exercise: project management in action - the in-house ...€¦ · 1 titleacc calgary chapter lpm...
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TitleACC Calgary ChapterLPM – What every in-house lawyer needs to know
Suzanne Wood, National Director (Canada), Legal Project Management
Rebecca Benavides, National Director (U.S.), Legal Project Management
October 2014
Exercise: project management in action
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Inside counsel
Standardize Services
Reduce Legal Spend
Improve Response
Time
Streamline Processes
Reduce Overhead
Increase Predictability
Deliver High Quality Results
Increasing Pressures
How do you respond?
Outsource
Change firms
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What is a project?
A project is defined as “a temporary endeavour undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result”.
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)
What is project management?
Project management is the “application of knowledge, skills, toolsand techniques to plan activities to meet project requirements.”
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)
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What is legal project management?
Legal Project Management is “a proactive, disciplined approach to
managing legal work that involves defining, planning, budgeting,
executing, and evaluating a legal matter; the application of specific
knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to achieve project
objectives (the client’s legal organization’s); and the use of effective
communication to set and meet objectives and expectations.
The Power of Legal Project Management, Lambreth and Rueff, (2014)
Elements of Legal Project Management
While there is no industry standard approach for developing and implementing LPM, thefollowing are key areas that most firms and corporate clients have attempted to address:
• more in-depth understanding of the project/matter at the outset
• enhanced, effective, and timely communication with key stakeholders
• use of “scope of work” statements that defines what is “in” and “out” of scope
• developing templates for matters using a Work Breakdown Structure (“WBS”)
• budgets which are realistic, including identifying associated risks
• improved monitoring throughout matters, including budget to actual reports, milestonesfor progress on client objectives, and changes in scope, risk, and stakeholders, etc.
• end of action reviews to identify best practices, “lessons learned,” and other importantaspects for continued process improvement
The Power of Legal Project Management, Lambreth and Rueff, (2014)
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Evaluating your current toolkit
Scoping Managing Closing
Engagement letters Early case assessment After action reviews
Scope of work statements Monthly / quarterly reports Internal evaluation process
Budget worksheets Detailed invoices Detailed financial analysis
Case management plan Budget worksheet External counsel performance review
Scope change request process RACI charts Knowledge capture
Communications plan Matter tracking database
RFP template responses Collaboration sites
Decision tree analysis Task trackers
Stage 1: Scoping the project
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• Why are we undertaking this project?
• What needs to be done?
• Who should be involved?
• When does the work need to be done by?
• How much will it cost?
• Who will be affected by the project?
• What are the end goals?
Scoping Considerations
Scoping – Establish Priorities
Time
CostQuality
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Identify and Plan for Risk
Impact - Severity
Pro
bab
ilit
y o
f O
ccu
rren
ce
Effective risk planning and
management aids predictability
and scope discussions
• Identify upfront those variables that may result in missing client expectations
• eDiscovery costs and disputes
• Aggressive adversary
• A slow or fast-tracked matter
• Post judgment proceedings and collection efforts
• Communicate risks to the business and outside counsel and adjust scope
• Provide a mechanism in the Statement of Work for handling scope changes based on risk assessment
Planning - Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
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Communications Plan
Communications Plan is a road map which defines:
•What needs to be communicated
•What is the purpose of the communication
•Who needs to be involved in the communication
•How often does the communication need to occur
•What format the communication should take
Sample Communications Plan
Audience Information Method Frequency Who is Responsible?
Matter Team Matter Status
update
Conference Call Weekly Team Leader
Robert Smith
(in-house
counsel)
Update on court
appearances
Email Within 1 hour of
court session
ending
Responsible Partner
Robert Smith
(in-house
counsel)
Detailed status
report
Email Monthly Responsible Partner
Client
procurement
director
Budget to actual
status report
Conference Call First Wednesday of
every month
Team Leader
Board of
Directors
High level status
report
PowerPoint
Presentation at
Board Meetings
Monthly Robert Smith
(in-house counsel)
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Stage 3: Implementing
Implementing - RACI charts
R
• Responsible
• The people who do the work
A
• Accountable
• The person who is answerable
C
• Consulted
• The people who need to weigh-in
I
• Informed
• The people who need to be kept in the loop
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RACI Charts
Tasks Jane
Counsel
Peter
Johnson
George
Meadows
Norton
Rose
Fulbright
Developing communications protocol A/R C I R
Coordinating with internal business contacts C A/R I C
Developing budget A/R I C R
Managing budget for phases A I I R
Develop litigation hold document R C I A/R
Implementing litigation hold A/R C C R
Responsible (R) Accountable (A) Consulted (C) Informed (I)
These are the people who actually do the work. There can be many people responsible for a single task.
This is the person who needsto answer for whether the taskhas been completed. Therecan only be one personaccountable.
These are people who need tobe engaged in the process andwhose feedback is required.
These are people who need tobe apprised of developments,but do not need to providefeedback.
Exercise: RACI chart
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Stage 4: Closing down/handover
When the celebrations are over, it’s time to conduct the matter closure
evaluation
Closure Evaluation
• Capture lessons learned on a variety of metrics
• Identify knowledge assets
• Refine standard case templates, scope, and budget forms
• Conduct a financial post-mortem – Could we have priced differently and/or
better?
• Can conduct both external (client) and internal (team) evaluations