Page 9 - CCCA Magazine Spring 2014

{ PERFORMANCE IN THE LAW DEPARTMENT } “ Te most progressive legal departments ” introduce performance targets aligned with high-profle corporate priorities. each), and estimate the proportion of the year taken by each of the three categories. GCs are usually surprised to learn that less than 20% of a department’s time is allocated to matters requiring more than 25 hours. It is diffcult to add a lot of strategic value with such a service delivery profle. It is equally diffcult to move away from an emphasis on day-to-day operational support to make enough time for strate- The data gathered with work distribu- GC or AGC negotiates the contribution gic and developmental projects that add tion spreadsheets supports the tabulation for internal and external counsel with the value to the company. Essential in order of legal hours (excluding administrative business unit concerned. At the end of the to get ahead of the curve. hours) worked in a legal department. Pro- project or year, whichever comes frst, the ductivity can be improved in two ways. business unit evaluates the contribution The choice of KPIs First, by reducing the number of admin- of legal counsel quite simply: met, did not All companies have productivity targets. istrative hours as a proportion of total meet, or exceeded expectations. The per- Some relate to speed and others are tied hours. Some departments have moved formance target for the department may to resource use. These are easy for the from 85% legal hours to 93% within six consist of meeting expectations for 8 of 10 legal department. Internal clients care months. The second way is to generate ca- projects and exceeding on 2 of 10. Collec- about turnaround time because they pacity within the department by making tively, they measure strategic impact and a are often late in consulting legal and clients more self-suffcient for less com- value-added contribution. do so with incomplete scope of work plex work. Standardization and training Productivity targets are not enough and incomplete documentation. Turn- play a role here. A 10% improvement in for legal departments. Adding value de- around standards are usually two days a fve-lawyer legal department gener- pends on selecting targets directly aligned for straightforward matters, that is to ates 1,000 hours of capacity per year. In- with corporate and business unit targets. say those needing fewer than fve hours sourcing 1,000 hours of work, especially Stretch goals focus legal departments. to complete. Surveys tell us the average complex work, from law frms means total Meeting and exceeding targets is evidence backlog for a legal department is 2.5 legal hours are reduced. It also means that of a value-added contribution. ❚ days. More complex matters take more total legal spending will be reduced by time — transactions are months and liti- $300K to $400K per year — a good way to gation can take years. Legal departments meet fnancial objectives as well. Richard G. Stock, M.A., FCIS, CMC, is a partner with should also be profcient in legal project The most progressive legal depart- Catalyst Consulting. The frm management allowing them to schedule ments introduce performance targets has been named the Preferred phases and tasks, and then keep their aligned with high-profle corporate pri- Provider for Legal Department clients appropriately informed. A target orities — something like introducing Consulting by the CCCA: for turnaround should take the form of a new product, or building light rapid www.catalystlegal.com. He can meeting standards and project deadlines transit or a pipeline. These are often led be reached at 416-367-4447 95% of the time. by another division of the company. The or rstock@catalystlegal.com. CANADIAN CORPORATE COUNSEL ASSOCIATION | CCCA-ACCJE.ORG 9