Exposing Legal Project Management Myths:
The Truth Behind What Works and What Doesn’t
Law Department Management Track
Wednesday, 9:00–10:30am
Hosted by
Introductions
Rick
Kathuria
Pratik
Patel
Doug
Luftman
Chris
Fowler
Getting To Know You
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Ever Seen This?
Tree swing project cartoon
What the client
What
the
explained
client explained
How the project was
How
the project
documented
was documented
What the project
What
project
leaderthe
understood
leader understood
What actually was
What
actually
installed
was installed
What the analyst
What
the
designed
Create your own cartoon at www.projectcartoon.com
What the programmer
What
the
coded
analyst designed programmer coded
What was billed
What
was billed
How it was
How
it was
maintained
maintained
What the beta testers
What
the beta
received
What the consultant
What
the
defined
testers received
consultant defined
What marketing
What
marketing
advertised
advertised
Creative Commons License by www.projectcartoon.com
What the client
What
the
client
actually
needed
actually needed
Breaking Down
Project Management
What is a Project?
It’s a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product,
service or result.
Projects are:
Temporary – has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined
scope and resources.
Unique – not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed
to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes different
people from different areas and across multiple geographies.
So Then…
What is Project Management?
It is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques
to execute projects effectively and efficiently.
So THEN…
What is Legal Project Management?
The application of the concepts of project
management to the control and management
of legal cases or matters.
—Steven Levy, Author
Legal Project Management: Control Costs, Meet Schedules,
Manage Risks, and Maintain Sanity
Goals for the Session
•
•
•
•
By the numbers – the impact of PM on your business
Discuss/debate common myths around PM for Legal
Share anecdotes of what worked and what hasn’t
Participate, have fun and win prizes!
Did You Know That….?
• The average cost overrun of all projects is 27%
– Harvard Business Review
• One in six projects have a cost overrun of at least 200%
– Harvard Business Review
• Fewer than 1/3 of all projects finish on time and on
budget
– Standish Group
How do your legal projects fare against these figures?
Now Entering the Mythbusting Zone…
Fact or Myth?
A PM spends most of his/her time
documenting and updating project plans
Reality: Myth…
In fact,
the PM role is
90%
• Gathering status updates
from project stakeholders
• Facilitating project
meetings and discussions
• Communicating meeting
minutes and action items
communication
Statistic from Wrike.com
Fact or Myth?
Non-lawyers make for
better legal project managers
Reality: It Depends…
• NetApp uses
– Lawyers for patent litigation matters/projects
– Non-lawyers for PM of internal projects and externally
with Joint Defense Group Matters
• Gowlings uses
– Associate lawyers for PM of Litigation and
Transactional matters
• BT uses
– Non lawyers for law department operational tasks and
KM
Fact or Myth?
LPM only works when everyone on the team
is trained on project management
Gowlings’ Simple LPM Framework
Reality: Familiarity is good,
but formal training not required.
Even at corporate
giants like IBM, only
Among
CIOs
Of de facto
project managers,
56%
67%
70%
of
PM specialists
hold a certificate
see PMI certification
as valuable but
not a necessity
have no special
training or
certificate
Fact or Myth?
Lawyers will not adopt LPM because
it’s too complex and time consuming
Short meeting minutes go a long way
NetApp leverages Level2 to project manage JDG
sessions with upwards of 20 participants
• Pre-meeting agendas
• Attendance trackers
• Key milestones
• Key upcoming activities
• Key decision items
• Key challenges
Gowlings’ Use of Easy Traffic Lights
Plan: Use Simple Matter Plans
Monitor: Use Traffic Lights
Right Mix of Change Management
Reality: If too complex, lawyers will not use it.
Also, if not backed by formal change measures,
lawyers will not use it.
Fact or Myth?
Most law departments have sophisticated ways
to review and measure project performance.
What British Telecom Measures…
What NetApp Measures…
Reality: Sophistication is not important.
Setting a series of simple baselines and
measuring against those is the key.
Where
We Started
Where
We Are Now
Audience Mythbusting
Key Takeaways
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•
•
•
•
Project Management is a part of everything we do.
PM for legal goes beyond just matter management.
Both lawyers and non-lawyers make good PMs.
Don’t wait for certifications – just start.
You will need the right mix of change techniques to
make PM a success.
• Data matters; Set a baseline and then measure to
achieve better results.
Feel Free to Contact Us
Rick
Kathuria
Pratik
Patel
Doug
Luftman
Chris
Fowler