The Role of Legal Administrators in Legal Project Management – Unprecedented Opportunities & Current Challenges (CM)

In most law firms, lawyers - and legal administrators - know how to manage a case. Few, though, know how to manage a project. But clients are demanding that firms more efficiently allocate resources and provide a clearer time estimate for their work - in short, proactively "manage" their projects ("cases"). To respond to these demands, Legal Project Management (LPM) is becoming an essential tool in today’s economically challenging legal landscape - a tool that can, among other things, help you estimate how long different tasks should take based on historical benchmarks and then calculate a combined time estimate for the entire case. There are valuable real world lessons emerging as law firms grapple with how to implement their firms’ LPM initiatives smoothly, effectively and within budget.

Learning objectives:

• Discuss LPM basics and how legal administrators can play a critical role in developing, implementing and sustaining LPM in law firms
• Describe why clients need and want lawyers who can deliver excellent legal services predictably, efficiently and cost effectively
• Discuss how LPM addresses the needs of clients and drives profitability for firms
• Identify ways in which legal administrators can play key roles in implementing LPM in their firms
• Determine what resources and tools are needed and which best support LPM
  

Pamela H. Woldow, Esq., General Counsel of Edge International, provides advice to law firms and Chief Legal Officers worldwide on effective management of legal matters. She has particular expertise on alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), RFPs, legal project management and other cost management techniques and initiatives.  A Certified Master Coach, Woldow is a prolific blogger, speaker and author of articles on trends in the legal marketplace.

CLM^SM Credit for live program only: 1 hour of credit in the category of Self-Management Skills for those seeking to fulfill the CLM application and 1 hour in the subject area of Communication & Organization Management (CM) for CLM Recertification.

The Role of Legal Administrators in Legal Project Management – Unrecedented Opportunities & Current Challenges (LI)

Individual topic purchase: Selected