Law Department Management Track Wednesday, 9:00–10:30am Exposing Legal Project Management Myths: The Truth Behind What Works and What Doesn’t Law Department Management Track Wednesday, 9:00–10:30am Hosted by

Introductions Rick Kathuria Pratik Patel Doug Luftman Chris Fowler

Getting To Know You ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Ever Seen This? Creative Commons License by www.projectcartoon.com What the client explained What the project leader understood What the analyst designed What the programmer coded What the beta testers received What the consultant defined How the project was documented What actually was installed What was billed How it was maintained What marketing advertised What the client actually needed Creative Commons License by www.projectcartoon.com

Breaking Down Project Management What is a Project? It’s a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique product, service or result. Projects are: Temporary – has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. Unique – not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes different people from different areas and across multiple geographies.

So Then… What is Project Management? It is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently.

So THEN… What is Legal Project Management? The application of the concepts of project management to the control and management of legal cases or matters. —Steven Levy, Author Legal Project Management: Control Costs, Meet Schedules, Manage Risks, and Maintain Sanity

Goals for the Session By the numbers – the impact of PM on your business Discuss/debate common myths around PM for Legal Share anecdotes of what worked and what hasn’t Participate, have fun and win prizes!

How do your legal projects fare against these figures? Did You Know That….? The average cost overrun of all projects is 27% Harvard Business Review One in six projects have a cost overrun of at least 200% Fewer than 1/3 of all projects finish on time and on budget Standish Group How do your legal projects fare against these figures?

Now Entering the Mythbusting Zone…

Fact or Myth? A PM spends most of his/her time documenting and updating project plans

90% Reality: Myth… In fact, the PM role is communication Gathering status updates from project stakeholders Facilitating project meetings and discussions Communicating meeting minutes and action items 90% communication Statistic from Wrike.com

Non-lawyers make for better legal project managers Fact or Myth? Non-lawyers make for better legal project managers

Reality: It Depends… NetApp uses Gowlings uses BT uses Lawyers for patent litigation matters/projects Non-lawyers for PM of internal projects and externally with Joint Defense Group Matters Gowlings uses Associate lawyers for PM of Litigation and Transactional matters BT uses Non lawyers for law department operational tasks and KM

Fact or Myth? LPM only works when everyone on the team is trained on project management

Gowlings’ Simple LPM Framework

Reality: Familiarity is good, but formal training not required. Even at corporate giants like IBM, only Among CIOs Of de facto project managers, 56% 67% 70% of PM specialists hold a certificate see PMI certification as valuable but not a necessity have no special training or certificate

Lawyers will not adopt LPM because it’s too complex and time consuming Fact or Myth? Lawyers will not adopt LPM because it’s too complex and time consuming

Short meeting minutes go a long way NetApp leverages Level2 to project manage JDG sessions with upwards of 20 participants Pre-meeting agendas Attendance trackers Key milestones Key upcoming activities Key decision items Key challenges

Gowlings’ Use of Easy Traffic Lights Plan: Use Simple Matter Plans Monitor: Use Traffic Lights

Right Mix of Change Management

Reality: If too complex, lawyers will not use it Reality: If too complex, lawyers will not use it. Also, if not backed by formal change measures, lawyers will not use it.

Fact or Myth? Most law departments have sophisticated ways to review and measure project performance.

What British Telecom Measures…

What NetApp Measures…

Reality: Sophistication is not important Reality: Sophistication is not important. Setting a series of simple baselines and measuring against those is the key. Where We Started Where We Are Now

Audience Mythbusting

Key Takeaways Project Management is a part of everything we do. PM for legal goes beyond just matter management. Both lawyers and non-lawyers make good PMs. Don’t wait for certifications – just start. You will need the right mix of change techniques to make PM a success. Data matters; Set a baseline and then measure to achieve better results.

Feel Free to Contact Us Rick Kathuria Pratik Patel Doug Luftman Chris Fowler