How Law Firms Are Missing Out on Revenue (and How to Fix It)

Law firms often think the biggest risk to their revenue is losing clients. But the truth is, some of the most damaging losses happen quietly, right under the surface. Non-billable admin tasks. Missed billable hours. Poor processes. These small inefficiencies add up fast—and they could be costing your firm far more than you realize. 

The good news is this problem is solvable. By using a practice management platform like Actionstep, law firms can reduce waste, capture every dollar earned, and make smarter decisions.  

In this article, we’ll show you how inefficiencies impact your bottom line—and how the right technology can turn things around. 

The Real Cost of Inefficiency

Time is the most valuable resource a law firm has. Yet, for many firms, time is slipping through the cracks. A paralegal spends an hour searching for a missing document. A lawyer loses track of a billable call because it wasn’t logged right away.  

Without a system to track every interaction and task, it’s easy to forget to log time, even for experienced professionals. These moments may seem small. However, over weeks, months, and years, missed billable hours compound into a serious revenue loss. 

Imagine this: an attorney sends ten emails in a day to clients but forgets to bill for them. Each email takes about six minutes to draft. That’s an hour of work lost. At a typical billing rate of $300 per hour, that’s $300 in missed revenue—just for one attorney, on one day. Over a year, that number grows to over $70,000. 

Now multiply that by an entire firm. Missed emails, forgotten calls, untracked hours—it all adds up. Firms without proper technology to capture billable time are essentially giving away free work.  

Unfortunately, that’s not all. When your team spends hours on admin tasks like filing or chasing unpaid invoices, this takes time away from higher-value work. If a paralegal earning $60,000 a year spends 10 hours a week on non-billable tasks, that’s over $15,000 a year in wasted salary costs. 

These inefficiencies are costly, but they don’t have to be permanent. Practice management software like Actionstep automates time tracking and streamlines admin, ensuring every hour worked contributes to your firm’s bottom line. 

The ROI of Practice Management Platforms

Every minute spent on non-billable work is a missed opportunity for law firms to earn revenue. Thankfully, this is where practice management platforms can help, minimizing inefficiencies and freeing up valuable time for billable tasks. 

These tools deliver both hard ROI (measurable, quantifiable benefits) and soft ROI (less tangible, but still incredibly valuable, results). Let’s explore each of these in closer detail. 

Hard ROI: Quantifiable Gains

Non-billable administrative tasks can take a significant toll on productivity. Actionstep estimates that attorneys spend an average of 15 minutes per day locating file information, appointments, or case numbers—amounting to 1.25 hours per week, or 60 hours per year. At a billing rate of $300 per hour, that’s $18,000 lost annually per attorney.

Paralegals, who also handle these tasks, lose even more time—2.5 hours per week, or 120 hours per year. While their hourly rate may be lower (e.g., $80 per hour), the firm is still losing $9,600 annually per paralegal just on file searching.

Other repetitive tasks compound these inefficiencies. For instance:

• Recreating time logs or struggling to bill out of office: Attorneys lose another 120 hours annually, costing $36,000 per attorney.
• Manually tracking or double-entering information: Paralegals spend an extra 240 hours per year, which translates to $19,200 in lost productivity.

Actionstep automates and streamlines these tasks. With centralized file management, automated time tracking, and integrated workflows, firms can recapture this lost time and turn inefficiencies into revenue.

Soft ROI: Intangible Benefits

Beyond the direct financial savings, Actionstep also delivers significant ‘soft ROI’ benefits. Consider the stress caused by chaotic workflows or disorganized processes. Features like document management, workflow automation, and integrations between tools allow employees to focus on meaningful, high-value work instead of mundane admin tasks.

This boost in efficiency also improves employee satisfaction. When lawyers and staff can work smarter, not harder, they’re less likely to burn out. This leads to better retention rates and a happier workplace culture. Meanwhile, clients benefit from quicker responses and a more professional experience, boosting loyalty and referrals.

A Smarter Way Forward

The cost of inefficiency is real—and for many law firms, it’s much higher than they realize. Lost billable time, wasted effort on repetitive tasks, and poor processes are revenue killers. The good news? These challenges aren’t inevitable.

Actionstep offers a ready-made solution, with features like automated workflows, centralized document management, and real-time time tracking. By adopting Actionstep, your firm can reclaim lost revenue, create happier teams, and deliver better client outcomes. 

The time to act is now, because doing nothing costs far more.

Contact Beth Thompson at beth.thompson@actionstep.com to receive an ROI analysis for your firm, or book a demo to get started.