publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/535467
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JUNE 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 30 LPM REQUIRES CROSS-DEPARTMENT COLLABORATION WHAT IS DRIVING LPM IN LAW FIRMS? It seems inevitable that law firms will turn to legal project management, generally defined as programs which institute systematic methodologies to manage client matters. The goals are simple: • Reduce surprises for the client and firm in terms of time expended and costs • Increase efficiency by leveraging and deploying knowledge and resources appropriately • Add consistency to legal work, especially for the increasing variety of legal matters now considered basic or routine and require less customization to be profitable Coming off decades of increasing hourly rates, law firms are now faced with clients demanding more value for their legal spend and greater predictability for their own financial management needs. Clients want their legal work delivered better, faster and cheaper. REQUIRED COMPETENCIES To derive more value and to lower costs from commoditized work, firms must be adept at these competencies in order to compete: • Setting and managing budgets, whether tied to hourly rates, flat fees or some other pricing structure (necessitating historical knowledge and systems to determine appropriate pricing of matters) • Defining and adhering to the most efficient processes for performing legal work and avoiding costly variability • Embracing knowledge management, such as capturing and reusing documents, information and templates • Understanding client expectations and business challenges through systematic client feedback efforts • Fostering teamwork with common goals and a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities Process Changes To Consider for a Successful LPM Launch • Make timekeeping contemporaneous (not weekly or monthly) • Use task codes to track and monitor work and time against the optimal model • Use supportive technology to manage budgets to actuals, tasks to deadlines, stored and shared knowledge, financial information, and client preferences • Obtain client feedback as a regular business practice to understand client preferences and challenges • Use a knowledge management (KM) system to eliminate redundancy, reuse work product, identify trends and patterns, and eliminate the costly impact of chance and variation CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG? Launching a legal project management initiative in a law firm is difficult since firms are entrenched in processes and structures that are counterproductive to effective LPM efforts. While much is written about process changes needed for a successful LPM implementation, there is less available about the people-related challenges.