publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/231030
AGILE — A NONTRADITIONAL APPROACH TO LEGAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT end planning and projected costs are documented in detail. Attorneys rely on their experience and training to begin execution almost immediately. As you can imagine, these professionals are sometimes like oil and water. Here's how we have incorporated new approaches into LPM, specifically, the use of Agile. mandatory project documentation with lengthy project charters, detailed project plans, complex status reports and rigorous, formal change control logs. Traditional project management disciplines, while valuable on some legal engagements, were contributing to our overall inability to effectively meet the demands of our legal teams. This was due cradle-to-grave planning is impossible. Whether managing a litigation matter wherein the discovery phase is a key element to determining strategy or a transactional deal where the due diligence effort will reveal critical aspects of how to proceed, both situations preclude the legal team from planning beyond those phases at the outset of the matter. to the fast pace, change management issues, and the high level of indeterminate factors unknown at the beginning of a matter. Add to that, opposing counsel or parties attempting to derail you every step of the way, and you have a highly unpredictable, fast-changing environment. Additionally, we found stakeholders reluctant to consume multi-page project charters, status reports or other heavy project documentation. While we do concede that many elements of legal work are predictable, routine and process-driven, we found that most matters change daily and need to be managed in a more flexible, adaptable method. EARLY YEARS Our legal project management office (LPMO) has spent the last eight years managing an evergrowing portfolio of legal projects. Through the development of the firm's client service model, SeyfarthLean, and with strong support from firm leadership, the LPMO has had an impact across the enterprise by applying project and process management, technical intelligence and innovative experience and thinking with an acute focus on delighting the client. Like most project managers who are guided by the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), we based our early methodologies on traditional "waterfall" project management. Traditional project management instructs project managers to travel through the phases of a project only when the previous one is complete, and all deliverables for that phase are met and signed off. Traditional project management focuses on robust, comprehensive, FALSE STARTS The world of legal service delivery is fast-paced and unpredictable. In legal matters, we cannot possibly know everything that will be involved with litigation at the outset. Developing an overall strategy is generally common practice, but detailed,