SeyfarthLean Featured in The Legal Intelligencer and the ABA Journal
Articles Highlight Seyfarth Shaw’s Lean Six Sigma Program

SeyfarthLean was featured in The Legal Intelligencer on October 19, 2009 in the article, "Firms, Seeking to Increase Service and Efficiency, Look to Implement Process Management Systems," and the October 20, 2009 ABA Journal article, “New Buzz Phrase in Efficiency Efforts: Process Management.”

 

Part two of a two-part series examining the practical applications and implications of a value-focused approach to legal services, The Legal Intelligencer article discussed how firms must manage matters to ensure value for clients. Carla Goldstein, Director of Strategic Management at the firm, noted that Seyfarth Shaw started looking at how to train lawyers and firm staff members in project management when certain clients suggested that their law firms explore adopting the Six Sigma approach they were using. The firm later brought in a Six Sigma consultant to train attorneys and other firm staff in the process management methodology borrowed from the manufacturing sector. Carla remarked, “They came in with these binders of jargon and statistics and numbers…. We realized the process was what we wanted. The training would never succeed in a law firm."

As noted in the article, Seyfarth Shaw created a project management office in 2005 outside of the information technology department where such operations had typically been created. Over the course of a year-and-a-half, the firm pared down the training, got rid of the jargon and left a lot of the heavy statistics for a few people within the project management office so that most of the lawyers wouldn't have to concentrate on that aspect. The "SeyfarthLean" model was put into effect in 2006. Carla pointed out that the process wasn't instantly embraced by all of the firm’s attorneys. She explained that the project managers work with teams to help facilitate process mapping. They get together in a room and use sticky notes to map out each step of the process to create visuals for the attorneys so they can see how a matter can be parsed out. She further explained that the mapping process includes organizing matters so that younger attorneys know which steps to handle and supervising attorneys know who is doing what and when so that they can focus on strategy.

According to Carla, her office has worked with practice groups including real estate, mergers and acquisitions, commercial litigation, immigration, labor arbitrations and several others. She noted, “Not only did we create efficiencies internally… but we started to bring it to the clients." She also noted that once the internal mapping was handled, the firm would take blotter maps to the clients so they could look at the process in a transparent, collaborative manner, know what was expected from all parties, and offer suggestions for driving out inefficiencies. She concluded that the process helps both sides have a clearer understanding of what the matter will cost and shows the client that the firm is committed to providing the agreed upon pricing.

The article from the ABA Journal spotlighted The Legal Intelligencer article and included Carla’s observation of the training by the Six Sigma consultants. Additionally, Carla mentioned that although the firm believed that the concept of process management would be helpful, the training needed to be streamlined to work in the law firm environment.