In the New Fixed-Fee World, Law Firms Embrace Project Management
By the time Pamela Woldow of Altman Weil is finished with her latest assignment, every lawyer at Dechert will be trained in legal project management.
The goal is to deliver quality legal services more efficiently, an important objective for law firms charging fixed and alternative fees, the Legal Intelligencer reports.
Woldow knows of no other law firm that has implemented project management training across all offices and attorney levels. Woldow began training partners last October and recently wrapped up that stage of her work. Associates are next up.
The training breaks down and analyzes matters from the earlier stage of an assignment to the end, according to the Legal Intelligencer. Lawyers are particularly encouraged to communicate with the client at the beginning of a project to establish expectations and define the scope.
“I think lawyers like to believe that everything they do is unique and complex,” Woldow said. “The truth is there are some parts of representation that are complex, but there is an awful lot that is rather easily mapped.”
One law firm is taking a different approach, the American Lawyer reports in an article by legal consultant Jim Hassett, the founder of LegalBizDev. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has created a career track for project managers, and has hired both lawyers and nonlawyers for the job.
At another law firm, Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, Wash., senior partners attended a workshop led by Hassett where they tried to fit project management principles to their own needs.
Hassett gives an example. One lawyer in his workshop decided that a technique used on summer associates could be adapted for lawyers working on alternative fee assignments. The summer associates are asked, at the start of an assignment, to estimate how many hours are needed to complete the matter. If the estimate is high, the supervising lawyer discusses how to complete the task sooner.
