agile project management for lawyers
TRANSCRIPT
Agile project management for lawyers
October 23, 2017
Washington State Bar Association – Solo & Small Practice Section
Greg McLawsen
Managing Attorney
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Stress in the legal profession.
Substance abuse: 36%
page 2
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Stress in the legal profession.
Depression: 28%
page 3
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Greg McLawsenNomadic Immigration Lawyer
Sound Immigration
@mclawsen
www.soundimmigration.com
America’s online
immigration law firm
www.soundimmigration.com
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Outline
Against efficiency
It’s not the goal01
The lawyer as builder
A different framework02
känbän
Visualize your work-in-production03
Online kanban tools
Start experimenting04
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Against efficiency
The hellish Home Depot vortex
The sink project
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What is the goal?
Attorney
See my client achieve her goal and
be fairly paid for my work
Client
Close the deal on my property
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The lawyer asbuilderWe manufacture legal products,
and that’s a good thing
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The lawyer as builder
Historically we have
been artisans,
crafts(wo)men.
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We are builders
Think of legal
products instead
of legal services.
What can we
deliver?
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The lawyer as builder
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The lawyer as builder
#NotAJoke
page 16
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The lawyer as builder
page 17
Packing station
Love note station
Handcuff station
The Bottleneck
• Card station is the bottleneck
• Bottleneck = system constraint
How do we
improve?
• Subordinate to the constraint
• Elevate the constraint
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The lawyer as builder
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Associate
Paralegal
Partner
känbän
The free technology you never
knew your firm needed
Kanban
känbän(看板) n.
“signboard”
“billboard”
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känbän
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How to kanban
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känbän
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What’s on your plate?
What isn’t?
To do Doing Waiting Done
Client 1 Client 6 Client 8 Client 15
Client 2 Client 7 Client 9 Client 16
Client 3 Client 10
Client 4 Client 11
Client 5 Client 12
Client 13
Client 14
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känbän
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Waiting on client
Waiting on 3rd
partyTo do Doing Done
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känbän
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Waiting on client
Waiting on 3rd
partyTo do Doing Done
Client 8 Client 20 Client 1 Client 6 Client 15
Client 9 Client 21 Client 2 Client 7 Client 16
Client 10 Client 3
Client 11 Client 4
Client 12 Client 5
Client 13
Client 14
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känbän
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Prospects Waiting on client
Waiting on 3rd party
Doing Delegated to legal process outsourcing
team
Filed Holdingpattern
Done
Example Kanban columns
at Sound Immigration
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känbän
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Sample Property Purchase/Sale Kanban
Client questionnaire
Paralegal draft Senior attorney review
Propertyinspection
Appraisal Waiting on other party
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Transcend Legal – Noah Lewis
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Litigation is tricky
1. What’s the next action?
2. Where is the case in its lifecycle?
To do Doing Waiting Done
Client 1 Client 6 Client 8 Client 15
Client 2 Client 7 Client 9 Client 16
Client 3 Client 10
Client 4 Client 11
Client 5 Client 12
Client 13
Client 14
Investigation Discovery Motion Practice
Trial prep
Client 1 Client 6 Client 8 Client 15
Client 2 Client 7 Client 9 Client 16
Client 3 Client 10
Client 4 Client 11
Client 5 Client 12
Client 13
Client 14
1
2
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känbän
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One litigation solution: add a dimension
Investigation Discovery Motion Practice Trial prep
Partner
Associate
Paralegal
Waiting on client
Waiting on opposing
party
Waiting on third party
Waiting on court
Opposition has provided discovery, now ball moves to
partner to set motion practice strategy
Where’s the next action?
Where is the case in its lifecycle?
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Palace Law – litigation progression
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Palace Law – daily workflow
page 34
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känbän
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Not “just” for case work
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känbän
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Managing new client onboarding (sales)
Online
kanban
tools
“Start with this”
John Grant@JEGrant3
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Mike Polk (www.belserpa.com)
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Online kanban tools
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Trello
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Online kanban tools
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Trim, intuitive interface
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Online kanban tools
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Checklist
Comments/case notes
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Online kanban tools
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LeanKit
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Online kanban tools
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Favorite feature: board within board
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Online kanban tools
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Odoo
ERP + CRMecosystem
@axon_partners
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Online kanban tools
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Lawcus
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Online kanban tools
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Lexicata
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Online Kanban tools
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LPM build around kanban
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Agile Attorney Slack Group
agileattorney.com/join-the-agile-
attorneys-slack-group/
Materials from this talk
soundimmigration.com/agile
The Goal
Eliyahu Goldratt
(Painful but helpful read)
Resources
John Grant
agileattorney.com / @JEGrant3
Font of all things Agile-Law
Lawyerist podcast
John Grant, again
http://bit.ly/1NCXd7d
The Lean Startup
Eric Ries
Business as experiment
page 49
Thank you
Greg McLawsen
Managing Attorney
Sound Immigration
@mclawsen
253-203-3170
www.soundimmigration.com