Project Management: A Lawyer's Second Hat

Clients expect lawyers and legal advisors to provide more than legal solutions. They want this paired with a concrete and sound business plan, and a clear-cut position where lawyers share the risks.

To simply offer legal advice, propose a solution and then leave clients alone to face the consequences is no longer relevant. We are definitely witnessing the dawn of a new era in our profession. Clients are asking their lawyers to behave as real partners in business—to not only share the risks, but to help design and implement effective processes and programs that solve the issue or prevent it from occurring. Corporate clients expect quality law firms to provide high quality legal advice, and also to deliver quality service. This entails lawyers taking on a role as a member of the client’s team and not remaining aloof from it. It also means sharing knowledge and expertise to achieve a common goal: the successful execution of the business plan—from its development to implementation. And it means wearing two hats— that of the lawyer, and that of the project manager.

Many factors are disrupting our old paradigm: cost-reduction pressures, work internalization, unbundling of services and the increasing and diverse number of market players are but a few. If we want to remain ahead of the field, and to provide clients with direction, continuity and coordination, we must make legal project management part of our expertise. This means adopting more effective planning, budgeting, cost control, communication, and appropriate staff and risk management throughout the case or project. Lawyers need to reframe their thinking—away from exhaustively scoping the project towards improving awareness of timing, budgeting and staffing aspects.

This new focus represents a major strategy shift, away from a preoccupation with chargeable time towards the value to be delivered to the client. This value­orientation is the core principle of project management.

7