LegalDeadlineTools

Filing Schedule Builder

Build a backwards schedule from a hearing or filing date, with drafting, review, sign-off and service stages in business days.

Last reviewed

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Free · No sign-up · Runs in your browser

Every filing has the same shape: draft, review, client sign-off, final formatting, file and serve. They are sequential, each takes real time, and the only fixed point is the date at the end.

This builder counts each stage backwards from that date in business days, and reports the day work has to start. If that day has already passed, the schedule tells you immediately rather than in the final week.

Your numbers

Results update as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.

One date per line as YYYY-MM-DD.

Result

Start work by

2026-03-20

Days until work must start

18

Status
Drafting has not started yet
Working days available
21
Draft due
2026-03-20
Review due
2026-03-31
Client sign-off due
2026-04-06
Filing due
2026-04-15
Hearing date
2026-04-20

This tool performs arithmetic on the values you enter. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Lead times are counted in business days back from the date you entered, excluding weekends and any closures listed. They are your own working assumptions, not court rules.

Counting rules differ by court and jurisdiction, including whether the trigger day counts, how weekends and holidays are treated, and how a deadline that lands on a closure day is rolled. Always verify against the governing rule and the court calendar.

Backwards schedule

StageDueBusiness days before
First draft complete2026-03-2021
Internal review complete2026-03-3114
Client review and sign-off2026-04-0610
Final formatting and exhibits2026-04-135
Filed and served2026-04-153
Hearing or deadline2026-04-200

How to use the filing schedule builder

  1. Enter the hearing or filing date.
  2. Set the lead time in business days for each stage, using your own realistic figures.
  3. List any court closures that fall in the period.
  4. Read the start date and put every checkpoint in the calendar.

What people use this for

  • Planning a brief or motion schedule from the hearing date.
  • Checking whether there is enough working time before agreeing to a date.
  • Coordinating drafting and client review across a team.
  • Deciding early whether an extension will be needed.

Worked examples

Every figure below is produced by running this calculator against the example inputs, so the numbers always match the tool.

A standard brief schedule

A 20 April 2026 hearing with drafting starting 21 business days out, review at 14, client sign-off at 10, formatting at 5 and filing at 3.

Start work by
2026-03-20
Status
Drafting has not started yet
Working days available
21

A compressed schedule

The same hearing with drafting starting only 10 business days out.

Start work by
2026-04-06
Days until work must start
35
Working days available
10

The value is in finding out early

A backwards schedule either produces a start date in the future, in which case you have a plan, or a start date in the past, in which case you have a problem you now know about.

The second outcome is the more useful one. A compressed schedule identified eight weeks out can be fixed with an extension request, more resource or a narrower scope. The same problem identified in the final week has no remedies left.

Client review is the stage people underestimate

Internal drafting and review are within your control and can be compressed under pressure. Client sign-off is not: clients have other commitments, decision-makers travel, and a document requiring board approval moves on a completely different timescale.

Setting a realistic client lead time - and one that accounts for who actually has to approve the document - is what separates a schedule that holds from one that collapses in the last week.

Methodology and assumptions

What this calculator does, and what it deliberately does not do.

  • Each stage is counted backwards from the hearing date in business days, excluding weekends and any listed closures.
  • Lead times are your own planning assumptions, not procedural requirements.
  • The tool does not know your jurisdiction, court rules or service requirements.
  • The tool performs arithmetic or date counting on the values you enter. It does not interpret a rule, a statute or a contract.
  • Nothing you type is transmitted or stored - the calculation runs entirely inside your browser.

This website provides general informational and productivity tools and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.

The date and deadline tools count days exactly as you instruct them. They do not interpret court rules, statutes of limitation, filing requirements or any other legal authority, and they do not know the rules of your jurisdiction.

Always verify any date, fee, or calculation against the governing rule, the court calendar and your own professional judgement. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

Are these stages required?

No. They are a conventional sequence for a document filing. Your matter may need different stages entirely, and the lead times are yours to set.

Why business days rather than calendar days?

Because the work happens on working days. A schedule in calendar days silently assumes weekends are productive.

What if the start date has already passed?

The status says so. That is information worth having early - it means either compressing the schedule deliberately or seeking more time.

Does this replace a docketing system?

No. It is a planning aid for one filing. Deadline management for a practice needs a docketing system with rule-based calculation and independent verification.

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