Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/7694
ILTA White Paper The Business of Law 8 LPM cannot solve these problems by itself. Rather, it positions its practitioners to take command of these areas to deliver the highest possible value, benefitting both client and practice. The Core TeChniqueS of LegaL ProjeCT ManageMenT While LPM is a rich and complex subject, the central techniques are straightforward. • The First Stage: Initiation Start by building the project around the client's business problem, which must be the first thing you identify and clarify. Most clients have business problems, even when they're presented as legal issues. By focusing on the business problem, you can negotiate an effective goal or "done" statement, clarifying the two or three –– no more than that –– critical success factors that determine client satisfaction with your work. Identify the stakeholders within the practice as well as in the client's business, and, for firms, clarify the client's in-house legal representatives. Be particularly alert for high-influence business-side stakeholders who aren't in the foreground. Assess who can influence –– for better or worse –– the project and its actual and perceived success. Above all, the legal team and the client must agree on the "done" statement. Such agreement is a critical part of determining the conditions of satisfaction for the project. Be sure that the team and the client concur on the project's scope. Use the "done" statement and establish a clear project vision to inoculate the project against scope creep, that tendency for a project to pick up new and unforeseen requirements that redefine success. In particular, look at scope in terms of both the breadth and the depth of the legal work requested; set a goal, even though it is not always achievable, of doing only outcome- determinative work. Understand from the outset the project's (or case's) return on investment (ROI) for both the client and the practice. Minimize the work you do on legal projects with low returns, but remember that projects can have returns not easily measured by money. Use at least informal ROI analysis to develop a cost structure and budget. Don't be afraid to discuss fees or departmental chargebacks up front with the client, but focus on value delivered, not just cost. Build a clear picture of the team you need for the project to be successful. Analyze the skills you need, the type of work, and the right professionals to achieve the project vision and get to "done." Don't simply draw on a pool of who's available or not billing within the practice. Finally, develop a communications plan to cover items such as the business problem, scope, fees or chargebacks, project/case budget, billing questions, status updates, risks, work processes such as meeting formats and decision making, and change management. All of these elements will likely come up during the lifetime of the case. Deciding up front that you will communicate proactively about them minimizes difficult conversations in the heat of a matter and mitigates the occasional client tendency toward micromanagement. Creating a communications plan up front only takes an hour or two and will save hours of pain, difficult discussions and client unhappiness. • The Second Stage: Planning Planning is the most overlooked step in managing a legal project. When it's overlooked, the result is a rushed, ready . . . fire . . . aim approach.