Free law office risk assessment calculator, guide to legal compliance assessments, and comparison of legal risk management software. No login, no registration.
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// Law Office Risk Assessment Tool
Rate each risk area from 1 (low risk) to 5 (critical risk) based on your law firm's current situation. The calculator scores each category and produces a prioritized action list.
Legal compliance assessments — 5-step process
A legal compliance assessment systematically evaluates whether your organization meets applicable legal and regulatory requirements. It identifies gaps, prioritizes remediation, and reduces the risk of penalties, litigation, or reputational damage.
01
Identify applicable laws and regulationsMap all regulations, statutes, and standards that apply to your organization: industry-specific (HIPAA, GLBA, SOX), jurisdictional (state bar rules, local employment law), and cross-border (GDPR if serving EU clients). Use a regulatory inventory — a spreadsheet of all applicable requirements with ownership assigned.
02
Assess current compliance statusFor each regulatory requirement, determine your current status: fully compliant, partially compliant, or non-compliant. Collect evidence: policies, procedures, audit logs, training records, and contracts. Interview process owners. Do not rely solely on self-reporting — cross-check with documentation.
03
Identify and document gapsA compliance gap is any difference between the required state and the actual state. Document each gap with specifics: which regulation, which requirement, current state, required state, and estimated effort to close. Avoid vague gaps — "improve security" is not actionable. "Implement MFA for all client portal access per Rule 1.6" is.
04
Score and prioritize by riskScore each gap by likelihood (how likely is non-compliance to result in harm) and impact (what is the cost of that harm). Risk score = Likelihood × Impact. Prioritize gaps with high risk scores, near-term regulatory deadlines, or low remediation cost (quick wins). The risk calculator above automates this for common law firm risk areas.
05
Create remediation plan and trackAssign each gap an owner, a target completion date, and interim milestones. Review quarterly. Update the assessment annually or when regulations change significantly. Use a GRC tool or a shared compliance tracker to maintain visibility. Close loops with evidence — not just "completed" status.
Legal risk management tools comparison
Legal risk management tools range from enterprise GRC platforms to standalone compliance trackers. The right choice depends on organization size, budget, and which risk domains you need to cover.
Tool
Best for
Type
Cost
Thomson Reuters RI
Regulatory change tracking, large legal depts
Enterprise
Paid
LexisNexis Risk
Fraud investigation, client due diligence
Enterprise
Paid
MetricStream GRC
Enterprise GRC across all risk domains
Enterprise
Paid
Navex
Ethics, compliance, and policy management
Enterprise
Paid
Wolters Kluwer Legisway
Legal contract and entity management
Mid-market
Paid
Hyperproof
Compliance operations and evidence collection
Mid-market
Paid
This tool
Law firm risk scoring and compliance guide
Free
Free
FAQ — Legal risk and compliance
Legal risk management tools help identify, assess, and mitigate legal risks: regulatory non-compliance, contract exposure, litigation risk, and data privacy issues. Enterprise options include Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, MetricStream, and Navex. Mid-market options include Wolters Kluwer Legisway and Hyperproof. For law firms and small legal departments, this free risk calculator provides a structured assessment without a software subscription.
A legal compliance assessment evaluates whether your organization meets applicable laws and regulations. The five steps: (1) identify applicable requirements, (2) assess current compliance status, (3) document gaps, (4) score gaps by likelihood and impact, (5) create a remediation plan. The result is a prioritized list of compliance gaps with owners and deadlines. Assessments should be updated annually or when major regulatory changes occur.
A law office risk assessment should cover: client conflicts of interest procedures, data security and client confidentiality (attorney-client privilege protections), regulatory compliance with state bar rules, financial risk (billing disputes, trust account management, fee arrangements), malpractice exposure, succession planning if a key partner departs, and cybersecurity threats (phishing, ransomware). Score each area by likelihood and impact to prioritize remediation. Use the calculator above for a structured scoring.
Annual assessments are the baseline for most organizations. Trigger an additional assessment when: significant regulations change (new data privacy laws, bar rule amendments), the organization expands into new practice areas or jurisdictions, a major security incident or near-miss occurs, or ownership/management changes significantly. High-risk practice areas (financial regulation, healthcare compliance) may warrant semi-annual assessments.