Peer to Peer Magazine

28 How can you avoid Legal Project Management debt on your next matter? To prevent Legal Project Management debt in the first place we need to consider the challenge as part of a broader mind-set and culture change. Any type of culture change – be that at a personal, organizational or societal level is hard to make. To make sustainable change happen we must move from a view that LPM activities are optional or a "nice-to-have" to one that puts LPM at the heart of a firm's service delivery model. As with any type of culture change, this is a multi-year effort that requires appropriate incentives, communications, training, leadership and governance. This article has looked at the concept of Legal Project Management debt as a real concern for law firms and clients alike. However, it does not need to be that way. By placing focus on the behaviors that prevent a build-up of LPM, law firms can position themselves to capture an increased share of wallet. The easiest way to start is by making small, incremental changes at a local level. For example, if you have identified the presence of Legal Project Management debt on a recent project, you could conduct a post- matter retrospective or lessons learned session with the project team to identify why it occurred, and set up measures to prevent it next time. A flexible and pragmatic approach is required as the flavor of LPM will differ depending the project duration, value, risk, complexity and the client's preferences. Investing the time now will save time in the future; an hour invested today is two hours saved tomorrow; a dollar invested today is two dollars saved tomorrow. This is not a hypothetical scenario, but is shown to be true time after time. What's the alternative? The alternative is for projects to take longer than anticipated, What are the (hidden) consequences of Legal Project Management debt? Not all of the costs of Legal Project Management debt are immediate or obvious. Some will have an instant detrimental effect on the success of the matter, while others may only have longer- lasting impacts at the individual, team or even firm level. These consequences, which may crystalize long after the matter has completed, span people, process and technolo. People Process Technology Individual • Morale issues • Associate burnout • Negative work-life balance implications • Morale issues • Associate burnout • Negative work-life balance implications • Absence of planning means use of efficiency- enhancing technology tools is limited • Individuals may be unclear of what tools are available for this specific project Team • Lack of team cohesion; individuals operating in silos • Lack of balanced staffing across the project team • Unclear communication flows and lack of stakeholder mapping causes potential overlaps (duplication of effort) and underlaps (potential gaps and blind spots) • Lack of coordinated process causes a sub-optimal client experience • Perception is distorted in the eyes of the client, which could impact likelihood of being retained on similar engagements in the future • Missed opportunities to leverage technology tools to augment matter outcomes Firm • Loss of associate goodwill • Unwanted attrition • Perceptions are formed which can create negative sentiment and low levels of engagement • Lack of consistent approach to delivering similar matters due to lack of knowledge capture • Absence of effective project management mean that similar issues could occur on similar future matters • Available technology tools within the firm are not sufficiently utilized, which creates an inefficient use of firm resources T A B L E 2 – T H E P E O P L E , P R O C E S S A N D T E C H N O L O G Y C O N S E Q U E N C E S O F L E G A L P R O J E C T M A N A G E M E N T D E B T

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