advancing collaboration: integrating legal project ......advancing collaboration: integrating legal...

Advancing Collaboration: Integrating Legal Project Management in Firmwide

Business Development

Katherine D’Urso

Chief Client Development

Officer, Wilmer Cutler

Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Allen Chichester

Chief Marketing

Partner, Barnes &

Thornburg LLP

Susan Raridon Lambreth

Principal, LawVision

Group LLC / Founder,

LPM Institute

David McClune

Chief Marketing Officer,

Shearman & Sterling

LLP

@legalexecutives | #LEIMPF18

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What is Legal Project Management? • A process for defining, planning, executing and evaluating matters / projects

• A more proactive, disciplined approach to the management of legal matters which

includes application of specific knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to achieve

project objectives

• Underlying principle: effective communication and setting and meeting of expectations

© 2018 LPM Institute / LawVision. All rights reserved.

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Key Elements • Upfront discussion of client’s objectives / expectations

• Detailed “scoping” of the work – whether on an AFA or simply a budget / estimate

• Breaking down the work into component parts to develop more accurate budgets

• Development of budgets and management of the matter to the budgets

• More active management of the matter throughout

- Enhanced project team communication

- Enhanced client communications

- Regular monitoring

• Dealing with scope changes throughout a matter

• End of matter debriefing / lessons learned


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What Do Clients Want?


Substantive

Legal

Knowledge

Substantive

Legal

Knowledge

Business

Acumen

Efficiency /

Predictability

Source: ACC Report on LPM

2009

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Benefits of Legal Project Management

Benefits to Firm / Team

• Improved profitability of matters

• Greater client satisfaction

• Increased revenues from clients

• Enhanced risk management

• Greater differentiation from competitors

• Greater consistency across offices

• Improved teamwork within project team

Benefits to Client

•Greater predictability

•Improved communication / “no surprises”

•A more managed approach to legal work

•On budget / on time

•Greater efficiencies

•Enhanced quality of the work / greater consistency

•Enhanced relationships and trust with outside counsel


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What Leading Firms are Doing in LPM • Conducting pilots with specific practices / matter teams

• Building the business case / partner buy-in

• Building the internal infrastructure – staffing, tools, templates / KM, etc.

• Building or buying a sophisticated budgeting and / or project management tool

• Training lawyers and others in LPM

• Instituting roles for LP managers – part or full time

• Using it to win business / expand client relationships and “brand” the firm

• Using it to improve matter profitability

• Using it to build strong internal teamwork and professional development


BT ValueWorks:

Our Story

January 25, 2018

Allen C. Chichester, Chief Marketing Officer

Barnes & Thornburg LLP

BT ValueWorks Services

How it began

Timeline

How we got started

1. Licensed LawVision materials for workshop/training content

2. Selected training team for Train-the-Trainer session with Susan

and Carla: 8 trainers (4 attorneys; 4 admin)

3. Identified initial offices for training with Susan and Carla; largest

and rate-sensitive market

4. Managed early projects that resulted from initial workshops to

focus on effective implementation and secure early wins which

resulted in increased demand

5. Rolled out Umbria to complement LPM concepts

Umbria

Challenge: Changing perception that technology is the “magic bullet”. Result = seeing behavior change

LPM Workshop attendance used as gatekeeper to receiving access

Increase attorney usage and adoption:

oDrip campaign

o Individual follow-up with customized email with specific matter stats/observations

oWork with partners we send graph from Umbria and make observation/ask question that prompts them to get into the system to review

Parallel and Complementing Projects

Developed and led task force to revise matter opening process including:

• Capturing budget amount on front end - feeds to Umbria

• Collecting OCGs

• Steps to improve data entry re AFAs, billing specifics, etc.

Developed and led task force to address firm’s use of phase and task codes

which included:

• Data clean-up

• Establishment of formal process

• Tied to area of law codes/clients upon new matter opening

Drafted and implemented approval policy for AFAs greater than threshold

amount

Increasing Momentum

Different entry points to

BT ValueWorks

Cross-sell additional

services

Act as consultants within

the firm

Results to-date

Conducted 11 workshops with attorneys from 9 offices; all practice

areas involved

160 attorneys have participated in the one-day course; 119 of whom

are partners = 37% of partnership

Over 550 matter budgets being tracked in Umbria = $55M or 15% of

total revenue

Double profit margins on matters in which BT ValueWorks was

involved

Attorneys having conversations with their clients that they haven’t

had before

Our Team

Organized within Marketing – Report to CMO

• Work closely with admin departments :

o Accounting and Finance team

o Business Development Managers

o IT Personnel

5 staff

o Director of Pricing

o Director of Client Service Initiatives

o Pricing Manager

o Pricing Analyst

o Client Operations Manager

LPM at WilmerHale

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Our Approach - Simple, Flexible, Scalable

Diverse, multi-

generational lawyer

population

30 distinct areas of

practice

Global footprint

Diverse client needs

“We see the best results when people, process and

technology work together to drive matter discipline”

Lean, efficient

management of matters

Predictability &

transparency

Clear, responsive

communications

Firm & client aligned on

value

Continuous improvement

Collaboration platforms

Scalable work plans and

templates

Matter metrics reporting

services

Matter shaping and

budgeting

Certified Legal Project

Manager support

Legal process improvement

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Our LPM Journey

AD HOC

Prior to 2014

SERVICE

EXPLORATION

2014

DEFINED LPM

SERVICES

2015

SERVICE

ADOPTION &

VALUE CREATION

2016 to PRESENT

LPM CAPABILITIES

BU

SIN

ES

S V

AL

UE

15 Certified LPMs

5 LPM “Seeds”

33 Certified LPMs

• Staff

• Staff Attorneys

• Staff

• Staff Attorneys

• Paralegals

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Today – The New Normal

Case Study In Implementing

LPM:

Shearman & Sterling LLP

Shearman & Sterling LLP 23

MOTIVATION Why did we begin to focus on and implement LPM?

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MOTIVATION

• Clients’ pain points – help them reduce legal costs

• Support clients’ changing reporting requirements and need

for transparency (more budgets, accruals, forecasts)

• Use of AFAs to find aligned, “win-win” pricing approaches;

address growing write-offs and declining realization rates

• Apply matter management best practices more consistently

to enhance client service and legal team professional

development

• Quality control

• Improved feedback, training and involvement of associates

Why did we begin to focus on and

implement LPM?


LAUNCH How did we get started and build buy-in?

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LAUNCH

• Grassroots versus “top-down” launch?

• Start with hiring a senior LPM leader to build demand or a

more junior resource for plug-and-play support of legal

teams?

• “Must-have” qualities of initial LPM hires

• Three-pronged approach in early phase:

– LPM professionals

– Skilling up lawyers

– Clients - “Because clients are asking” was one of our

most powerful tools!

• Best starting points for us:

– Make sure top of the firm truly gets it

– Opinion leaders

– Practices with greatest pricing pressures and/or client

demand

How did we get started and build buy-in?


EVOLUTION How has our LPM journey evolved?

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EVOLUTION

• One-man band plus Executive Director

• Careful selection of LPM hire #2 with regional diversification

and leadership capability

• Steady communications from top of firm

• Trial-and-error with various forms of lawyer training

• Huge flash point: Barclays!

• Branching out into:

– Process improvement

– Change management 2.0 (building capability and

driving mindset change in equal measure)

– Development of LPM self-service tools

– Integration with legal tech initiatives

– Embedding LPM resources as part of an engagement

team

– More time collaborating directly with clients’ legal

operations team to share best practice ideas

How has our LPM journey evolved?


OUTLOOK What does LPM look like now and where are we headed?

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OUTLOOK

• Aligned to our three Business Units (Corporate, Finance

and Disputes Resolution)

• Joint reporting lines and imbedding LPMs in the practice

areas

• Customization of LPM and “deep dives” with selected

number of practice groups (eventually all)

• LPM competencies incorporated in lawyer assessments

and feedback

• Developing associates on LPM best practices so they can

train newer lawyers in their groups

• Expanding LPM initiatives with clients

• Innovating our organization structure to align roles that

focus on client value, efficiency, legal tech and other

aspects of innovation

What does LPM look like now and where are

we headed?

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Project Charters = Detailed Scope of Work Agreement

• Project / Matter Title

• Matter Definition and Brief Description

- Objectives

º What are the client’s and the firm’s objectives? What is the client trying to do?

- Success Factors

º What are the criteria for determining matter success – from the client’s and the firm’s perspective?

• Key Deliverables (both legal work and project deliverables)

• In-Scope and Out of Scope

- Outline the nature of the services to be provided to the client – the “in-scope” services and what is “out of scope”


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Project Charters = Detailed Scope of Work Agreement (cont.)

• Key Milestones and Dates

• Budget / Fee Arrangement

- Describe the agreed upon fee structure and billing arrangement whether fixed fee,

hourly, etc. (include bonuses and penalties)

• Key Resources

- List the key lawyers, other legal staff, and / or stakeholders that will be involved in the

matter

• Major Project Risks

• Assumptions and Constraints


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Six Reasons for Detailed Scoping • Clarity about assumptions / work within budget

• Competing against “low ball” budgets

• Distinguishing sophisticated / high level practices

• Cross-selling “out of scope” services

• Risk management

- Which give you and the client back some control

Bottom line: You often can’t manage scope changes if you did not clearly detail the scoping

and get client agreement to it – at outset and throughout matter.


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Table Discussion

What are two key “takeaways” or insights from today?

What is an action step you will take as a result of today’s program?


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