Law Times

Page 12 May 12, 2014 • Law TiMes www.lawtimesnews.com Project management for small firms Lawyers urged to tighten processes, find efficiencies marG. Bruineman For Law Times ike marketing, larger le- gal practices are making increased use of project management. But smaller firms and lawyers working on their own are also adopting the principals aimed at making a busi- ness more efficient. "It has been developing for years now," says Allison Wolf, a certified executive coach whose Shi Works Strategic Inc. ad- vises lawyers. "In many cases, it's client driven." She believes many of the ap- proaches involved in project management can be very useful to small firms. ey can be an effec- tive way, for example, of tighten- ing up the systems and processes within a practice. With elements like how the case will proceed, building in meeting dates, and defined goals, a managed project lays out a very clear approach to a matter and can promote efficiencies and a tighter time frame. All lawyers practice at least some of the principles of project management, says Rohit Parekh, a lawyer whose practice focuses on intellectual property and civil litigation. He also serves as counsel and director of innova- tion for Conduit Law PC, a busi- ness law firm that has about a dozen lawyers. But for Conduit Law, legal project management is something of a necessity. "We're organized a little bit differently than other firms," says Parekh. "We're not a traditional office." First off, since its inception two years ago, Conduit Law decided to stay away from the billable hour and instead use fixed fees and oth- er alternatives. at means know- ing the costs in advance is critical. Second, some of Conduit Law's lawyers have embedded them- selves in businesses and work all over Toronto. As a result, the firm relies heavily upon the cloud for its accounting, document man- agement, and time-docketing needs so staff can access the infor- mation no matter where they are. e organized and disci- plined processes of project man- agement can work for small or sole practices as a daily manage- ment tool, says Parekh. It allows for a consistency that accommo- dates transitions, provides struc- ture, and prevents firms from fumbling a file or having to rush unnecessarily to meet the final deadline. It also builds in effi- ciencies that can control costs. Parekh points to the Rules of Civil Procedure as an example of how project management is a natural fit to the legal profession. e index tells a story of the stages a file should follow from originating a claim to discovery, litigation, and appealing a judg- ment. Lawyers can split each stage into phases they can apply a management process to. "With that basic structure . . . you can then begin to scope out the cost of litigation," says Parekh. e processes of legal project management are essential at firms like Conduit Law that rely upon fixed fees, says Steven Levy, whose Seattle-based Lexician offers con- sulting, training, and coaching to legal organizations and is the author of an upcoming book on legal project management. "e most important thing to do is start in the right direction," he says. "It's not so much about getting your ducks in a row but [identifying] what the ducks are." A good start, he notes, is put- ting together a project charter outlining the basic elements — time, money, the project, the clients, and the team involved — and choosing the critical aspects of each one. But it doesn't need to be formal. e idea is to decide on a process to work through the legal or business problem, identify the scope of the project, chronicle the goals, and lay out the plan and timeline. e approach includes some planning prior to executing the tasks and giving assignments clearly in order to minimize mis- understandings and additional work. Key deadlines and project risks are part of the plan. Finding a way to take control of e-mail, get the right tools and technol- ogy, and keep in touch with the client all help to keep a law office operating efficiently. Listing the things that aren't part of the work scheme is also a good idea, particularly early on in order to ensure the lawyer and the client are on the same page. If the approach lists five important ele- ments, what the lawyer isn't going to do may not be so clear. In the same vein, outlining a communication plan is helpful. It can save time as well as ag- gravation. Some clients want to hear from the lawyer at regular intervals or demand progress reports while others focus more on the outcome. Finding out what's at risk for the client can be key to the ap- proach. A client may not worry as much about the legal costs as the need to send a clear message through aggressive action. But money should always be part of the conversation to allow for a clear budgeting process that's in sync with the client's needs. LT FOCUS We've got law covered. canadianlawyermag.com lawtimesnews.com | canadianlawlist.com canadianlawyermag.com/legalfeeds Untitled-1 1 14-05-07 7:18 AM L 'The most important thing to do is start in the right direction,' says Steven Levy.

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