Law firm missed call calculator
What missed intake calls cost a law firm.
A prospective client who reaches voicemail often keeps calling firms until one answers. Enter your monthly calls, the share you miss, how often a reached caller becomes a client, and your average fee from one new client to see the revenue at risk each month. The starting numbers are assumptions; replace them with your own.
Calculator
Estimate monthly revenue at risk.
The starting numbers are assumptions, not industry figures. Change any of them to match your business.
Example: $9,000 per month at risk
With 80 calls a month, 25% of them missed, 15% of reached callers booking, an average fee from one new client of $3,000, and 30% of missed calls after hours, that is about 20 missed calls (6 after hours), 3 lost new clients, and $9,000 in monthly revenue at risk (about $108,000 a year).
Guide
Use this before you automate the work.
A prospective client who reaches voicemail often keeps calling firms until one answers. Enter your monthly calls, the share you miss, how often a reached caller becomes a client, and your average fee from one new client to see the revenue at risk each month. The starting numbers are assumptions; replace them with your own.
Step 1
Count intake calls, not every call
The defaults are placeholders, not legal industry figures. Calls from current clients, courts, and opposing counsel matter, but they are not new business, so keep the sign-up rate about prospective clients.
- Monthly calls: every inbound call to the main line and any ad or website numbers.
- Missed calls: voicemail, calls while staff were in court or with a client, and after hours.
- Sign-up rate: of the prospective clients you reached, how many became clients.
Step 2
Pick a fee your practice actually earns
Fees vary widely by practice area. Use the average fee from one new client in the practice area where most of your calls come from, and run it again for a second practice area if your mix is wide.
- Flat-fee work: use your typical flat fee.
- Hourly work: use the average billed per new client over the first engagement.
- The after-hours share shows how many missed calls came in while the office was closed.
Step 3
Read the result as revenue at risk
The result estimates the work sitting in calls nobody picked up. It is not a promise of recovered revenue: what you win back depends on how fast callers hear from you, your prices, and whether you have room on the calendar.
- Missed calls = monthly calls × the share of calls you miss.
- Lost new clients = missed calls × the share of reached callers who book.
- Revenue at risk = lost new clients × average fee from one new client.
Questions
Before you hand this off
Are the default numbers law firm industry averages?
No. They are starting assumptions so the calculator shows a result right away. Replace each one with your own numbers from your phone system and job records.
Why is the default sign-up rate so low?
Many intake callers are outside your practice area, have a conflict, or are shopping around. The low default is a cautious placeholder; replace it with your own intake numbers.
Does a text back replace an intake call?
No. A text back tells the caller you got their call and when you will reach them. Whether to take the matter is always the firm’s decision.
What does TeamShift do with a missed call?
TeamShift returns missed calls and texts in your approved wording, logs what each caller needs, and sends bookings and quotes to you to approve. Nothing goes out in your name until you say so.