
If you don’t find what you are looking for, email your question to WCL@ppri.tamu.edu.
Who do I contact if I have problems accessing the online system?
Keith Richey at Justice Works. Email: Keith@JusticeWorks.com; Phone: 801.951.1478
Who do I contact if I have questions about the information that is being entered and its meaning?
Dottie Carmichael at Texas A&M University. Email: WCL@ppri.tamu.edu; Phone: 979-845-9378
Can you briefly describe how timekeeping works?
There are two steps to keeping time.
 First, you will create case records: Visit the Case Information Screen to enter basic information about each triallevel criminal case or juvenile delinquency case you spend time on during the study period.
 Second, you will record time spent on each case: After a case has been set up, visit the Timesheet Screen to
enter information about the amount and type of time spent on the case.
How is a “case” being defined in this study?
A case is a person/arrest event.
 If a person is arrested multiple times, each separate arrest event is a different case.
 If a person has multiple charges for a single arrest event, the case includes all charges combined.
How do I record the charges for a case?
On the Case Information Screen, you will provide level and charge information for the “Most Serious Charge Filed” only.
However, you will indicate the count of all charges under “Total # of Charges Filed.”
There is one exception. If your county appoints different attorneys for felony and misdemeanor charges, you can only
report on the charges you have been assigned to defend – at either the felony or misdemeanor level.
What types of cases should I track for the study?
We are interested in tracking time for two types of cases:
 Adult criminal trial-level cases (Misd. B through Capital cases)
 Juvenile delinquency cases (CINS, indeterminate, determinate, and certification)
What categories of activity am I supposed to track?
Most of the time you track will be for activities directly related to a specific case. These include:
 Client Communication (CC)
 Court Time (CT)
 Discovery/Investigation (D/I)
 Legal Research/Trial Preparation (LR/TP)
 Negotiation/Meetings (N/M)
 Case-Specific Office Support (OS)
 Investigator’s Time (IN)
 Case Management (CM)
Other time will not be associated with a specific case:
 Attorney of the Day (AD)
 Travel Time (TT)
 Non-Case Specific Attorney Time (NC)
 Personal Time (PT)
Definitions for all time categories are available here as well as at the Information Icon in the Timekeeping screen.
How should I account for time spent on cases that are not part of the study?
Time spent on cases not in the study (e.g., civil, CPS, appeals, or federal cases) should be recorded as Non-Case Specific
Attorney Time (NC).
Will I need to track time spent by my administrative office staff?
You will only track time spent by office staff if it is related to a specific case. For instance if an office assistant makes
phone calls to gather information from witnesses on behalf of the attorney, this would be recorded as Case Specific
Office Support (OS).
Should I track time for retained/private-pay cases?
We would like you to report time for both your appointed and retained criminal and delinquency cases. If this is not
possible, at least track time for your court-appointed cases.
Can I keep my time records using a pen and paper?
Yes. A hard copy version of both the Timekeeping and Case Information Screens is available under “My Info/Printable
Forms for Offline Entry.” They can also be downloaded here. You can record your time entries on these forms, then you
or an assistant can enter them into the system later. The forms are formatted for two-sided printing for your
convenience.
Can my assistant or paralegal enter time data for my cases?
Anyone registered for the study under the same firm name can enter time on any of that firm’s cases. If you need to
register additional people in your office to enter data, simply email your request to WCL@ppri.tamu.edu and we will
follow up with instructions. Alternately, an assistant can also log in under the attorney’s name and password.
If an assistant is doing data entry, the attorney may wish to use the hard copy time-keeping forms to track their activities
(See the preceding question to locate the forms).
Should I report a “Usual Payment” for retained/private-pay cases?
Payment information is only required for court-appointed cases. If you wish to report payment on retained cases it
would provide additional information for the study, though it is not required.
What if part of my payment for a case is flat fee and part is paid at an hourly trial rate?
Choose the payment method that paid the highest amount on the case. Then enter the total amount you were (or
expect to be) paid for all payment methods combined. If you don’t know what the exact payment amount will be, make
your best estimate based on your prior experience with similar cases.
In my county, all cases pled on same date are paid as follows: $400 for the first case and $100 for each subsequent
case. How would I record the payment amount for these cases?
In this example, the first case pled would be a flat fee payment of $400; cases pled thereafter would be a flat fee
payment of $100.
What should I report for “Usual Payment” if I am a public defender paid on salary?
Public defender attorneys will not enter a “Usual County Payment” on the Case Information Screen.
Can the system track attorney fee vouchers?
Because the format and content of attorney fee vouchers varies by county and because the records are maintained in
clerks’ offices, we are unable to access them in this study. Customized versions of fee vouchers may be available for
long-term subscribers to the software.
Can I have the time data I entered after the study is over?
A summary of your time spent on each case is available in the reporting system under the “Reports” menu. If you need
more information, discuss options with the company responsible for the timekeeping software development. Justice
Works can be reached at http://www.justiceworks.com/.
Do we need to report time for cases that were already underway when the study began?
We want information about every case you work on during the 12-week study period, including those that began
months earlier. However, you will NOT be required to “backtrack” to report time before the study began.
The study will be a “snapshot” of your practice in time, so there will inevitably be some cases that are only partially
accounted for. During analysis we will measure the average time spent for all attorneys representing a given level and
type of offense to assess differences in time required for different types of cases.
If I am representing two or more cases for the same defendant, how would I divide my time between them? I
ordinarily do not split my time in this situation.
Each of the cases involving the defendant would be set up under different Case/Cause Numbers on the Case Information
Screen. Because there is no way to combine these cases for time-keeping purposes, just use your discretion to parse
your time between the two.
I often spend time waiting at jail or in court for several clients. How do I apportion my wait time across those cases?
The most important thing is NOT to count the same time more than once. Make your best effort to determine the
amount of delay attributable to each case and add that to your reported Client Communication (CC) time spent at jail or
Court Time (CT) spent in court, as applicable.
If I travel to court or jail for two or more cases, how should I report travel time?
Travel time does not have to be attributed to a specific case. Simply record all the time spent in transit under the Travel
Time (TT) category.
How should I enter charges if they have not been filed by the prosecutor? A filing determination can sometimes take
several weeks or months.
Until you have a prosecutor’s filing determination, report the arrest charges. Once charge is filed, update the record.
What if I need to change something I have already entered?
All fields in the system can be accessed for editing. You are encouraged to update records as more information about a
case becomes available.
When I make changes on my smartphone will the changes also be made on my computer?
Yes. All the data is stored on servers accessed via the internet at Justice Works, the software developer. All changes to
your case data are recorded in the same database regardless of how the change were made. This ensures your
information is always current and accurate.
How will my clients’ confidentiality be protected?
The research team will NOT receive any information that could possibly identify clients. Names, cause or case numbers,
and attorney comments will only be available to attorneys. The research study has been reviewed and approved by the
Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board for Ethics in Research. More information about the risks and benefits
of participation is available here.
How will my confidentiality as an attorney be protected?
The research team will have access to attorney names during the 12-week data collection period so we can
communicate with you regarding your reporting. However, as soon as the timekeeping phase is complete and the
dataset is cleaned and finalized, we will delete the attorney names associated with client records. We will still know that
you participated in the study but we will no longer be able to tell which client records are yours.
When will the final report be available and where can I get one?
The final report will be available December 31, 2014. It will be posted on the Texas Indigent Defense Commission
website (http://www.txcourts.gov/tidc/resourcesresearchstudies.asp), and study participants will be notified by email.
Will my contributions to the study be acknowledged in the final report?
Yes, if you indicate on the Registration Screen that you wish to have your participation in the study publicly
acknowledged in the final report we will recognize you as a contributor.