Patrick DiDomenico, Director of Knowledge Management at Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart, has launched a new group on LinkedIn "for all those interested in legal project management." As many readers know, I created LinkedIn group on the same topic a while back and later donated it to the Project Management Institute to help it promote its Legal Project Management Community of Practice. While DiDomenico's group competes with PMI LPM CoP group, I firmly believe that the more exposure given LPM, the better, and wish DiDomenico and his group the success. Some other LPM-focused groups on LinkedIn include:Project Management for Legal Departments...

On February 9th, the Project Management Institute's Legal Project Management Community of Practice will host a webinar on how to avoid common mistakes when communicating to influence lawyers, presented by  Skip Weisman, owner of Weisman Success Resources, Inc. Title: "7 Deadliest Sins of Communicating with Lawyers"  Format/Location: On-line webinar. Cost: Free to PMI members. PMI membership required. Organizations: PMI Legal Project Management Community of Practice Description: This webinar will unveil the most damaging communication mistakes project managers make when communicating to influence lawyers. Participants will also learn the three primary reasons these communication mistakes occur and the various contexts in...

In a press release posted to its website, Onit has announced that it has raised  USD 4.1 million in Series B funding led by Austin Ventures. Onit was one of the first companies to develop project and process improvement applications for the legal industry. While Onit's solutions apply to more than the legal industry, it strongly emphasized the application of its business and legal process management applications to legal work. Therefore, I see Austin Ventures's investment as an indication that investors are seeing real growth potential for legal-project management.Related articlesOnit Seeks Members for Advisory Group; Offers Members its Legal Project...

Is legal-project management gaining traction in Spain? If Anna Marra has any say in the matter it will. Anna recently published an article in Lawyer Press, an on-line, Spanish-language publication for lawyers. I don't read Spanish, but could make out most of the article using Google Translate. The article provides a brief introduction to LPM, why lawyers should use it and how they can deploy it it and apply it to their daily activities. Anna also mentioned in a recent discussion posted to the PMI LPM Community Group on LinkedIn that she is writing a book on the subject.Related articlesLPM 2012 and...

It is that time of the year again: this is the time when the blawgosphere looks back at the past year and prognosticates what the year ahead holds for the legal industry. Those of you who follow this blog will know that I'm not generally one for reading tea leaves. This year, however, I have decided to share my thoughts on how I think LPM will develop over the next few years, based upon the experiences of other industries and the history of modern project management. I hope you find it interesting and I wish you and yours health, happiness,...

Pamela Woldow's excellent LPM-oriented blog, At the Intersection has made the ABA Journal's Blawg 100 list this year. Support Pam's excellent blog and help get the word out about LPM by submitting a vote here: http://www.abajournal.com/blawg100...

Today is International Project Management Day. IPM Day was started by Frank P. Saladis, PMP, owner of Blue Marble Enterprises with the goal of achieving:[w]orldwide recognition of the many project managers and project teams in every industry including non profit organizations and health care who contribute their time, energy, creativity, innovation, and countless hours to deliver products, services, facilities, and provide emergency and disaster recovery services in every city and community around the world.To learn more about IPM Day, visit: http://www.internationalpmday.org/Related articlesInternational Project Management Day (legalprojectmanagement.info)International Project Management Day 2011 (vyrtunet.wordpress.com)A True Project Management Innovator (vyrtunet.wordpress.com)...

The Association of Corporate Counsel is presenting a two-day program on project management for the in-house lawyers on November 8th and 9th. Title: "Project Management for the In-house Law Department"  Format/Location: Executive Leadership Center, Boston University School of Management in Boston, MA. For hotel and travel information, see: http://www.acc.com/education/businessedu/lodging.cfm Cost: ACC Members: 1,632 USD; Non-members: $1,927 USD  Organizations: Association of Corporate Counsel Description: Projects are increasingly the way that work gets done in companies of all types and sizes. In this new program you will learn the strategic dimensions of project management, including critical aspects of project definition, planning, execution,...

On November 3rd, the Project Management Institute's Legal Project Management Community of Practice will host a webinar on how to brainstorm to create a legal-project plan, presented by Mark Lassiter, a partner at Davis Miles PLLC, and Amanda P., Director of Practice Technology at Davis Miles PLLC. Title: "How to Brainstorm to Create a Legal Project Plan"  Format/Location: On-line webinar. Cost: Free to PMI members. PMI membership required. Organizations: PMI Legal Project Management Community of Practice Description: In this session, we will take a hypothetical case from the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, Dixon v. Providential Life Ins. Co., and...

I am a big fan of project-based education. It turns students into problem solvers. The sense of accomplishment in completing a project, reaching a distinct goal, is far greater than that provided by doing well on a quiz. The planning and time-management skills alone are as valuable as the knowledge acquired. Therefore, I strongly support initiatives such as the Project Management Institute's Education Foundation and efforts to convince the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to add a project management merit badge.Recently, a colleague shared with me yet another example of the power for projects to motivate children. My colleague's 13-year-old son just...