How to Put Together a High-Powered Project Team
By Charles A. Volkert, Esq.
Charles A. Volkert is executive director of Robert Half Legal, a leading staffing service
specializing in the placement of attorneys, paralegals, legal administrators and other
legal professionals with law firms and corporate legal departments. Based in Menlo
Park, Calif., Robert Half Legal has offices in major cities throughout the United States
and Canada.
Assembling a project team is an effective way to handle a case or matter, but setting it up and
managing it can be challenging. The success of the project largely depends on whether you’ve
chosen team members capable of effectively collaborating and how well you’ve matched
individual players with the tasks to be done. Here are some tips for finding the right people for a
team and maximizing the contributions of each:

Develop a Master Plan
Don’t try to pull together a team with just a vague idea of what is to be accomplished. While the
need may be urgent, it pays to think things through carefully before plunging in. An essential step
is to document key objectives for the team and specific assignments to be completed. Also, what
are the deadlines for each of these objectives and sub-objectives? Will the team operate
independently or will any of its activities overlap with those managed by employees who aren’t
part of the group? Are adequate staffing resources available in-house?
Spend some time identifying the necessary positions, or roles, on the team. For example, every
team needs an overall leader to oversee activities and provide direction. Will this be you or
someone else? In addition, a team needs a variety of specialists to handle specific duties. These
might include researcher, tech specialist, facilitator, resource coordinator and liaison with other
work groups.

Assemble the Team
Next, identify key participants by name and how they will work together. Using the roles as a
guide, choose individuals who can best perform those duties, based on their training, skills,
personality and habits. In high-performance teams, the skills of all members are complementary.
Do you have all bases covered? How strong are communication and interpersonal abilities? Can
everyone work together smoothly?
Determine whether the entire team will handle the project start to finish, or if certain members will
participate only at specific stages. For example, if the firm is representing a client in a liability suit,
clerks might handle just the research and document production, while paralegals under the
supervision of the lead attorney may work on the suit from the beginning through settlement.
In some instances, you may select support team members in consultation with the supervising
attorney on the case or with the managing partner. At other times, staff members’ availability and
current workload will be decisive factors.
Depending on the complexity of the work, you may need to draw team members from outside the
firm. Project legal professionals are a good option, particularly if expertise is required that doesn’t
exist in-house or if pending workload spikes could overburden core team members.

Set The Team Up for Success
Once the group is assembled, hold a kick-off meeting of all members to discuss the action plan. If
there are a large number of contributors, you may want to ask a senior paralegal to track
completion of various tasks and distribute updates periodically to everyone in the group. Also
address logistical issues, such as the locations where participants will work, how frequently status
reports will be delivered and how problems will be managed.
It’s critical that everyone knows the primary objective and the scope of the project. Give
participants pertinent background information, such as how the initiative relates to the client’s
overall business goals.

Lead without Micromanaging
It takes a fair amount of experience and wisdom as a team leader to know when to step in and
when to stay on the sidelines. While it’s important to let the team do its work, keep in mind that
part of your role is motivational. By publicly recognizing individual contributions and
acknowledging the team’s efforts—particularly during periods of intense activity—you’ll foster
team cohesion and ensure that the group is working at its peak.

Provide Ongoing Guidance
Even when you’ve assembled the most highly skilled, top-notch team possible, there will
inevitably be obstacles and problems during the course of an assignment. Your job is to see to it
that such events do not build to a crisis point. Rather than waiting until a setback occurs,
encourage the group to devise better processes for sharing information or resolving conflicts.
Periodic conference calls and status meetings are valuable to ensure everyone is clear on current
objectives and has adequate resources to complete upcoming tasks. By monitoring the team’s
activities throughout the project, you will ensure deadlines are met and also quickly deal with
difficulties. You’ll also be able to notify the team when outside factors, such as a change in trial
date, will impact the work.
Putting together a productive project team takes vision, strong management skills and the ability
to simultaneously oversee varied activities and developments. The more skilled you are at
supporting and guiding the team, the more value you’ll help the firm bring to its clients.