publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/535467
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JUNE 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 31 LPM REQUIRES CROSS-DEPARTMENT COLLABORATION Some of the people-related issues include: • Departmental heads lacking clear understanding of legal service delivery or client expectations • Departmental and/or practice group silos unaccustomed to collaboration • Competing priorities or lack of interest by firm leadership These human capital challenges can be overcome by understanding and applying best practices in group dynamics. People unconsciously behave differently when they are a part of a group. Consider some of the forces that impact group performance, such as trust, communications, fear of change, disagreements about roles or goals, and the risk of groupthink, a phenomenon that can stifle innovation and creativity. Here are some group dynamics issues you might encounter: • Turf Wars: Who "owns" the LPM initiative varies from firm to firm. The program can be led by the IT department due to needed technology support, by marketing because of the client interface, by accounting or finance due to budget or flat-fee issues, etc. Some firms have developed separate LPM departments. With so many potential sponsors of LPM, it's important to establish an owner and open lines of communication among the departments. • Bits and Pieces: Unsuccessful implementations occur when the LPM program is delivered in uncoordinated chunks. If pricing and budget- setting require a template to record tasks and estimated time allocations, and technology must be in place to capture and monitor real-time data, different departments must coordinate their efforts. • Disconnection from Clients: A lack of collaborative spirit among the firm's departments to launch LPM can cause efforts to be disconnected from clients' goals and needs. A partner managing an important client might have a good sense of the client's preferences and priorities, but this can only be communicated to others working on that client's matters through collaboration. One of the most common client complaints is that they get great service from their main lawyer, but service and understanding of their company and industry diminishes with each subsequent lawyer handling their matters. • Costly LPM: Without collaboration, LPM can become costly. One group might purchase technology to support LPM without ensuring it can smoothly interface with the firm's existing accounting and finance systems, leading to expensive redundancies in data entry or the need to hire technologists to fix the problem. Another cost comes when pricing and budgets are not tied to real-time evaluations of progress toward the budget. Imagine a matter that is 20 percent complete and has consumed 80 percent of the budget. Often this is not discovered until a pre- bill is generated.