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Potpourri

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17 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER POTPOURRI Maer Budgets Maer: A Case Study You Can Take to the Bank The client team engaged the firm's legal project management office (LPMO). The LPMO had been working with the team on a process improvement assessment for one of the maer types covered by the client's request. The assessment identified the optimal workflow for the maer, a reasonable timeline for delivery, areas of waste that could be improved with training and a model for consistent implementation. The streamlined workflow that resulted from this exercise became the foundation for the development of the nine maer types. To meet the challenges of quickly developing reliable budget estimates and statements of work, a special work action team (SWAT) was formed, which included lawyers who were legal project managers (LPMs) from the LPMO, the managing director of the practice group and one of the lead aorneys for the client. We used the firm's historical data to develop a budget representative of the average maer in each of the nine maer types. The SWAT developed initial budget templates that included phase, task, subtask, assigned resource, estimate of time, rate and total spend per subtask. The SWAT then made adjustments to resources, subtasks and time estimates based on working sessions with the lead aorneys. The end product was nine budget templates for the services provided to the client across multiple offices and jurisdictions. The scope of the budgets was clarified with statements of work that included scope statements and itemization of general assumptions and risks typically encountered in the cases. Step 2: Obtain Consensus Due to the traditionally autonomous nature of how aorneys are trained and operate in the delivery of legal services, the SWAT faced a significant challenge in obtaining consensus from the individual teams of aorneys and paralegals on the budget estimates and statements of work. This was accomplished through something simple: communication. Through the leadership of the practice group chair, the budgets were shared with the lawyer teams and altered to incorporate nuances of particular state laws. This process ensured the templates took into account the unique challenges faced by aorneys in different jurisdictions, and, more important, the process served as a communication vehicle for what the client would expect in the future management of its cases. We officially had buy-in! Step 3: Develop a Consistent Process Once the templates were finalized, the next step was to outline a consistent process for using the templates for each new maer and In addition to accomplishing the client's goals, the firm developed a model that will provide consistent results and spend across offices.

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