PracticePanther MCP Server for VS Code Copilot 18 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, embedded directly into the world's most popular code editor. With MCP support in Agent mode, Copilot can access external data and APIs to generate context-aware code grounded in real-time information.
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{
"mcpServers": {
"practicepanther": {
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
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About PracticePanther MCP Server
Connect to PracticePanther legal practice management platform and manage your entire law practice from any AI agent. Access matters, contacts, documents, time entries, calendar events, bills, payments, tasks, and expenses—all through a unified REST API with OData support.
GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings PracticePanther data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 18 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.
What you can do
- Matters/Cases — List, search, create, and update legal matters with status, client, and practice area
- Contacts/Clients — Manage your client database including individuals, organizations, and opposing parties
- Time Tracking — Log billable and non-billable time entries against any matter
- Bills/Invoices — List and review bills with amounts, status, and line items
- Payments — Track payments received from clients
- Tasks — View and manage tasks associated with matters and contacts
- Calendar — View court dates, hearings, deadlines, and meetings
- Custom Fields — Access custom fields configured for matters and contacts
- Activities — Track calls, emails, meetings, and notes
- Expenses — Log and review expenses associated with matters
- OData Support — Use powerful OData filtering, ordering, and pagination for flexible queries
The PracticePanther MCP Server exposes 18 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to VS Code Copilot in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect PracticePanther to VS Code Copilot via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the PracticePanther MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.
Create MCP config
Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root
Add the server config
Paste the JSON configuration above
Enable Agent mode
Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown
Start using PracticePanther
Ask Copilot: "Using PracticePanther, help me...". 18 tools available
Why Use VS Code Copilot with the PracticePanther MCP Server
GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with PracticePanther through the Model Context Protocol.
VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor
Project-scoped MCP configs (`.vscode/mcp.json`) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access
Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop
GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services
PracticePanther + VS Code Copilot Use Cases
Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the PracticePanther MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Live API integration: Copilot can query an MCP server, inspect the response schema, and generate typed API client code in the same step
DevSecOps workflows: security teams can give developers access to domain intelligence tools directly in their editor for real-time vulnerability assessment during code review
Data pipeline development: Copilot fetches sample data via MCP and generates transformation scripts, validators, and test fixtures from actual API responses
Documentation generation: Copilot queries available tools and auto-generates README sections, API reference docs, and usage examples
PracticePanther MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (18)
These 18 tools become available when you connect PracticePanther to VS Code Copilot via MCP:
create_practicepanther_contact
USE WHEN: - User wants to add a new client - User needs to create a new contact record - User asks to "add a new contact" or "create a client" PARAMETERS: - first_name (REQUIRED): Contact's first name - last_name (REQUIRED): Contact's last name - email (OPTIONAL): Contact's email address - phone (OPTIONAL): Contact's phone number - type (OPTIONAL): Contact type — "Client", "Opposing Party", "Witness", "Referral Source", etc. EXAMPLES: - "Add a new contact John Smith" → call with first_name="John", last_name="Smith" - "Create client Jane Doe, jane@example.com, 555-0123" → call with first_name="Jane", last_name="Doe", email="jane@example.com", phone="555-0123", type="Client" Create a new contact/client in PracticePanther
create_practicepanther_matter
USE WHEN: - User wants to open a new legal matter - User needs to create a new case for a client - User asks to "create a new matter" or "open a case" PARAMETERS: - name (REQUIRED): Matter/case name - client_id (OPTIONAL): GUID of the contact/client this matter belongs to - status (OPTIONAL): Matter status (e.g. "Open", "Closed", "Pending") - description (OPTIONAL): Matter description - practice_area (OPTIONAL): Practice area for this matter EXAMPLES: - "Create a new matter called 'Smith Divorce'" → call with name="Smith Divorce" - "Open a new personal injury case for client John Smith" → call with name="Smith v. Johnson", client_id="client-guid" Create a new matter/case in PracticePanther
create_practicepanther_time_entry
USE WHEN: - User wants to log time spent on a matter - User needs to record billable hours - User asks to "add time entry" or "log hours" PARAMETERS: - matter_id (REQUIRED): GUID of the matter this time entry belongs to - description (REQUIRED): Description of the work performed - duration_minutes (REQUIRED): Duration in minutes - billable (OPTIONAL): Whether this is billable — true (default) or false - rate (OPTIONAL): Hourly rate for this entry EXAMPLES: - "Log 2 hours of legal research for matter 123" → call with matter_id="123", description="Legal research", duration_minutes=120 - "Add 30 minute phone call with client" → call with matter_id="123", description="Phone call with client", duration_minutes=30 Create a new time entry for billing
get_practicepanther_bill
Get detailed information for a specific bill/invoice
get_practicepanther_contact
Get detailed information for a specific contact/client
get_practicepanther_matter
Get detailed information for a specific matter/case
list_practicepanther_activities
List activities in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_bills
List bills/invoices in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_calendar_events
List calendar events in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_contacts
USE WHEN: - User wants to see all their contacts and clients - User needs to find a contact by name or email - User is exploring their contact database - User asks "list my contacts" or "show all clients" PARAMETERS: - top (OPTIONAL): Number of results to return - skip (OPTIONAL): Number of results to skip for pagination - orderby (OPTIONAL): OData order expression (e.g. "LastName asc") - filter (OPTIONAL): OData filter expression (e.g. "Email ne null") EXAMPLES: - "List all my contacts" → call with no params - "Show my clients only" → call with filter="Type eq 'Client'" - "List contacts ordered by last name" → call with orderby="LastName asc" List all contacts/clients in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_custom_fields
List custom fields defined in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_expenses
List expenses in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_matters
Supports OData filtering, ordering, and pagination for flexible queries. USE WHEN: - User wants to see all their legal matters/cases - User needs to find matters by status, client, or practice area - User is exploring their law firm's caseload - User asks "what matters do I have" or "list my open cases" PARAMETERS: - top (OPTIONAL): Number of results to return (e.g. "10", "50", "100") - skip (OPTIONAL): Number of results to skip for pagination - orderby (OPTIONAL): OData order expression (e.g. "CreatedDate desc", "Name asc") - filter (OPTIONAL): OData filter expression (e.g. "Status eq 'Open'") EXAMPLES: - "List all my matters" → call with no params - "Show my open cases" → call with filter="Status eq 'Open'" - "List matters ordered by creation date" → call with orderby="CreatedDate desc" List all matters/cases in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_payments
List payments received in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_tasks
List tasks in PracticePanther
list_practicepanther_time_entries
Supports filtering by matter, user, and date range. USE WHEN: - User wants to see all logged time entries - User needs to review billable hours for a matter - User is preparing invoices or reviewing time reports - User asks "show my time entries" or "list billable hours" PARAMETERS: - top (OPTIONAL): Number of results to return - skip (OPTIONAL): Number of results to skip for pagination - orderby (OPTIONAL): OData order expression (e.g. "Date desc") - filter (OPTIONAL): OData filter expression (e.g. "Matter/Name eq 'Smith Divorce'") EXAMPLES: - "List all time entries" → call with no params - "Show time entries for this matter" → call with filter="MatterId eq 'matter-guid'" - "List time entries from newest to oldest" → call with orderby="Date desc" List time entries logged in PracticePanther
search_practicepanther_matters
USE WHEN: - User wants to search for specific matters - User needs to find matters by name, client, or status - User asks to "find matters about X" or "search for open cases" PARAMETERS: - filter (REQUIRED): OData filter expression (e.g. "contains(Name, 'Smith')", "Status eq 'Open'") - top (OPTIONAL): Number of results to return - orderby (OPTIONAL): OData order expression EXAMPLES: - "Search for matters containing 'Smith'" → call with filter="contains(Name, 'Smith')" - "Find all open personal injury cases" → call with filter="Status eq 'Open' and PracticeArea eq 'Personal Injury'" Search matters/cases using OData filter
update_practicepanther_matter
Update an existing matter/case in PracticePanther
Example Prompts for PracticePanther in VS Code Copilot
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your VS Code Copilot agent to start working with PracticePanther immediately.
"List all my open matters in PracticePanther."
"Create a new time entry for 2 hours of legal research on the Smith Divorce matter."
"Show me all contacts for client John Smith."
Troubleshooting PracticePanther MCP Server with VS Code Copilot
Common issues when connecting PracticePanther to VS Code Copilot through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
MCP tools not available
PracticePanther + VS Code Copilot FAQ
Common questions about integrating PracticePanther MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.
Which VS Code version supports MCP?
How do I switch to Agent mode?
Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?
Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?
.vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.Connect PracticePanther with your favorite client
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Connect PracticePanther to VS Code Copilot
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 18 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.