The Lawyer's Guide to Legal Project Management
Jim Hassett, Karen Dalton, John Duggan, Helen Bunker, Barbara J Boake, Rick A Kathuria, Antony Smith, Zena Applebaum, Lann Wasson, Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD
Published: 2017
Pages: 110
eBook: 9781787427389
The Lawyer's Guide to Legal Project Management is an invaluable asset for any firm looking to capitalise on the strategic gap in the market; whether it be through introducing the fundamentals of LPM, or by bolstering existing functions to incorporate process improvements and to support Knowledge Management initiatives.
The interest project management has garnered from the legal sector is not surprising; the range of benefits it offers are extensive and impactful; including reducing costs, enabling more efficient commodity work, and creating more accurate budgeting forecasts. However, despite the general consensus on its value, adoption rates have been slow across the sector - only a handful of top firms have successfully implemented LPM into their practices, and are reaping the benefits.
The slow adoption rates create a real opening for a competitive advantage through Legal Project Management, even at a basic starting level, as according to Jim Hassett even "glacial progress can produce new business when you are competing with firms that are making no progress at all". Featuring expert analysis on the form and function of LPM from leading industry experts, and case studies from top law firms on effective implementation and take-up, this title offers a robust overview of project management functions in the legal sector.
Table of Contents
| Cover | Cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Title page | i | |
| Copyright page | ii | |
| Contents | iii | |
| Executive summary | vii | |
| About the authors | xi | |
| Chapter 1: Why is it urgent to implement LPM? | 1 | |
| Law firms are moving slowly | 1 | |
| LPM benefits | 4 | |
| Defining LPM broadly | 5 | |
| Chapter 2: Project management foundational principles | 11 | |
| What is project management? | 11 | |
| What is a project? | 12 | |
| Project management versus process management | 12 | |
| The triple constraints | 13 | |
| The project sponsor | 16 | |
| The project manager | 16 | |
| Project management processes | 17 | |
| The project life cycle | 18 | |
| The importance of “process assets” | 20 | |
| A few rules to live by | 20 | |
| Chapter 3: Expert analysis – Legal project management | 23 | |
| Self-managed | 26 | |
| Project management office | 27 | |
| Professional support lawyers | 28 | |
| Chapter 4: The client value perspective | 31 | |
| Why are opportunities missed? | 32 | |
| The four “rules of thumb” | 33 | |
| Applying the four principles | 37 | |
| Chapter 5: E-discovery and legal project management | 41 | |
| E-discovery/document management | 41 | |
| Legal project management | 46 | |
| Firms applying legal practice management | 48 | |
| E-discovery and legal project management as data | 49 | |
| Chapter 6: Creating valuable knowledge in the firm through legal project management | 51 | |
| Launching the legal project management program | 52 | |
| Creating knowledge that has competitive value | 54 | |
| Triple constraint | 55 | |
| Clear consistent communication | 56 | |
| Lessons learned | 57 | |
| Reimagining service delivery models | 58 | |
| Chapter 7: How KM staff can help drive successful legal project management initiatives | 61 | |
| What is legal project management? | 62 | |
| How to start improving LPM capability | 63 | |
| Aligning LPM with law firm strategy | 64 | |
| Break projects down | 66 | |
| Some tactical ideas for LPM implementation | 67 | |
| Chapter 8: Project management plus process improvement –The multiplier effect | 69 | |
| The PI/PM connection | 70 | |
| Project management for both legal and process improvement work | 73 | |
| Case studies: The multiplier effect of employing PI/PM together | 74 | |
| Conclusion | 77 | |
| Chapter 9: Overcoming IT mutiny –Obtaining fee-earner buy-in for a new project management system | 79 | |
| A new system | 80 | |
| Softly, softly | 81 | |
| Measuring impact | 82 | |
| Continuous development | 82 | |
| Achieving fee-earner buy-in for a new system | 83 | |
| Chapter 10: Lean and agile – How legal project management cantrans form client services | 85 | |
| Creating the LPMO | 86 | |
| Agile project management | 87 | |
| Challenges faced | 89 | |
| Impact on the firm | 91 | |
| Lessons learned | 91 |
JIM HASSETT
Author and Founder, LegalBizDev.
KAREN DALTON
Senior enterprise project manager at Seyfarth Shaw.
JOHN DUGGAN
John is senior legal project manager at Seyfarth Shaw.
HELEN BUNKER
Helen is a divisional director of private law at Blake Morgan.
BARBARA J BOAKE
Partner, McCarthy Tetrault LLP.
RICK A KATHURIA
National director, projectmanagement office and legal logistics, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP
ANTONY SMITH
Founder of Legal Project Management Limited.
ZENA APPLEBAUM
Director of competitive intelligence at Bennett Jones LLP.
LANN WASSON
Senior manager of knowledge management, Husch Blackwell LLP
CATHERINE ALMAN MACDONAGH, JD
Catherine Alman MacDonagh, JD is a Legal Lean Sigma Black Belt and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.