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CCCA_V4No2_ProjMgmt-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 4/29/10 4:26 PM Page 24 Cover Greenbelt, spearheaded her firm’s Seyfarth Lean initiative. “We McCarthy Tétrault Legal Project implemented Seyfarth Lean in 2006 when we saw changes in Management Methodology the marketplace and more vocal objections to the billing by the hour,” Goldstein explains. “Even before the recession hit we thought the billable hour was crazy — with some attorneys There are four key phases to project manage- charging $1,000 per hour.” ment which apply to all matters from business Goldstein describes Seyfarth Lean as a stripped-down, simpli- fied version of Six Sigma. Interestingly, one of the key project law to litigation: management systems that Seyfarth Shaw relies upon is not 1. Define and agree on achievable sophisticated software, but custom-printed oversized yellow objectives. Post-it notes, which their lawyers use to map out workflow. 2. Plan the project. 3. Monitor and control the progress. Consistent standards 4. Evaluate how we did and close the project. Darryl Cruz, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault and leader of the firm’s litigation practice group, wants to debunk the idea that project management initiatives at law firms are solely driven by Here are examples of a few steps that would pressure from clients to control costs. He argues that the disci- fall into each phase in an asset purchase pline is about creating a consistent national standard in the way transaction: the firm delivers services, not just cost control. He also doesn’t consider project management a new develop- Define and agree on achievable objectives: ment. “Before lawyers were ad hoc project managers; now we • Identify the target company, the key assets have a formal process,” Cruz explains. “The profession has evolved:Years ago a lawyer could go to court with a briefcase and the timeline to closing. and argue a case by himself. Now because of the mass of elec- tronic documents and greater complexity, the matter might Plan the project: involve dozens of lawyers. If you run a big project, you have to • Assemble the work team. organize it somehow.” • Identify the steps to closing. Litigation is the least predictable area of law since there are many variables beyond the control of council, such as missing Monitor and control the progress: documents, difficult opposing council and unsympathetic judges. To account for the unpredictable nature of litigation, • Track the progress of these steps. McCarthy Tétrault’s project management templates include • Deal with any unanticipated events. contingencies.Negotiations about fees may be ongoing depend- ing on the twists and turns in the progress of a matter. “You can Evaluate how we did and close the project: only have accurate flat-fee estimates if you build-in assumptions • Close the transaction. which give flexibility to both sides,” Cruz says. • Conduct a “lessons learned” session to It’s clear that project management and fixed fees don’t neces- sarily go hand-in-hand. But as more law firms embrace better identify what worked well for this ways to manage resources, they’re building more flexibility and client/matter and what can be done to efficiency into the client relationship. And that’s good news for improve the service/value given to clients in-house counsel. in future. Michael Rappaport is the managing editor of CCCA Magazine. 24 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association SUMMER 2010