⚖️ Legal · Database ERD
Legal Matter and Billing Schema
A schema for law firm matters and billing: clients, matters, timekeepers, time entries, expenses, invoices and trust accounts.
Drawing diagram…
What this diagram shows
- Every time entry and expense belongs to a matter
- Billing rates depend on the timekeeper and the matter
- Client trust (advance) money is tracked separately
Prompt used
ERD for legal billing: Client has Matters; Timekeeper (lawyer, paralegal) has a default rate; MatterRate can override rates per matter; TimeEntry records hours and narrative by a Timekeeper on a Matter; Expense records costs; Invoice groups unbilled entries for a Matter; TrustAccount holds client advances with TrustTransactions applied to invoices.
Mermaid code
erDiagram
CLIENT ||--o{ MATTER : engages
MATTER ||--o{ TIME_ENTRY : logs
TIMEKEEPER ||--o{ TIME_ENTRY : records
MATTER ||--o{ MATTER_RATE : sets
TIMEKEEPER ||--o{ MATTER_RATE : "billed at"
MATTER ||--o{ EXPENSE : incurs
MATTER ||--o{ INVOICE : bills
CLIENT ||--o| TRUST_ACCOUNT : holds
TRUST_ACCOUNT ||--o{ TRUST_TRANSACTION : records
MATTER {
int id PK
int client_id FK
string matter_no
string practice_area
}
TIME_ENTRY {
int id PK
int matter_id FK
int timekeeper_id FK
decimal hours
string narrative
bool billed
}
INVOICE {
int id PK
int matter_id FK
decimal amount
string status
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