Another key area for law firms to manage proactively is the performance of their existing client base. Key performance indicators in this area include client retention rate, which is the is the ratio of number of clients billed in the last 12 months to the same clients that had been billed in the 12 months before that. Another is the dormant client percentage rate, which is the ratio of the number of clients that the firm has not handled a matter for in two of the past three years to the number of total clients.

A related area to focus on is attorney productivity. Metrics include billable hours per full-time equivalent timekeeper, which is is calculated by taking the gross number of billable hours worked by paralegals, associates and partners and dividing by the number of full-time equivalents in each category. Another is the ratio of average billed to average standard rate, which is the ratio of the average billed hourly rate for a timekeeping category, which is calculated by dividing fees actually billed by the hours billed to the average standard hourly rate for the category of timekeeper.