The Legal Process Improvement Toolkit Chris BuLL Published by In association with
The Legal Process Improvement Toolkit is published by Ark Group UK/EUROPE OFFICE Ark Conferences Ltd Paulton House 8 Shepherdess Walk London N1 7LB United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)207 549 2500 Fax +44 (0)20 7324 2373 publishing@ark-group.com NORTH AMERICA OFFICE Ark Group Inc 4408 N. Rockwood Drive Suite 150 Peoria IL 61614 United States Tel +1 309 495 2853 Fax +1 309 495 2858 publishingna@ark-group.com ASIA/PACIFIC OFFICE Ark Group Australia Pty Ltd Main Level 83 Walker Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia Tel +61 1300 550 662 Fax +61 1300 550 663 aga@arkgroupasia.com Online bookshop www.ark-group.com/bookshop Editor Evie Serventi eserventi@ark-group.com Head of content Anna Shaw ashaw@ark-group.com UK/Europe marketing enquiries Robyn Macé rmace@ark-group.com US marketing enquiries Daniel Smallwood dsmallwood@ark-group.com Asia/Pacific marketing enquiries Steve Oesterreich aga@arkgroupasia.com ISBN: 978-1-908640-29-1 (hard copy) 978-1-908640-30-7 (PDF) Copyright The copyright of all material appearing within this publication is reserved by the author and Ark Conferences 2012. It may not be reproduced, duplicated or copied by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher. ARK1320
The Legal Process Improvement Toolkit Chris BuLL Published by In association with
Contents Dedication...VII Executive summary...ix About the author...xi Acknowledgements...XIII Part One: The evolution of legal process improvement Chapter 1: Before the tipping point... 3 The definition of process in the legal sense... 3 How process improvement fits into the changing legal sector... 3 The impact of technology... 4 The impact of changes in legal services... 5 A legal process tipping point... 6 LPI pre-history... 7 Prophets and lone voices... 8 Dramatic sector changes spur process improvement... 9 Chapter 2: Law firm clients drive change... 11 Liberating the who, what and where of legal work... 11 AFAs challenge hourly billing... 12 Process-centred LPO matures as a viable offering... 14 Chapter 3: Technology finally shifts working practices... 19 Law firms implement case management and workflow technology... 19 The electronic matter file replaces paper... 21 The benefits of digital business... 22 Electronic legal processes... 22 Improving people, not just processes... 24 Chapter 4: Collective process improvement transforms three legal markets... 25 E-discovery transforms large-scale civil litigation process Twice... 25 The emergence of the electronic discovery reference model... 26 Useful tools to reduce e-discovery costs... 26 The real estate boom dictates bigger, faster completions... 27 III
Contents Firms face increasing pressure... 28 Government enforced process improvement The UK road traffic accident portal opens... 29 Chapter 5: The internet disrupts the legal market... 31 Precedents and templates become dynamic and interactive... 31 Innovative legal document automation... 31 Useful document automation tools... 32 The evolution of online legal services... 33 Legal work moves online... 34 The need to be client-centric... 34 The influence of external investment... 35 Chapter 6: 2012 and beyond Process experts acquire law firms... 37 The impact of new business models on process improvement... 37 Increased pressure from regulatory changes... 38 Influx of process improvement techniques... 39 Part Two: The legal process improvement toolkit Introduction: Applying LPI in your organisation... 43 Tool 1: Building a simple process map of your organisation... 45 Use a process reference model... 45 The electronic discovery reference model... 45 Tool 2: Identify business-critical processes... 47 A structured approach to identifying legal business processes... 47 Value disciplines... 48 Tool 3: Assess process maturity... 51 Purpose of maturity models... 51 How to use the maturity model... 51 Outcomes and action... 51 Tool 4: Planning a process maturity action programme... 55 Level 0 Person dependent... 55 Level 1 Initial... 56 Level 2 Repeatable... 57 Level 3 Defined... 57 Level 4 Managed... 58 Level 5 Optimising... 58 Tool 5: Organising process improvement initiatives... 61 Process improvement projects... 61 Create a balanced project team... 62 IV
The Legal Process Improvement Toolkit Kaizen projects... 62 Business process re-engineering programmes... 63 BPM... 63 Tool 6: Six Sigma DMAIC... 65 The methodology... 65 DMAIC Define, measure, analyse, improve, control... 65 Tool 7: Process documentation and mapping... 69 The value of map building skills... 69 SIPOC Suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers... 70 Swim-lane flowchart... 70 Tool 8: Cause and effect analysis... 73 Five whys... 73 Fishbone diagrams... 73 Testing potential causes... 74 Scatter diagrams... 74 Tool 9: Lean... 77 Adapting Lean concepts to client demands... 78 Process lead (or cycle) time... 78 Non-value-add analysis... 78 VSMs... 79 Tool 10: 5S... 81 Process principles of 5S... 81 Implementing 5S... 82 Tool 11: Voice of the client... 85 Understanding the VOC... 85 Using VOC data... 86 Tool 12: LPM process improvement phase... 87 Beyond LPM How LPM plus LPI can unleash transformative potential... 87 Building the individual bridges from LPM to LPI... 89 Part Three: Case studies Case study 1: Novus Law LLC Bringing world class process excellence to big ticket litigation...93 Author s analysis... 93 The challenge... 93 Efficiency through Lean principles... 94 Quality through Six Sigma management... 95 V
Contents Collaboration through disruptive technology... 96 The final analysis... 97 Case study 2: Seyfarth Shaw LLP Lean in action... 99 Author s analysis... 99 The challenge... 99 SeyfarthLean... 100 Process mapping... 101 Technology tools... 101 SeyfarthLean Consulting... 103 Case study 3: Integreon Managed Services Tripartite process innovation in action... 105 Author s analysis... 105 The challenge... 105 The reasons for change... 106 Case study 4: Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and Thames Water Designing Managed Legal Service... 109 Author s analysis... 109 The challenge... 109 A true law firm/client partnership... 110 Building a system around the four tiers of efficiency... 110 Building buy-in to MLS... 111 Legal market thought leaders... 112 Outputs and learnings... 113 Case study 5: Epiq Systems Ltd Reinventing the where of e-discovery... 115 Author s analysis... 115 The challenge... 115 Developing a mobile solution... 116 Results and learnings... 117 Conclusion... 117 Case study 6: Linklaters LLP and Metastorm BPM Automating the paper job bag... 119 Author s analysis... 119 The challenge... 119 Deciding to use process automation... 120 Creating TRACS... 120 Results and learnings... 121 Index... 123 VI
Dedication This report is dedicated to Naomi and Alex, despite the fact they have already declared they have no interest in reading it! VII
Executive summary The term business process continues to be viewed with distaste by lawyers. It does not fit with the worldview that practising law is essentially an intellectual and perhaps individual activity. Yet some form of consistent process must exist behind the scenes, underpinning the legal work being done. Without it, law firms would never have been able to sustain growth or profits. I would go further to say that the law is a classic process business, characterised by: A clear chronology to every case, structured by numerous milestone and filing dates; Multiple regulations, legislative requirements and rules which set boundaries for legal work; A reliance on (typically paper-based) forms; Many of these forms, processes and rules are shared by lawyers throughout different organisations; and An intolerance of administration and non-value-adding work on behalf of the lawyers, who do most of the work. Despite these process-based characteristics underlying all legal work, until recently most lawyers have been able to work without those processes being defined, documented and optimised. Part One of this report explains how the factors that have traditionally discouraged a process-centric view of legal work are now being challenged. Over the last decade or so, a series of events have occurred in different corners of the legal sector, which have brought process thinking and process improvement to the fore. Although many of these events were responses to similar stimuli, they were not generally seen as related and a huge increase in the power of process thinking in the law has been missed as a result. Throughout Part One and in many of the case studies, this report endeavours to identify the ways in which technology can support and accelerate the improvement of legal processes. Part Two of the report provides a starter toolkit for any reader looking to tackle legal process improvement (LPI) in their firm for the first time it is not a detailed manual, but rather is targeted at those who seek quick access to simple tools. The toolkit discusses the primary methodologies that have been used to deliver process improvement in the law, as well as across the broader business world. I use the concept of process maturity models (see Tool 3) regularly in my consulting work. Each tool has been described in context, and has been applied and customised to legal services. Organisations in other sectors will typically tend to rate themselves as performing at somewhere between maturity levels two and three (where five is the most mature). With LPI in its infancy, there is no doubt that the legal sector as a whole is only just achieving level one. There is a long way to IX
Executive summary go and the concepts included in this report will be refined and developed over the next few years. The final section of Part Two focuses on how LPI operates as a fundamental component of a successful legal project management (LPM) programme. A variety of case studies in Part Three examine the underlying reasons for the initiatives, as well as their impact and outputs. The case studies provide insight and practical guidance on how to scope and begin your own LPI process. Some fascinating reflections on the softer side of transforming legal work processes are included, such as communicating the need for change and winning the hearts of minds of partners, staff, clients and stakeholders. Case study contributors have earned their knowledge through some groundbreaking work, and I am extremely grateful for the frank and valuable real world experience they have added to the report. Underpinning many of the initiatives showcased in the case studies, is smart use of available technology. This report is not a treatise on legal IT, nor do I believe that LPI is essentially an IT initiative. However, there is little doubt that, as Professor Richard Susskind wrote in The End of Lawyers?: 1 A number of disruptive legal technologies are emerging (such as document assembly, closed communities, legal open sourcing and embedded legal knowledge).which will directly challenge and sometimes even replace the traditional work of lawyers. This report not only examines how LPI is emerging as a serious and important aspect of the legal services world, it goes further and suggests that operating legal process effectively will become one of the fundamentals in legal service management. Reference 1. Susskind, R., The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services, Oxford University Press, 1st edition, 20 November 2008. X
About the author Chris Bull is a consultant working with management teams across the legal services sector. As a partner at Edge International, a global firm providing strategic advice to the legal sector, Chris s work is focused on helping clients meet the challenges and realise opportunities arising from the rapid and dramatic changes in the legal market. This includes advising on process improvement, new business models and structures, financial performance, shared services and outsourcing. Chris has worked in the legal sector since 1996 and was one of the leadership team responsible for the dramatic growth of UK law firm Osborne Clarke over the subsequent decade. His appointment as chief executive with the firm in 2000 was in the first wave of top level executive positions in large law firms being filled by non-lawyers. He joined managed services business Integreon in 2009, was responsible for building their operations in Europe and the US, and for developing their business service proposition for law firms. Prior to the legal sector, Chris worked in financial services as an accountant and consultant with PwC, National Westminster Bank (NatWest) and Ernst & Young. A long-standing focus on bringing process techniques and thinking to the legal profession has driven Chris s work over the last 16 years. This report is therefore based on a lot of practical experience combined with some additional research. He has led many ground-breaking process change and automation projects, from electronic document lifecycle, to e-discovery, to high volume personal injury claim processing. His work on law firm support processes has covered process improvement projects ranging from revenue management in finance, to HR processing, to library management. Chris is a regular speaker at legal management and legal IT conferences in Europe and the US. He has been guest tutor at Nottingham Law School s MBA programme and an active member of the advisory boards for the Managing Partners Forum and Legal Week s Strategic Technology Forum. Chris can be contacted at: chris@edge-international.com. XI
Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of people who have helped me get this report together. A particularly big debt of gratitude goes to my case study contributors who delivered over and above my expectations and have showed a genuine interest in and support for this report. Thanks also to Evie Serventi, my long-suffering report editor (and minder ) at Ark Group and to Nick Jarrett-Kerr, my partner at Edge International, who between them are responsible for me saying yes to taking on this project in the first place, which I am just now beginning to think was a good thing! I acknowledge a long-standing debt to both Professors Richard Susskind and Stephen Mayson for individually helping first stimulate my interest in new ways of looking at law firms back in the 1990s, and for many valuable ideas over the years since. And, more recently, the support and friendship of Steve Page at CW Law Solicitors Ltd; and Kathryn Mortimer and my old boss Leslie Perrin at DAS UK Holdings Ltd, where we have worked together using many of the things covered in this book. XIII