Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/7694
www.iltanet.org The Business of Law 31 lean six sigMa: Mastering the art of service delivery program, so that investments made by attorneys contribute to their personal value and career potential. While overcoming these convictions can be challenging, Damon attributes greater acceptance at Seyfarth to early internal success, practical experience and client enthusiasm for the program. While there are certainly similarities between legal and healthcare, and between service functions and service vendors, there are also some notable differences that may make law firm implementations more challenging. Attorneys account for nearly half of the workforce in law firms, whereas doctors represent only about four percent of the staff in a hospital. Despite their numbers, Ray Bayley, President of NovusLaw points out in an interview with Bruce MacEwen that the outsourcing literature shows that between 70 and 80 percent of legal work is not lawyer work, so many of the activities used to produce legal documents and arguments are susceptible to process improvement methods. Like so many other types of initiatives, it is important to walk before one runs. By demonstrating how Lean Six Sigma can improve legal service delivery on internal projects important to stakeholders, firms can challenge the "we're different" perception and build momentum for these programs. Like talented musicians who attend conservatories to master technique and theory, lawyers may also discover that intensive study of Lean Six Sigma can transform their creative work into world-class service. "ToTaLeD quaLiTy ManageMenT" When close to 60 percent of all corporate Six Sigma initiatives report failing to deliver expected results, it is not surprising that process improvement proposals are met with skepticism. Reminiscent of the time when The Washington Post coined the phrase, "Totaled Quality Management," September 2009's BusinessWeek reported a rising interest in Six Sigma due to the tough economy, and admonished managers from seeking short-term gains through its methodology. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal also cautioned against hurried deployments in a recent article titled "Where Process Improvements Go Wrong." The fact that hyperbole has followed process improvement should serve as a reminder that Lean Six Sigma initiatives typically require two years of thoughtful adaptation, training and practice before reaching a point of mastery and the critical mass necessary for cultural change to begin. When properly applied, these methodologies still represent a sound way to run an organization. As Fortune quoted Ray Stata, CEO of Analog Devices in 1993, "Total quality essentially involves attention to process, commitment to the customer, involvement of employees and benchmarking best practices. It is hard to believe you cannot benefit from that." As law firms consider new ways to operate effectively and provide greater value to their clients, Lean Six Sigma can offer firms fresh insights into their costs of production and service delivery. Furthermore, law firms can clear the common hurdles to successful deployment, such as dedicating human resources and budget, providing training, aligning projects to strategic priorities and focusing on client value versus the methodology, by drawing on a proven game plan developed over the last decade of Lean Six Sigma service deployments. In fact, Snee