Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/7694
ILTA White Paper The Business of Law 30 generate results more quickly. Lean can also have a greater positive impact on an organization's culture, which helps teams overcome resistance to change. Marx's industry surveys in iSixSigma Magazine also indicate that smaller companies ($50 million in revenue) tend to use Lean, while larger companies ($1 billion in revenue) tend to deploy Six Sigma. Law firms may also choose to start with Lean because the initial investment is smaller. Surveys from the American Society for Quality's healthcare division indicate that the start-up cost for a Lean project is usually between $25,000 and $50,000, whereas Six Sigma initiatives are usually closer to six figures. Since each organization's objectives and time frames are different, it is important to conduct a readiness assessment and create a deployment plan in order to understand the full extent of one's investment. we're DifferenT While the healthcare and financial services industries have recently seen an "explosion of implementations," the legal industry holds the distinction of being one of the last service functions to incorporate Lean Six Sigma concepts and tools. Even those firms that have recognized the need for greater operational efficiency or a different value proposition have undoubtedly encountered resistance when discussing process improvement strategies. Many attorneys perceive these methods as manufacturing initiatives that "don't apply to professional services" or as management fads that divert resources away from billable projects. George and Snee have identified the perception that "we're different" as the fundamental reason for resistance to deployment. This attitude reflects a core belief among lawyers that legal work is more of an art than a science. In an interview with the Creative Growth Company last year, Paul Mattingly, Seyfarth's Atlanta office Managing Partner explained, "There is definitely an art to what we do . . . It is a humbling thing to say that you can break down what I do into processes and steps and you can maybe move some of that away from me, because I need to stay busy myself." Since account managers in firms are also the producers of legal services, there is a greater trade-off within legal between the time required for training and billable work. To address the concern, Seyfarth incorporates leadership training in their "while the healthcare and financial services industries have recently seen an 'explosion of implementations,' the legal industry holds the distinction of being one of the last service functions to incorporate Lean Six Sigma concepts and tools."