Free Matter Management Calculators
A matter is a project, and projects are managed with numbers
Four tools for running a matter properly: measure how long comparable matters actually took, project the final cost while there is still time to talk about it, estimate by timekeeper level, and work through the procedural steps that are expensive to miss.
Case Duration Calculator
Measure how long a matter ran and how intensively it was worked, in calendar days, business days and hours per month.
Result
Duration in months
15.9
Hours per month
6
- Calendar days
- 485
- Business days
- 347
- Years
- 1.33
- Hours recorded
- 96
- Fees billed
- $31,000
- Fees per month
- $1,950
- Effective rate
- $322.92
This tool performs arithmetic on the values you enter. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Duration and intensity are different measures. A matter can run for two years at four hours a month, or three months at eighty.
Tracking hours per month across closed matters of the same type is the fastest way to build a defensible fee estimate for the next one.
Read the full guide, worked examples and FAQ for this calculator →
Popular tools
The calculators visitors to LegalCaseTools open most often.
- Matters & Cases
Case Duration Calculator
Measure how long a matter ran and how intensively it was worked, in calendar days, business days and hours per month.
Open calculator → - Matters & Cases
Matter Budget Tracker
Compare spend to date against budget, project the final cost from percentage complete, and see the variance before it arrives.
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Case Cost Estimator
Estimate the total cost of a matter across timekeeper levels, with expenses, a contingency allowance and the blended rate.
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Case Task Checklist
A structured checklist covering matter opening, evidence, deadlines, client communication and closure, saved in your own browser.
Open calculator →
Legal matters overrun for the same reasons any project overruns: the estimate was made from memory, progress was measured in effort rather than in phases completed, and the variance became visible only after the budget was gone.
These tools apply ordinary project discipline to matters. The most valuable of them is the duration calculator, run across your own closed files - a firm that knows what comparable matters actually took can estimate the next one with a defensible range instead of an instinct.
Browse by category
Matters & Cases
Budgets, durations and organisation for individual matters.
Why use LegalCaseTools
Duration and intensity separated
A two-year matter at four hours a month and a three-month matter at eighty are completely different to staff, budget and price.
Variance seen early
Projecting from percentage complete makes an overrun visible while a scope conversation is still possible rather than retrospective.
Estimates by timekeeper level
The blended rate a client experiences is decided by staffing, not by the rate card. Estimating by level makes that visible before it becomes an invoice.
Procedure that is easy to skip
Conflicts recorded, engagement signed, deadlines independently verified, file closed properly. Cheap at the start and expensive to fix later.
How it works
- Measure ten or fifteen closed matters of the same type to build a realistic range.
- Estimate the new matter by timekeeper level, with a contingency sized to the uncertainty.
- Track it against that budget using phases completed, not time spent.
- Work the checklist so the procedural steps do not depend on memory.
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal advice?
No. This website provides general informational and productivity tools and does not provide legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.
How do I estimate percentage complete honestly?
By phases finished against phases planned. Using time spent makes the projection circular: it will always tell you that you are exactly on budget.
How many closed matters do I need before estimates get reliable?
Ten to fifteen of the same type is usually enough to see a pattern. Below that, one unusual matter distorts the whole range.
Does the checklist cover my jurisdiction?
No. Conduct rules, trust accounting requirements and procedural obligations differ by jurisdiction. It covers the failures that recur across practices, not any specific set of rules.
Is anything I enter saved?
Only the checklist, and only in your own browser. Calculator inputs are not stored at all, and nothing is ever transmitted.