Fee Earner Training

Project / Matter Management

What are the benefits of managing projects or matters?

The great thing about not preparing is that failure always comes as a complete surprise. Need we say more.

A project can be defined as a piece of work which involves a number of people, interdependencies between those people, or if it is going to take more than a day or two to complete.

Recognising that a piece of work is a project is crucial because then we are more likely to plan. The most common reason we come across for projects to falter or fail is the lack of planning. And this means complete planning.

Project Management Process

We have developed an ITD project management preparation tool kit. This is a template which can be used at the start of a project to ensure all eventualities are prepared for.

It covers:

1. People involved in the project team
2. People not involved but impacted
3. Budgets
4. Time scales
5. Assessment of other people's motivation and commitment
6. Project plan
7. Contingencies

Project Management Skills

There are typically a range of communication skills involved in managing successful projects:

• Assessing the personality and work style of colleagues
• Adapting to the work style requirements of others
• Explaining complex issues
• Avoiding confusing words
• Influencing seniors
• Managing expectations
• Assessing realistic time frames with key stakeholders
• Communicating with those speaking English as a 2nd or 3rd language

CASE STUDY

A law firm contacted us to help with project management in the firm. Whilst the clients were delighted with the work the firm was delivering, there was a recognition that internally things could have been organised more efficiently.

The first step was to investigate how large pieces of work were perceived in the firm, what was the attitude to project management?

The most important observation we made was that whilst there was a degree of planning for major pieces of work it wasn't recognised as a crucial step. There wasn't a complete recognition that proper planning could critically impact the success and efficiency of the matter.

We worked with those in the firm who were seen as the best at managing complex matters to learn what they had in place so as not to negate what they had achieved. We then added to this with ideas on processes and behaviours.

The result involved a number of steps including a half day workshop to cover how to plan successfully for projects. This was rolled out to both lawyers and business services to ensure a consistent approach. This was important as it meant the firm recognised that successful work comes as a result of fee earners and business services working together.

The firm changed its approach to large pieces of work and has improved its efficiency and profitability as a result.

For an initial discussion on leadership at your firm please email us at info@itd.com or call 0870 777 673