Business & Financial Management

‘Business Process Management’, ‘Process Improvement’, ‘Lean Six Sigma’ – terms that are now beginning to resonate in the legal world. Why? Because there are significant benefits (cost, quality, time) to be had for any type of organisation when it focuses on streamlining, standardising and improving its processes.  Again why? Because processes can impact the cost and revenue generation of an organisation.  In fact processes can be considered as strategic assets and as enablers for creating a competitive edge and even differentiation. “Yes” I hear you say - “I would like some of that - but how can I apply Lean for legal?”  Well in simple terms it’s about being super clear on what your client sees as value – what they are willing to pay for (not what you think they should be paying for) and what they are not willing to pay for. Once you have identified that gap you’ll then need to re-align how you do things (your processes) with what you know your client values. “Ahhhh” I hear you sigh “but how do I do that?”  Well, lucky for you, because this very topic will be explored at the ILTA 2014 Imagine Conference on Monday 18^th of August,11am - 12 in Nashville. There, my illustrious ILTA colleagues (Liam Brown: Founder and Chairman, Elevate, Connie Brenton: Chief of Staff, Director of Legal Operations, NetApp, April Brousseau: Director, Knowledge Management and Library, Stikeman Elliott) and I will deliver the session ‘ Impacting  your bottom line with Business Process Management.’  In the session you will learn about Lean for Law and dissecting an existing business process, reducing process waste and reassembling your process so it aligns with what your client values.  We’ll also take you through two legal case studies and share some process improvement tools, tips and techniques along the way. If you can't drop in to Nashville in August, post conference you will be able to access the audio recording at the ILTA Conference website.  Of course it won't be the same with you not being in the room sharing your experiences. 

Michelle (and the crew)