The Lawyer’s Guide to Legal Process Improvement

Executive summary ................................................................................................................... VII

Part 1: Introduction
The case for process improvement: A Lean Six Sigma perspective .................................................3
By Catherine Alman MacDonagh, CEO and founder, Legal Lean Six Sigma Institute
Most processes fall far short of their potential .....................................................................3
Understanding changing client expectations .......................................................................3
The profession is changing ..............................................................................................5
The risks are greater than the challenges ...........................................................................6
The pressure to deliver value ...........................................................................................7
Gaining buy-in for process improvement ............................................................................7
Linking quality and performance .......................................................................................8
Technology and process improvement ...............................................................................9
The DuPont Legal Model............................................................................................... 10
Clients expect efficient processes ................................................................................... 11
Uptake of Lean Six Sigma in law firms ............................................................................ 12
Award-winning examples of process improvement in action ................................................. 13
Dissecting processes: How to create a legal process improvement program .................................. 17
By Kim R. Craig, global director, legal project management office, and Andrew M. Baker, global director, legal technology innovations office, Seyfarth Shaw
Understanding processes .............................................................................................. 17
Supporting other strategic foci ....................................................................................... 19
Introducing LPI internally ................................................................................................20
Taking it to the next level ..............................................................................................20
Getting started with process improvement ........................................................................ 21

Part 2: Process improvement approaches
Mastering complexity: Current and future tools for legal process optimization ..............................25
By Tim Hanson and Simon Thompson, directors, Change Harbour, and Robert Millard, partner, Møller PSF Group Legal process workflows ...............................................................................................25
Future disruptive technology ...........................................................................................27
Tools for the present ..................................................................................................... 28
Improving legal
processes ............................................................................................. 28
Building a simple process map of your organization ................................................................... 31
By Chris Bull, executive director, Kingsmead Square Use a process reference model ...................................................................................... 31
The electronic discovery reference model ......................................................................... 31
5S ...........................................................................................................................
..............35
By Chris Bull, executive director, Kingsmead Square
Process principles of 5S ................................................................................................35
Implementing 5S .........................................................................................................36

Part 3: Project management, Lean Six Sigma, and KM
DMAIC: The framework ............................................................................................................ 41
By Catherine Alman MacDonagh, CEO and founder, Legal Lean Six Sigma Institute
The five steps of DMAIC .............................................................................................. 41
Step 1: Define ............................................................................................................ 42
Step 2: Measure ......................................................................................................... 42
Step 3: Analyze ..........................................................................................................44
Step 4: Improve ..........................................................................................................45
Step 5: Control ...........................................................................................................45
The Kaizen approach...................................................................................................46
Creating valuable knowledge in the firm through legal project management ................................49
By Lann Wasson, senior manager of knowledge management, Husch Blackwell LLP Launching the legal project management program .............................................................50
Creating knowledge that has competitive value................................................................. 51
A simple legal project management framework
..........................................................................55
By Barbara J. Boake, partner, McCarthy Tétrault, and Rick A. Kathuria, national director, project management office and legal logistics, Gowlings
Legal mandates are projects ..........................................................................................55
Legal mandates have four project stages .........................................................................55
Each project stage has two project management tasks and one project management deliverable ................................................................................................................56
Your client participates at every stage of the project ..........................................................56
A project manager’s responsibilities can be delegated .......................................................57
Designing a framework that works ..................................................................................57
The Lawyer’s Guide to Legal Process Improvement Linking project management to pricing strategy ..........................................................................59
By Barbara J. Boake, partner, McCarthy Tétrault, and Rick A. Kathuria, national director, project management office and legal logistics, Gowlings
Basic practice economics .............................................................................................59
Maximize profitability through efficiency and leverage ....................................................... 61
Managing AFAs .......................................................................................................... 62
How KM staff can help drive successful legal project management initiatives ................................65
By Antony Smith, founder, Legal Project Management Limited
What is legal project management? ...............................................................................65
How to start improving LPM capability ............................................................................66
Aligning LPM with law firm strategy.................................................................................67
Securing support of senior business owners and managers .................................................67
Break projectsdown ....................................................................................................68
Some tactical ideas for LPM implementation .....................................................................69
Rethinking workflows: Re-engineering case management processes..............................................71
By Scott Rechtschaffen, chief knowledge officer, Littler Mendelson
Challenge and opportunity ........................................................................................... 71
Creating a new approach ............................................................................................72
Lessons learned........................................................................................................... 74

Part 4: Online delivery for process improvement and client satisfaction
Why deliver services online? .....................................................................................................79
By Stephanie Kimbro, fellow, Stanford Law School Center on the Legal Profession and co-director, Center for Law Practice Technology
What is the competition? ..............................................................................................80
What are the benefits for the public? .............................................................................. 81
What are the different structures of online delivery? ...........................................................82
Who will be in charge? ...............................................................................................83
Case study: Samuel Phillips ...........................................................................................83
Establishing a clear and achievable strategy for online delivery ............................................84
Pricing models ............................................................................................................86
Creating the client portal ..............................................................................................88