In-court time is the time that you are actually talking with a judicial officer. This may be in a courtroom, in chambers, or even by telephone. While the in-court worksheets list the most common examples, such as arraignments, motion hearings, and trial, remember that pretrial conferences, status conferences, or telephone conferences with the judge also qualify as in-court time. In-court time may also be claimed for those occasions when counsel’s presence at the courthouse is required. The rule of thumb is that if counsel is required to be here and cannot be at the office, the in-court rate will apply. For example, if a hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. and counsel reports for that time but the hearing does not start till 9:30 a.m., that half hour spent waiting for the proceeding may be counted as in-court time. If, however, counsel requests a continuance to 10 a.m. to confer with his/her client, that will not be considered in-court time. Also, during trial or full-day hearings, counsel may also claim in-court time from the start of the proceeding until adjournment each day of the trial. We allow this because we know that during these times, even when the court breaks for lunch or recess, counsel typically will continue to work on the case in some fashion. Before preparing your final voucher, query the case's docket report to verify the dates and duration of all in-court proceedings.