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CCCA_V2No3_Dept-Performance-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_Dept-MgLaw-V1.qxd 9/17/08 3:06 PM Page 12 Performance In The Law Department the department gets involved and when it Changes to legal department structures, combination of these techniques will take does not. policies and operating practices must be care of the workload issues. Coupled with this approach, St. George combined to influence the type of work Bank has focused on three key strategies to and the timing of its entry into the legal Richard G. Stock, improve workflow and team productivity: department. These include: M.A., FCIS, CMC is a the development of a bank of commonly- • service level agreements partner with Catalyst used precedents, a state-of-the-art docu- • time management practices Consulting. His firm has ment management system, and a centralized • the number of law firms been designated as a library and legal resource facility with • a capable legal assistant Program partner by research tools. • pushing back non-legal work ACLA and a Recognized Supplier for Legal Substantial increases in workloads invari- • precedents, document management, Services Consulting by the CCCA: (416) ably occur as the business grows or changes. legal research capabilities 367-4447 or rstock@catalystlegal.com. Joel Petro-Canada VP and General Counsel • contract lawyers Barolsky, B.Comm., MBA, is a Principal with Rusty Miller and AXA Canada General • user seminars on how best to use the Melbourne-based Beaton Consulting. The firm Counsel Sylvain Hétu both use contract department offers services in market-led strategies, leadership lawyers to supplement their regular teams, • a legal “wiki” and change, and research and benchmarks to the to keep work in-house and to handle time- • regular meetings with users professional services sector: 61 3 9829 0000 or sensitive work. Contract lawyers are inte- • a seat at the executive table joel.barolsky@beaton.com.au grated into the legal team and aligned with • load-balancing meetings in the legal key business units across the company. The department This article is an abridged version of one published challenge is to keep workloads within • dedicated resources for professional and in The Australian Corporate Lawyer, the journal bounds for contract lawyers, since many administrative management of the Australian Corporate Lawyers Association, prefer part-time arrangements. Managing workflow with the right the counterpart organization to the CCCA. 12 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association FALL 2008 CCCA63_012.indd 1 09/19/2008 05:11:49 PM