Page 39 - CCCA 270450 Magazine_Fall 2017_for web

{ legal innoVation }

the Business oF Budgets!

Budgets can be a real pain point with seemingly rigid confnes, frms that recognize the value of project
management and collaboration to suc-
but in truth they are a powerful tool for in-house counsel. they cessful outcomes.
are a window to performance and proftability, and can help Q: How does resource management play
legal departments stay on track and measure results. a role in budget management? What is the
law frm’s role in this aspect?
FK: Carillion has several internal resourc-
arillion Canada’s SVP of Legal, Fleur Q: On that note, how important is col- ing options, one of which includes Carillion
Kitchingman, joins McCarthy Té- laboration and early communication when
Ctrault Chief Client and Innovation managing a project that has gone off scope? Advice Services (our own managed service
provider). External counsel has a much
Offcer, Judith McKay, to make the case How can law frms work with their clients higher price tag than our own internal re-
for good budget management between to manage scope and resolve or avoid scope sources, so large savings can be made by us-
in-house and external counsel. creep?
ing our internal resource where appropriate.
Q: Many business problems have unfore- FK: In complex matters, there will be Our external counsel support us in
seen, and often costly, legal pitfalls incurred unexpected twists and turns along the identifying how we can best use our re-
when solving an issue. How important is it way. Appreciating that from the very out- sources to ensure that external counsel
to budget management to initially establish set of a project is critical, and having an is focused on the matters that add the
the project scope? honest, open conversation with external most value. In addition, if there are nu-
counsel about the assumptions made merous people working on a matter, we
FK: Great opportunities are lost at the have worked with external counsel to de-
start of a project when we throw all hands within the budget, inclusions and exclu-
sions and how any scope changes will be vise solutions to manage that resource, so
to the deck in the excitement and frenzy that the work is properly coordinated and
of solving a business problem without re- managed and priced is vital. nothing is duplicated or falls through the
Then, when a scope change does oc-
gard for the need to properly plan, scope cur—and it will—all parties can identify cracks. We have developed some great re-
and budget. We may all work ridiculously it early on and will already have agreed sourcing solutions together.
hard and achieve great results, but no
business is ever going to thank us when a upon an approach to manage the change. JM: Fleur makes a great point: law frms
surprisingly large invoice lands from ex- JM: Having a “no surprises” approach to should be able to take a 360 view on the
ternal counsel that no one was expecting! budget management as the matter pro- provision of legal services to help clients
Properly scoping out a project and gresses is crucial. Law frms need to have drive value and innovation wherever pos-
budgeting is absolutely essential. An enor- the proper tools and resources in place to sible. Truly understanding the client’s
mous amount of time and money can deliver the early warnings that Fleur al- business objectives and risk tolerance is
be saved by asking and answering some ludes to. First, they should have a dedicat- required to ensure that the law frm is not
simple questions at the outset: What is the ed project management team to monitor over-lawyering the matter and is delegat-
business objective? What’s our strategy the budgeted versus actual fees and up- ing work to the appropriate legal resources.
for achieving that objective? What is the date the lead lawyers. Second, they should In addition, taking a creative, collaborative
scope of work? And what is the most ef- make it part of the process for the project approach allows for both customized staff-
fcient and cost effective way of resourcing managers to fnd out what is happening ing models and seamless operations as an
the work? with the fle beyond the budget tracking extension of the client’s team.
information and build that into a status
JM: As lawyers we have a high sense of FK: External counsel are crucial partners
urgency and are so transactionally ori- report that the client receives at regular to the process of budget management and
intervals. Third, having a regular project
ented that it takes discipline to actually the importance of building solid trusted
buckle down and plan the matter before check-in call with the team to discuss the advisor relationships with external counsel
status of the project and the most recent
executing. A good scoping and budgeting to allow very open dialogue to take place
exercise not only ensures that the project status report provides a great opportu- on budgets is paramount. Budget manage-
nity to assess whether there have been any
runs more effciently and meets business ment is hard work for everyone involved,
goals, but also is a forum to brainstorm changes to scope or assumptions, and if but achieving a large saving or discovering
so, what the project team’s plan should be
together on strategic options and creative a more effcient way to deal with a business
solutions as well as identify and mitigate going forward to respond to those chang- problem, can actually make the business of
es. It’s important for clients to select law
key risks early on. budgets very rewarding! ❚

CANADIAN COrPOrAtE COuNSEL ASSOCIAtION | CCCA-ACCjE.Org 39