Legal Project Management: April 2010 Archives

Blawgospheric Feedback on Requirements for E-discovery Project Management Positions

By Paul C. Easton on April 27, 2010 10:47 PM | Comments | 4 TrackBacks

There has been a bit of buzz about e-discovery project manager qualifications in the blawgosphere following my recent post about Kroll Ontrack's job requirements for Litigation Support Project Managers and Case Consultants, based on a recent discussion on the e-LEGAL group on LinkedIn group.[1]The E-discovery Trends blog takes issue with Kroll Ontrack's PMP preference, arguing that "this use of certifications certainly isn't helping hire the best and brightest in the ediscovery field."[2] This discussion was also noted in a post on the Posse List blog, which discusses the challenges attorneys face when transitioning from law practice to more technical litigation support/project management...

Continue reading Blawgospheric Feedback on Requirements for E-discovery Project Management Positions.

Happy Birthday LPM!

By Paul C. Easton on April 27, 2010 10:00 PM | Comment | No TrackBacks

It was one year ago on this date that I posted my first blog post on legal project management. One year and more than 150 posts later, my mission remains the same: [T]o publish information on project management that is targeted to lawyers, paralegals, and litigation support professionals. My goal is that the opinions, tips, and links shared on this blog will help generate much-needed discussion on the role of project management in law firms, corporate legal departments, and the vendors who service them.[1]My impetus for starting this blog was the lack of useful information for those of us responsible...

Continue reading Happy Birthday LPM!.

LPM Wellness: RSI & Microsoft Voice Recognition

By Paul C. Easton on April 27, 2010 2:38 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

This post is part of a new series that will document my efforts to create healthier working environment. The topics discussed in this series are not specific only to legal project management professionals. They are applicable to any sedentary, knowledge worker. Due to years of spending far too much time on the computer, I've developed repetitive stress injuries for which I'm currently undergoing physical therapy. As part of a holistic, long-term solution, I'm making in number of changes to my working environment, the equipment that I work on, and my work habits. Among these changes is my attempt to once again...

Continue reading LPM Wellness: RSI & Microsoft Voice Recognition.

LPM Tidbits 2010-04-24

By Paul C. Easton on April 24, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

LPM Tidbits is my (mostly) weekly collection of items of interest to LPM not otherwise written up in another post. Mel Bost includes law firms in his ruminations on the sudden proliferation of Program Management Office (PMO) organizational structures in project-focused organizations at his PMO Expert blog.D. Mark Jackson asks in an April 13th post to his Lean Law blog whether legal project management is going mainstream.Jim Hassett discusses the application of Six Sigma and Lean to legal work in the fifth of his series on Legal Project Management on his Legal Business Development blog. He also states that, although he had planned...

Continue reading LPM Tidbits 2010-04-24.

Study On Tech Adaption In Small Firms Suggests LPM in SmallLaw is a Long Way Off

By Paul C. Easton on April 22, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Liz Kurtz, in a recent article for Small Law, reports on the results of the University of Florida Levin School of Law's "2010 Perfect Practice Legal Technology Institute Study" (PP-LTI Study). Two findings from this study that stand out are: Most small firms are not using document management systems (only 52% of all lawyers report using DMS and of those, 80% work in large law firms).Half of all small firms report that they do not use practice management systems.The reasons given for not adopting these technologies include:"if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - what they have is working fine...

Continue reading Study On Tech Adaption In Small Firms Suggests LPM in SmallLaw is a Long Way Off.

Law Firm PM Watch: Duane Morris on How LPM is Key to AFA

By Paul C. Easton on April 22, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

"Having more lawyers who are better at managing projects to a budget is the only way [alternative fee] arrangements will gain traction." In the second of an occasional series in on how law firms are implementing process/project management techniques, Gina Passarella of The Legal Intelligencer speaks to Daniel J. Sheeran, chief financial officer Duane Morris LLP about how the firm uses project management to take advantage of the increasing popularity of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs).[1] I've written before about the importance of project management to AFAs [2] and I've discussed Duane Morris's use of litsupport-specific project management applications.[3] This article...

Continue reading Law Firm PM Watch: Duane Morris on How LPM is Key to AFA.

Kroll Ontrack Prefers Its E-discovery Project Managers to be PMP Certified and Requires They Have a Business Degree

By Paul C. Easton on April 21, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 3 TrackBacks

Craig Blakeley, an e-discovery project manager at Kroll Ontrack provides Kroll's job requirements for Litigation Support Project Managers and Case Consultants in a discussion thread on the e-LEGAL group on LinkedIn. They are: Bachelors degree in Business or related field required Required - 3 + years in a law firm environment providing litigation support specialist Preferred - 3 + years of project management experience with external clients in a service delivery environment is required PMP certification desired but not required IT systems and document management technology experience and/or understanding of litigation support and document review process are highly desired Excellent communication skills are a must...

Continue reading Kroll Ontrack Prefers Its E-discovery Project Managers to be PMP Certified and Requires They Have a Business Degree.

ACC Law Department Management Committee Presents CLE Web Cast on Legal Project Management

By Paul C. Easton on April 21, 2010 3:58 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

On May 13th, the Association of Corporate Counsel's Law Department Management Committee will present a one-hour CLE program, sponsored by the Huron Consulting Group, that will discuss project management within the legal profession. Title: Applying Project Management to Legal MattersFormat: Web cast.Cost: Free if no CLE requested.CLE Credit: $35 for ACC member; $75 for non-members.Organizations: Association of Corporate Counsel's Law Department Management Committee; Huron Consulting GroupInstructors: Nancy Jessen, Managing Director, Huron Consulting GroupElizabeth A. Jaworski, Director, Law Department Business Operations, MotorolaDate: Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 2:00 PM United States Eastern TimeDescription: With the growing expectation and usage of fixed fee and alternative fee engagements,...

Continue reading ACC Law Department Management Committee Presents CLE Web Cast on Legal Project Management.

Magic for Muggles: Embedding Analytical Power Into Everyday (Legal) Work

By Paul C. Easton on April 21, 2010 10:25 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Smart Planet published an interview[1] with Jeanne Harris this past Monday discussing her new book, Analytics at Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results, [2] which she co-authored with Tom Davenport. The book follows their Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning.[3] Analytics at Work is intended for a broader audience than Competing on Analytics and should be palatable to lawyers who want to improve their analytical capability.In the interview, Ms Harris expresses her skepticism about the value of real-time data and discusses the importance of bringing the power of information technology to bear on business decisions. About the current push for real-time data, Ms Harris says: [T]he emphasis on...

Continue reading Magic for Muggles: Embedding Analytical Power Into Everyday (Legal) Work.

Keep Your Tomatoes Out of My Weekly Review

By Paul C. Easton on April 19, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

I'm really starting to like Larry Port and his Rocket Matter Blog. I never met Mr. Port, but few company blogs, much less software blogs, keep my interest. Generally, I relegate them to a "software updates" folder in Google Reader, which I glance over in header-only view now and then. But I've noted that, more often then not, I'm opening and reading the Rocket Matter Blog, even though I am not a user of the product. So, today I've added it to my blogroll (a career highlight for Mr. Port, I'm sure).The Rocket Matter Blog is an eclectic mix of software updates, productivity...

Continue reading Keep Your Tomatoes Out of My Weekly Review.

Law Firm PM Watch: McCarthy Tétrault Launches Home-baked Project Management System

By Paul C. Easton on April 18, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

Jim Middlemiss reports in the National Post [1] that the law firm of McCarthy Tétrault has launching its own home-baked project management system. 18-months in development, the system is intended to help the firm's lawyers "with planning and estimating legal projects."The Microsoft Excel-based system builds "on information in the firm's knowledge-management centre, which includes precedents and checklists lawyers use when carrying out legal tasks" and consists of two parts: One allows lawyers to create a customized work-plan template. Lawyers use that to agree with clients on how they will proceed on a matter.... The second is a staffing tool, a database of the...

Continue reading Law Firm PM Watch: McCarthy Tétrault Launches Home-baked Project Management System.

Law Firm PM Watch: Seyfarth Shaw--Six Minutes on Six Sigma

By Paul C. Easton on April 18, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

Not sure how this one slipped past me. At the beginning of this month, American Lawyer posted a six-minute interview with J. Stephen Poor, Managing Partner of Seyfarth Shaw on how Six Sigma is working out for the firm.[1] There's not much we haven't heard before about Seyfarth Lean in this video, but one interesting nugget is that Seyfarth Shaw is rolling out a client feedback mechanism modeled off of the ACC Value Challenge that is tied to Seyfarth Lean, which will go out to all the firm's clients. Bill Henderson provides more detailed notes on the video on a post to his Legal Profession...

Continue reading Law Firm PM Watch: Seyfarth Shaw--Six Minutes on Six Sigma.

IT-Legal Liaison, A Legal Project Manager By Another Name?

By Paul C. Easton on April 17, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

I recently read an interesting post by Barry Rozen on his Litscovery Blog about the emerging role of IT-legal Liason and its importance in effectively managing electronic discovery.[1]In essence, the purpose of such a position is to have a "middle person" between the IT and Legal departments who has a fine mix of legal experience and IT savviness to process eDiscovery and similar requests. He goes on to discuss the dangers of housing this role in the IT or legal departments, arguing that if the IT-legal liaison falls under IT or legal, he or she will come under pressure to further...

Continue reading IT-Legal Liaison, A Legal Project Manager By Another Name?.

Mark Gerow Shares His First Impression of SharePoint 2010 on Legal Technology News

By Paul C. Easton on April 17, 2010 12:17 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Mark Gerow, Director of Application Development and Business Process at Fenwick & West, shares his first impressions of SharePoint 2010 in Law Technology News today (though the article is pre-dated for the 19th). [1] Of the "hundreds, if not thousands, of significant changes," he highlights the following new features as among the key benefits for law firms: large document library support, records management, flexible content storage, improved search, a more user-friendly workflow, improved page editing and wikis, read-write access to external databases, andoffline access via SharePoint Workspace (formerly Groove).Click here to jump to the article on Law.com. [1] Mark Gerow, First Impressions: SharePoint 2010 for Law Firms, Law Technology...

Continue reading Mark Gerow Shares His First Impression of SharePoint 2010 on Legal Technology News.

Lexician Answers Questions About Legal Project and Process Tools

By Paul C. Easton on April 16, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Steven Levy discusses tools for process mapping and Gantt charts in today's post to his Lexician blog.[1] As a once-ardent user of the Hipster PDA (between jobs, when I was blissfully free from a smartphone), I particularly like his suggested old-school process-mapping tool: I think the best tool, if you have the wall space, is 3×5 notecards, thumbtacks, colored yarn, and a very large corkboard -- and then take digital pictures of it regularly as a backup! I've used this method effectively myself. I bought a bunch of one-foot-square tiles and glued them to the wall outside my office when I...

Continue reading Lexician Answers Questions About Legal Project and Process Tools.

No Need to Monitor Legal Projects?

By Paul C. Easton on April 16, 2010 10:47 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

UPDATE: When I first posted this, I failed to link to the original site. Very bad form on my part. Sorry. You may find the original content, from which I quoted, here: http://www.projectmanagementquestions.com/ Google Alerts found the following head scratcher from a site called Project Management Questions. A question posted yesterday asks: I'm hearing a lot about legal project management lately, and I just don't know what's the difference between legal project management and traditional project management (I'm a project manager). Appreciate your help in explaining the difference! The answer begins with the following: Traditional Project Management and Legal Project...

Continue reading No Need to Monitor Legal Projects?.

Project Management a Market Differentiator for Legal Services

By Paul C. Easton on April 16, 2010 10:10 AM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

It seems that one of my recent posts has caused some of Toby Brown's suppressed memories related to mental abuse suffered while studying economics to resurface. I feel awful and will consider including a prominently displayed warning on my blog. But out of this painful experience has come another source of hope for all the careers of all legal project managers. In a recent post to the Three Geeks and a Law Blog, he discusses the concepts of "market requirements" and "market differentiators" and concludes that, currently, project management skills and experience are an important differentiator for lawyers.[1] [1] Toby...

Continue reading Project Management a Market Differentiator for Legal Services.

E-discovery Certifications a "Must" for Legal Professionals?

By Paul C. Easton on April 16, 2010 8:04 AM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

Just after I noted that high-paying e-discovery project management jobs are not requiring law licenses, project management or other certifications, or even college degrees, I come across a post by David Kaufer on Teris's Sophisticated Litigation Support blog that claims that e-discovery certification is a must for legal professionals.[1] This is an overstatement, to put it kindly.Mr. Kaufer argues that obtaining an e-discovery certification is important for "legal professionals" for the following reasons:"It ... takes an e-discovery professional, versed in the various nuances of federal requirements for submission of electronic documents, to ensure successful document submission."The need and demand for e-discovery professionals is...

Continue reading E-discovery Certifications a "Must" for Legal Professionals?.

Cowen Group: It's a Hot Job Market for E-discovery Project Management

By Paul C. Easton on April 16, 2010 4:27 AM | Comments | 3 TrackBacks

It look's like one of The Posse List's predictions for 2010 is proving is coming true: e-discovery project management is becoming a serious career choice. According a survey by The Cowen Group, a litigation-support staffing agency, the e-discovery job market is heating up.[1] E-discovery project managers are in particular demand: The Project Manager will gain greater prominence in the industry due to the increasing size of datasets and heightened concern around controlling cost, limiting risks, and guaranteeing outcomes.Managers of legal technology departments from 160 organizations (78 law firms, 47 corporate legal departments, and 35 vendors) responded to The Cowen Group's survey....

Continue reading Cowen Group: It's a Hot Job Market for E-discovery Project Management.

Project Management Experience Can Help You Get Into Law School

By Paul C. Easton on April 15, 2010 8:14 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

I've been going over the recently leaked and just recently released U.S. News & World Report Law School Rankings and enjoying the annual brouhaha over their validity and the negative effect they supposedly have on U.S. legal education. It was the last place I expected to find something related to legal project management, but then I came across this interesting tidbit in an article on how to get into Northwestern University: [W]e almost exclusively try to enroll students who have some post-undergraduate full-time work experience --ideally at least two to three years of it.... There are many reasons that we like to see prior...

Continue reading Project Management Experience Can Help You Get Into Law School.

Jim Hassett Discusses Perfectionism as Scope Creep

By Paul C. Easton on April 15, 2010 6:42 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Jim Hassett has posted the fourth installment of his five-party series on legal project management today at his Legal Business Development blog.[1] In it he discusses the importance of trade-offs and why perfectionism is often just an excuse for scope creep and billing the client more--and a common cause of client dissatisfaction. [1] Jim Hassett, What every lawyer needs to know about project management, Part 4 of 5, Legal Business Development, Apr. 14, 2010, http://adverselling.typepad.com/how_law_firms_sell/2010/04/what-every-lawyer-needs-to-know-about-project-management-part-4-of-5.html....

Continue reading Jim Hassett Discusses Perfectionism as Scope Creep .

Rocket Tomato: RocketMatter Blog Posts Part II in its "Legal Pomodoro Series"

By Paul C. Easton on April 15, 2010 4:15 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Larry Port posted the second installment in a series on the "Pomodoro Technique" at the Rocket Matter Blog today.[1] Simply put, the Pomodoro Technique is the practice of using a kitchen timer to force yourself to focus on one task for 25 minutes, without allowing any interruptions. The technique's name is derived from the Italian word for "tomato." Francesco Cirillo, the creator of the technique used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato to help him stay on task while he was a student in Rome and designed a productivity method around the use of a timer.[2] I'm not sure that...

Continue reading Rocket Tomato: RocketMatter Blog Posts Part II in its "Legal Pomodoro Series".

When Working With Virtual Teams, Select Members Wisely to Avoid Managerial Work Load

By Paul C. Easton on April 14, 2010 5:44 AM | Comment | No TrackBacks

In a recent post to his Law Department Management blog, Rees Morrison shares an observation made by an unnamed speaker at a recent Ark Conference that choreographing the work of several firms and vendors, rather than hiring one firm to handle everything, need not lead to "managerial overload." [T]he constraint is not so much the managerial ability of the inside lawyer nor the number of firms or providers managed but the characteristics of the entities. Good ones collaborate well, understand and accept their roles, and minimize managerial demands. The extra burden that you might expect may barely happen.I read this as a recommendation to...

Continue reading When Working With Virtual Teams, Select Members Wisely to Avoid Managerial Work Load.

Lexician on the Only Business Metric That Really Matters

By Paul C. Easton on April 14, 2010 4:42 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Steven Levy challenges the conventional wisdom represented by a couple of project-management cliches related to metrics:You Can't Manage What You Can't MeasureYou Get What You MeasureThe first he dismisses as "doubly bogus" and the second he claims is "honored more in the breach than the observance." Finally, he give what he believes is the "only metric that really matters," which is re/purchase intent. Check out his post for his reasoning and another dose of uncommon sense from the Lexician....

Continue reading Lexician on the Only Business Metric That Really Matters.

Red Bridge Strategy Includes Legal Project Management in its "Expanded Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp"

By Paul C. Easton on April 13, 2010 7:09 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Red Bridge Strategy, an LPO consultancy, will include Legal Project Management as one of the topics covered at its 2010 Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp, which will take place in Mumbai and New Delhi, India, May 18-20.[1] I couldn't find any information on whether Legal Project Management will be covered as an independent session and, if it will, who'll be discussing it, but the presenters are drawn from a number of the big LPO players. [1] Matthew Sullivan, Expanded Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp, Global Legal, Apr. 12, 2010, http://globallegal.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/expanded-global-legal-process-management-boot-camp/....

Continue reading Red Bridge Strategy Includes Legal Project Management in its "Expanded Global Legal Process Management Boot Camp".

Legal Project Management, Let It Shine, Let It Shine, Let It Shine

By Paul C. Easton on April 13, 2010 6:13 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Oh! The HERESY! In response to a recent post on this blog, Steven Levy suggests that Legal Project Management is not a panacea.[1] Dr. Feel-not-so-good Mr. Levy claims you can't just swallow the LPM pill and find that all your practice-management and client relations headaches have gone away. As reactions to LPM move from "what?" and "it doesn't apply to us lawyers" to wider acceptance by the legal community as a necessary part of the solution to the legal industry's ills, we LPM promoters must prepare ourselves for lawyers whose attitude towards LPM are like my attitudes towards physical fitness. I see...

Continue reading Legal Project Management, Let It Shine, Let It Shine, Let It Shine.

If Not Basecamp, Then a Legal Pad

By Paul C. Easton on April 11, 2010 5:17 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Lawyer-turned-social-media-consultant Jim Turner discusses how professionals should use project management tools to manage their social-media projects.[1] He particularly likes Basecamp, by 37 Signals. If you aren't ready to implement a project management tool just to manage your on-line social networks, blogging, and tweeting, then Mr. Turner recommends an old-school lawyer's tip: If you don't have a project management tool, my advice is to start small with a list on a legal pad. Years of working in the legal field taught me to always keep a pad next to me so I can track conversations, make notes, jot down ideas, and...

Continue reading If Not Basecamp, Then a Legal Pad.

If an AD AGENCY Can Do It, So Can Law Firms

By Paul C. Easton on April 11, 2010 4:43 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

I missed this little gem of a post by Patrick Lamb on his In Search of Perfect Client Service blog.[1] Mr. Lamb discusses how an ad agency (Partners & Napier) was forced to analyze and document its processes, and find ways to improve efficiency, as part of achieving ISO 9000 certification, all because a client (Kodak) pushed them to change their sloppy ways. He concludes: Think about this. An advertising firm can systematize its processes, eliminate the slop factor and operate efficiently while still being creative. If they can do it, shouldn't we lawyers be able to do the same? Now...

Continue reading If an AD AGENCY Can Do It, So Can Law Firms.

Project Management the Panacea for Troubled Law Firms?

By Paul C. Easton on April 10, 2010 7:45 PM | Comment | 1 TrackBack

According to Jordan Furlong in a recent post to his Law21 blog, project management is the closest thing there is to a panacea "[f]or a profession suffering from aggravated clients, shrinking revenues, competitive inertia, archaic business practices and system waste."[1] "If it could cure cancer and direct an Oscar-winning movie, it could hardly be a more attractive proposition," he gushes. Rarely has someone made me feel less geeky for running this blog. Ah, but then comes the kick in the teeth: "[Y]et, with few ... exceptions, there's not much enthusiasm for [project management] among lawyers and law firms--there's an odd reluctance to...

Continue reading Project Management the Panacea for Troubled Law Firms?.

Hildebrandt to Offer Project & Process-Improvement Program in New York

By Paul C. Easton on April 10, 2010 4:31 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, a professional services firm management consultancy, is offering a three-day program on legal project management and process improvement, starting on June 9th at the Downtown Conference Center at Pace University, New York, NY. CLE is not provided, but participants will receive "white belt" certification in law firm process improvement from the Legal Sales and Service Organization.Title: PROJECT MANAGEMENT & PROCESS IMPROVEMENT TRAINING: WORK PROCESS REDESIGN IN LAW FIRMSFormat: live.Cost: 3-Day Tuition: $3295 ($2995 if you register by May 10, 2010)2-Day Tuition: $2295 ($1995 if you register by May 10, 2010)Organizations: Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, Legal Sales and Service Organization,...

Continue reading Hildebrandt to Offer Project & Process-Improvement Program in New York.

Is Project Management Industry Specific?

By Paul C. Easton on April 9, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

I ripped that title off from Josh Nankivel's recent post to his PM Student blog.[1] in which he responds to a reader who asks whether project management is industry specific." I've written on this topic before (see here and here),[2] so I was interested to read the opinion of someone outside of the legal field. Josh responds that "[p]roject management CAN be very industry-specific, but most of the time it's not" (emphasis in the original). Josh shares his own project management career trajectory through PC tech support, financial services, and aerospace and concludes that "[w]hile it's true that you should have a foundation in a technology...

Continue reading Is Project Management Industry Specific?.

Many Companies Only Seriously Considering PMP-certified Project Managers

By Paul C. Easton on April 8, 2010 10:00 PM | Comments | 2 TrackBacks

An article in the Wall Street Journal last week notes that "[m]any companies ... are encouraging employees to sit for certification exams--and some are flat-out requiring the effort." [1] The article devotes most of its attention to the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate. It quotes managers at IBM and NASA who require their project managers to be PMI certified. The opposite is true with legal project management. In law firms and legal support vendors, PMP certification is a rare exception. Moreover, among many LPM promoters, trainers, and consultants, the PMP certification is more often than not seen as useless, or...

Continue reading Many Companies Only Seriously Considering PMP-certified Project Managers.

Gregory Balestrero, President & CEO of PMI, Announces Plans to Retire

By Paul C. Easton on April 8, 2010 2:43 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Gregory Balestrero, the President and CEO of the Project Management Institute has announced plans to retire so he can spend more time with his family. An e-mail announcement was sent out to all PMI volunteers yesterday, but it was filtered to my "to read" folder (newsletters don't go to my inbox), so I first learn about this from Rita Mulcahy (@Rita_Mulcahy) via Twitter.A couldn't find any announcements on the PMI Web site or anywhere else, so for those who are interested, here is a copy of the e-mail announcement: Dear PMI Volunteer Leader:It's been my honor and privilege to serve...

Continue reading Gregory Balestrero, President & CEO of PMI, Announces Plans to Retire.

Hootsuite for Project Team Collaboration

By Paul C. Easton on April 7, 2010 8:53 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

As anyone who follows me on Twitter (@paulceaston) knows, I'm a big fan of Hootsuite (@hootsuite), a Web application for managing your status updates. I use it to read and manage my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn feeds, but I've never thought of it as a tool for collaborating among project team members. So I was surprised to find in my inbox an e-mail from Hootsuite asking me if I "need better methods for coordinating with project teams?" It goes on to invite me to: [j]oin us for a Webinar to explore HootSuite's team workflow tools and learn tactics for power tuning your...

Continue reading Hootsuite for Project Team Collaboration.

LPM Responsibilities Being Allocated Downwards to Whom?

By Paul C. Easton on April 7, 2010 7:51 PM | Comments | No TrackBacks

Rees Morrison reports in his Law Department Management blog on a study that finds law firms have steadily allocated responsibilities lower.[1] This prompts Mr. Morrison to point out that "if the pattern has been for law firms to move work down the experience and cost ladder, it makes the increases in external legal costs over those years even more startling."It prompts me to question who is being allocated legal project management (LPM) responsibilities? It is no secret that the attorneys-(who-are-supposed-to-be-)in-charge tend to shuck off LPM duties, especially e-discovery management, to junior associates. Last summer the Sedona Conference called the legal community...

Continue reading LPM Responsibilities Being Allocated Downwards to Whom?.

Gleanings from the LPM Blogosphere (A/K/A Regurgitating a Couple Months of Content from People Smarter than Me)

By Paul C. Easton on April 7, 2010 5:27 AM | Comments | No TrackBacks

There have been a lot of good posts on legal project management (LPM) in the Blogosphere over the past couple of months that I've starred, tagged, taken notes on, and then neglected because other things have taken my attention hostage. So, before my attention is recaptured, I'm taking this opportunity to dump into one post the various tidbits I've been saving to share with you. These are in no particular order, I'm just grabbing them from Evernote. I'm probably breaking whole lists of blogging best practices with this post, but you were warned in the title. Steven Levy weilds his B.S....

Continue reading Gleanings from the LPM Blogosphere (A/K/A Regurgitating a Couple Months of Content from People Smarter than Me).

Corcoran on Legal Project Management

By Paul C. Easton on April 6, 2010 9:00 PM | Comment | 1 TrackBack

While doing a little digging into Altman Weil Inc. after reading about their being hired by Dechert LLP to provide legal project management (LPM) training to all of the law firm's partners and associates, I discovered a new blog that those of you interested in LPM might want to add to your blog roll. Corcoran's Business of Law Blog is authored by Timothy B. Corcoran, a Senior Consultant with Altman Weil. Mr. Corcoran was a co-presenter of Altman Weil's recent LPM Webinar, and has recently written a couple of informative post introducing his take on LPM.In a post dated March...

Continue reading Corcoran on Legal Project Management.

Altman Weil Offers Legal Project Management Training on CD

By Paul C. Easton on April 6, 2010 12:16 AM | Comment | No TrackBacks

As part of my background snooping for my recent post on the Dechert LLP's firmwide project management initiative, I discovered that Altman Weil's Legal Project Management Webinar is available for purchase as a flash presentation on CD. I assume that this is the same, or similar to the, seminar that led Dechert to retaining Altman Weil to provide project management training to all Dechert partners and associates. At $295, it is pricey for a 90-minute program that doesn't provide any CLE credit, but it is one of the more timely and influential LPM courses out there.Title: Legal Project ManagementFormat: A...

Continue reading Altman Weil Offers Legal Project Management Training on CD.

Law Firm PM Watch: Dechert's Firmwide LPM Initiative

By Paul C. Easton on April 5, 2010 12:58 PM | Comments | 1 TrackBack

Another sign that Legal Project Management is coming of age (or at least coming out of the wilderness): Dechert LLP is has begun a firmwide initiative to train every partner and associate in legal project management (LPM), eschewing specific process-improvement methodologies such as Six Sigma in favor of teaching the "concepts of project management and the tools to implement [them]." Gina Passarella writes about Dechert's LPM initiative in a recent article published in The Legal Intelligencer. It is the first in a series by that publication "examining how individual firms implement project/process management techniques to make lawyers more efficient."[1].Dechert has retained Pamela H....

Continue reading Law Firm PM Watch: Dechert's Firmwide LPM Initiative.

April 2010 Archives

Pages

Categories

Monthly Archives

Twitter Updates

Search

About this Archive