Featured Image

March 17, 2023

Five best practices for Legal Project Management

With an ever-increasing focus on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, in-house legal needs need to be well-versed in effective legal project management. Here's how.

Dear Legal Ops!
Welcome to this week’s Let’s talk about Legal Ops, offered by Newton. We tackle corporate legal departments, speed up processes, and career growth. Please send us your questions; in return, we come back with real insights and actionable tips.
If you find this post valuable, don't miss the chance to check out our latest posts.

Subscribe to get access to more posts like these!

Legal project management is a critical skill for almost all members of an in-house legal team. With an ever-increasing focus on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, it's essential to have a solid understanding of project management principles and how they apply to legal in a business context.

But what skills are needed for legal project management? And what are the best practices that successful legal project managers use to ensure success? In this blog, we dive into these questions and more, exploring the top five best practices for effective legal project management.

We'll also share insights from an interview with a Legal Project Management Administrator, giving you a real-world perspective on what it takes to excel in this crucial role. If you want to start with the foundations, check out our blog on what legal project management is here.

In this article, we will cover the following:

Legal project management (LPM) is the application of project management principles and techniques to legal projects. The concept has gained significant traction in recent years, particularly in the corporate legal world, where in-house legal teams are being asked to do more with fewer resources.

LPM aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of legal work by breaking it down into manageable, clearly defined tasks and assigning responsibilities and deadlines to each task.

By doing so, legal professionals can better manage their workload, reduce the risk of missed deadlines, and ensure that all stakeholders are kept informed and updated on the progress of the project.

Building legal project management skills is essential for in-house legal professionals to be able to navigate the complexities of the legal landscape and provide high-quality legal services to their companies. The benefits of developing these skills extend beyond just increased efficiency; it also helps legal professionals to better understand the business context in which their work is being done and to align their efforts with broader organizational goals.

In-house legal teams that are adept at legal project management are better equipped to manage competing priorities, deliver projects on time and within budget, and provide value-added legal services to their organizations. They are also better positioned to communicate effectively with their internal clients, understand their needs and objectives, and provide strategic advice and support that can help drive the desired business outcomes.

In short, legal project management skills are critical for in-house legal professionals who want to excel in their roles and contribute meaningfully to their organizations. Developing these skills requires a combination of training, practice, and the use of tools and technologies that can help streamline legal work processes and make it more manageable and predictable.

Effective legal project management requires a unique set of skills that combine legal knowledge and project management expertise. There are five key skills that are required to execute effective LPM in an in-house environment.

Obviously, in-house legal teams need a strong understanding of the law and legal procedures to effectively manage legal matters. This includes knowledge of relevant regulations, case law, and legal precedents. Legal expertise also includes the ability to analyze legal issues, identify potential risks, and develop strategies for mitigating these risks.

2. Project management skills

To effectively manage legal matters, in-house legal teams need to develop project management skills, such as planning, scheduling, budgeting, and risk management. This includes identifying project goals, defining scope, allocating resources, and tracking progress towards milestones.

3. Communication skills

Project managers spend between 70-90% of their time on communications.

Effective communication is critical for successful LPM. In-house legal teams need to be able to communicate clearly with internal clients, outside counsel, and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone is on the same page. This includes listening actively, asking questions and providing regular updates on project status.

4. Analytical skills

In-house legal teams need to be able to analyze data and information to identify trends, patterns, and potential issues. This includes the ability to synthesize complex information, identify key insights, and make informed decisions based on this information.

5. Leadership skills

Effective LPM requires strong leadership skills, including the ability to inspire and motivate team members, set clear goals, and hold team members accountable for meeting project objectives. Leadership also includes the ability to make difficult decisions, manage conflicts, and build strong relationships with internal clients and other stakeholders - a quality that is becoming increasingly important as the business landscape continues to present challenges in the face of a harsh economic climate.

By investing in these skills, in-house legal teams can improve their effectiveness, reduce costs, and better meet the needs of their organizations.

There are several best practices that can help improve legal project management. Here are the top five.

Develop a project management plan

Developing a project management plan includes setting clear project objectives, defining project scope, identifying key milestones, allocating resources, and establishing a project timeline. By having a plan in place, in-house legal teams can better manage legal matters and stay on track.

Capitalize on technology

Technology can be a valuable tool for improving LPM. There are many software programs available that can help with project management, communication, and collaboration. For example, project management tools like Asana, Trello, or Jira can help track progress and manage tasks, while communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams can help team members stay connected and informed. You will also want to explore legal technology tools to better manage your legal matters, such as Newton for your legal entity management.

Optimize collaboration

Communication and collaboration are both important aspects of successful LPM. In-house legal teams should establish clear lines of communication with internal clients, outside counsel, and other stakeholders. This includes regular check-ins, progress updates, and feedback sessions. By fostering communication and collaboration, in-house legal teams can improve efficiency, reduce errors, and deliver better results.

Monitor progress and be agile

Monitoring progress and making adjustments as needed is essential. In-house legal teams should regularly track progress towards project milestones, evaluate project performance, and make adjustments as necessary. This includes identifying potential risks and developing contingency plans to mitigate those risks.

Measure success

Measuring the success of LPM is important for continuous improvement. In-house legal teams should establish clear metrics for evaluating project performance, such as time-to-completion, budget, and stakeholder satisfaction. By measuring success, in-house legal teams can identify areas for improvement and implement changes to optimize LPM.

Understanding the theory behind LPM is critical, but how do these skills and best practices translate into a real business context? David Kearney is a Legal Project Management and Pricing Administrator at Dentons Cohen & Grigsby, and he has been kind enough to share his insights with us.

With a technology management background, David was introduced to the world of LPM when he was involved with the application of project management practices to legal teams.

To strengthen the argument for LPM, David shared a simple example.

“If you’re fighting a case with a $1,000,000 win and you’ve already spent $1,000,000, you know this doesn’t make sense. You're spending more to defend a case than you actually are going to win.

In this example, legal project management and understanding the scope of work is going to dictate how to tackle the case. We know that the client can only spend X amount on this particular matter and if we start running up hourly billing that exceeds that win, it may not be worth it to the client.

Employing legal project management means you will have an understanding of the scope prior to the project and, with this, you know how to best manage that project.”

Over the years, David has noted several key learnings. Here are a few.

Collaboration with your internal clients

David emphasized the importance of collaboration for effective LPM. He explained that when embedding LPM principles in a business, transparent and collaborative communication is key to achieving the right results. For legal professionals working in a business context, you will first need to identify the true goals that your clients want to achieve and then work closely with them to achieve these objectives.

They want good communication. They want alignment between their company and their outside counsel. They want transparency and, overall, they want collaboration.

A focus on predictability

Following the 2008-2009 crisis, the need to better control costs and increase predictability better became apparent. The current economic climate and business landscape has only reinforced this. During challenging times such as these, law firms are asked to reduce and better control costs - and, nowadays, this translates into an in-house legal context too. This need for predictability, as David explained, is something project management principles can significantly support with.

Internal clients generally know what outcomes they are expecting - but oftentimes these are not clearly communicated. It is the responsibility of the in-house legal team to challenge for clarity on desired goals as well as to use the business and legal intelligence that’s available internally to predict the direction and define the scope of projects. This is how LPM can be very impactful when it comes to predictability, helping to define a solid plan as far as pricing and the development of scope if concerned.

The importance of a robust tool

It’s likely that legal professionals working inside companies have a degree of exposure to business tools. From David’s experience, effective LPM relies on a simple but robust project management tool that includes status updates, communication, document sharing, and more. He emphasizes the importance of having a central location where you can go and get that information on a particular matter.

If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already.

Summary

In conclusion, legal project management is essential for in-house legal teams to manage their workload and deliver high-quality legal services to their organizations. By adopting best practices in legal project management, legal professionals can improve their efficiency and effectiveness, align their efforts with organizational goals, and provide strategic advice and support.

Legal project management is a critical skill set for in-house legal teams looking to provide high-quality legal services to their organizations. By developing these skills and best practices, legal professionals can become more effective in their roles and make a meaningful contribution to their company's success.

Legal project management means ensuring the effective management of all legal matters. Newton delivers an easy and intuitive platform to manage and automate your legal entities' information, governance, and compliance. If your entity management processes are currently creating friction for your team (which they are for many), be sure to get in touch to explore how Newton can help you have everything you need to be in control of your entity portfolio.

About this article

Sources

Legal Project Management (2019). Who is best placed to act as legal project manager?

Image

Featured Image: Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash
Featured CTA blog post: Photo by Jurica Koletić on Unsplash / Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Published by Steph Smith in Legal Ops
Tags: Best Practices, Examples, Legal Project Management, LPM
Featured Image

March 10, 2023

What is Legal Project Management?

The legal profession is constantly evolving. This blogs explores what legal project management is and the impact it can have on legal operations.

Dear Legal Ops!
Welcome to this week’s Let’s talk about Legal Ops, offered by Newton. We tackle corporate legal departments, speed up processes, and career growth. Please send us your questions; in return, we come back with real insights and actionable tips.
If you find this post valuable, don't miss the chance to check out our latest posts.

Subscribe to get access to more posts like these!

The legal profession is constantly evolving, and legal project management is a relatively new concept that has emerged in recent years. Legal project management involves applying project management principles and techniques to the practice of law. The goal is to manage legal matters in a more organized and efficient way, which can lead to better outcomes for clients, increased profitability for law firms, and improved job satisfaction for legal professionals. In this blog post, we'll explore what legal project management is and the impact it can have on legal operations. You can can also explore the best practices involves on our blog here.

In this article, we will cover the following:

Legal project management (LPM) is a growing discipline in the legal industry that focuses on applying project management principles and practices to the delivery of legal services.

LPM is the application of project management methodologies to legal matters, with the goal of improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing the quality of legal services provided.

Legal project management originated in response to the increasing pressure on law firms to deliver legal services more efficiently and cost-effectively. The legal industry has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies and methodologies, but as clients demanded more transparency and accountability in their legal services, law firms recognized the need for more efficient and effective project management practices - and this is now translating into an in-house context.

In the early days of LPM, individual lawyers were responsible for managing their own cases, with little coordination or collaboration between different teams or groups. However, as the legal industry has become more complex and specialized, both law firms and in-house teams have realized that effective project management is essential for delivering high-quality legal services.

Today, legal project management has become a critical part of the legal industry, with some legal departments even recruiting dedicated LPM professionals and integrating project management practices into their everyday operations. By applying project management methodologies to legal matters, legal teams can better manage their resources, optimize their workflows, and deliver legal services more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Over half of lawyers believe the optimization of workflows and project management is a “high priority”.

As an in-house legal team, you are responsible for managing a wide range of legal matters and ensuring that your company is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. LPM can be a powerful tool for improving your team's efficiency and effectiveness and can help you better meet the needs of your internal clients.

Here are a few reasons why legal project management is so important for in-house legal teams:

Cost savings

By using project management methodologies to manage legal matters, you can reduce the amount of time and resources needed to complete each project, which can lead to significant cost savings. With LPM, you can more effectively allocate your team's resources, streamline your workflows, and avoid unnecessary delays or rework.

Improved communication

Effective communication is critical for success in any project, and legal matters are no exception. LPM can help ensure that all team members are on the same page, and that everyone has a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. By improving communication, you can reduce misunderstandings and ensure that all parties are working towards the same goal.

Increased accountability

With LPM, you can establish clear goals and timelines for each legal matter, and hold team members accountable for meeting these targets. This can help ensure that projects stay on track and everyone is working towards a common objective.

Better risk management

Legal matters often involve complex and potentially risky issues, and effective risk management is critical for minimizing the potential impact on your organization. With LPM, you can identify potential risks early on, and develop strategies to mitigate them before they become major issues.

Improved client satisfaction

Ultimately, the goal of any in-house legal team is to provide high-quality legal services to internal clients. By using LPM to better manage legal matters, you can improve your team's efficiency and effectiveness, and deliver better results to your clients.

If you’re finding this newsletter valuable, share it with a friend, and consider subscribing if you haven’t already.

As we’ve discussed, LPM involves applying project management principles and practices to the delivery of legal services. To ensure projects are completed on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of internal clients, there are a few key components to consider.

Planning

The first step in any legal project is to develop a plan. This involves identifying the scope of the project, setting clear goals and objectives, and developing a timeline and budget. With a clear plan in place, you can better allocate resources, manage expectations, and ensure that everyone is working towards a common goal.

Budgeting

Legal matters can be expensive, and effective budgeting is critical for managing costs and avoiding surprises. By developing a detailed budget that takes into account all relevant expenses, including outside counsel fees, you can better manage costs and avoid overspending.

Communication

Effective communication is critical for success in any legal matter, and LPM can help ensure that everyone is on the same page. This includes establishing clear channels of communication, setting up regular check-ins and status updates, and making sure that all team members have the information they need to do their jobs effectively.

During an interview with Newton, Legal Service Delivery Expert Ignaz Fuesgen shared his thoughts on the importance of establishing a “common language” to improve cross-functional collaboration.

We place the human being at the centre of our process design and execution, a philosophy borrowed from design-thinking. A “common language” means understanding each party’s preferences for sharing and receiving information. Technology and processes are enablers of such a legal service delivery process, not more but also not less.

Risk management

Legal matters often involve complex and potentially risky issues, and effective risk management is critical for minimizing the potential impact on your organization. With LPM, you can identify potential risks early on, develop strategies to mitigate them and keep stakeholders informed of any potential issues.

Monitoring and reporting

To ensure that projects stay on track, it's important to establish a system for monitoring progress and reporting on results. This includes tracking milestones and deadlines, identifying potential bottlenecks or areas of concern, and providing regular updates to stakeholders.

So, legal project management involves a range of tasks and activities, including planning, budgeting, communication, risk management, and monitoring and reporting. By ensuring you give focus to these components, you’ll be able to better deliver your legal workload, manage costs effectively, improve communication, and deliver better results to internal clients.

LPM can be applied to a wide range of legal matters, regardless of their size or complexity. Below, we explore a few examples of legal matters that can benefit from LPM.

Litigation

Litigation can be one of the most complex and time-consuming legal matters for in-house teams, and effective project management is critical to increasing the likelihood of success. By using LPM, you can develop a clear plan for managing the litigation process, including setting timelines for key milestones, managing discovery, and coordinating with outside counsel.

Regulatory compliance

Compliance with regulations and laws is critical for every organization, and effective project management can help ensure that your compliance efforts are on track. This includes developing a plan for managing compliance, setting clear goals and timelines, and monitoring progress to ensure that your organization remains in compliance.

Contract management

Contracts are a critical part of many legal matters and effective contract management can help ensure that your organization is getting the most out of its contracts and business relationships while minimizing risk. With LPM, you can develop a clear plan for managing the contract lifecycle, including negotiating and drafting contracts, monitoring compliance, and managing disputes.

Mergers and Acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions are also among some of the most complex legal matters, and LPM can help not only ensure the smooth running of the project but also the success rates of the transition. This includes developing a plan for managing due diligence, coordinating with outside counsel, and managing the integration process after the deal has closed.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property (IP) is a critical, valuable asset for many organizations and effective LPM can help ensure that your organization is protecting its IP rights. This includes developing a plan for managing the IP portfolio, monitoring for infringement, and managing disputes.

Legal project management has a significant impact on legal operations. There are several key benefits of LPM on legal ops.

Increased efficiency

By using project management techniques, in-house legal teams can streamline legal processes and improve efficiency. LPM helps to identify and eliminate bottlenecks, reduce errors, and ensure that legal matters are completed on time and within budget.

Better cost management

LPM can help in-house legal teams to manage costs more effectively. By setting clear project budgets, tracking expenses, and identifying potential cost savings, legal teams can better manage their budgets and reduce unnecessary spending.

Improved communication and collaboration

43% of lawyers believe the optimization of communication with the business as a high priority.

Effective communication and collaboration are essential for successful LPM. By establishing clear lines of communication with internal clients, outside counsel, and other stakeholders, in-house legal teams can ensure that everyone is on the same page and that legal matters are managed effectively.

Increased stakeholder satisfaction

By setting clear project objectives and expectations, and communicating regularly with stakeholders, in-house legal teams can build strong relationships with internal clients and improve their satisfaction with legal services.

Better risk management

By developing risk management strategies and contingency plans, legal teams can reduce the likelihood of legal disputes and other issues, and ensure that legal matters are managed in a proactive and effective manner.

Summary

Legal project management is a critical tool for in-house legal teams looking to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, and client satisfaction. By adopting project management methodologies, legal departments can streamline your workflows, reduce costs, improve communication, and better manage risks, ultimately leading to better outcomes for your organization.

Legal project management means ensuring the effective management of all legal matters. Newton delivers an easy and intuitive platform to manage and automate your legal entities' information, governance, and compliance. If your entity management processes are currently creating friction for your team (which they are for many), be sure to get in touch to explore how Newton can help you have everything you need to be in control of your entity portfolio.

About this article

Sources

Legal Project Management (2019). Who is best placed to act as legal project manager?
Law Vision (2022). The Latest Trends and Data Points on Legal Project Management.
Deloitte (2019). Legal Project Management has finally made its way into German in-house legal departments.

Image

Featured Image: Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
Featured CTA blog post: Photo by Jurica Koletić on Unsplash or Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

Published by Steph Smith in Wiki
Tags: Benefits, Definition, Examples, Legal Project Management, LPM, Outcome
newton_quer_invers

Flexible workflows for corporate governance

SOLUTIONS -
coming soon

Corporate Governance

VCs & Venture Backed Companies

PEs and REITs 

Trust Companies

Startup

Business

Enterprise

© Newton 2023. All rights reserved. 

newton_quer_invers

Flexible workflows for corporate governance

SOLUTIONS - coming soon

Corporate Governance

VCs & Venture Backed Companies

PEs and REITs 

Trust Companies

Startup

Business

Enterprise

sjhgj

© Newton 2023. All rights reserved.