§ Tool · Capacity planning

Capacity Planner.

Given your current load, new matter rate, and planned hires — when do you run out of capacity?

→Forecast overflow before it bites
→Quantify when you need to hire next
→Have the hiring conversation with numbers, not feelings

Inputs

Current fee earnerspeople

Active matters per fee earner (comfortable)matters

Where quality holds and deadlines still get hit.

Currently open mattersmatters

New matters opening per monthmatters/mo

Matters closing per monthmatters/mo

Planned hires in next 6 monthspeople

Result

Current matter-load

72 open matters vs capacity of 84.

86%

Months to capacity ceiling

Net matter growth of 4/mo will exhaust headroom here.

3 mo

Capacity after planned hires

No planned hires. Current ceiling holds.

84 matters

Benchmark: healthy sustained matter-load for small-firm associates sits around 80–90% of nominal capacity. Above 95% for more than two months is where quality problems, missed deadlines, and attrition usually show up.

Save your result

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Weekly capacity tracker→Hire another lawyer or another paralegal?→Active matters per fee earner (benchmark)→

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We also run Techsperience (legal-tech support) and Clearmatter (matter management). Mostly we write. Learn more →