Chances are that the company you work for and represents uses project management in running its business. If it embarks on developing a new product, opening a new plant, launching a new marketing campaign or starting some other significant project, you can almost be assured that project management principles and techniques are put to work.

Is your legal department measured by results? All other business units are using project management to enhance their results. If your legal department is expected to act as a productive unit of your company, maximizing opportunities and minimizing costs at every turn, then you can no longer afford to ignore project management.

Course Overview
How does one apply project management principles to the practice of law?

• Establish project objectives - For a transaction, close the transaction by a specified date. For litigation it could be to settle as quickly as possible, win at all costs or something in between.
• Identify requirements for achieving those objectives - Determine what it will take to reach the requirements.
• Identify the project risks - Contingencies that may negatively impact either the ultimate outcome or the time or resources necessary to complete the project.
• Identify stakeholders, team members and responsibilities - Identify those persons, internal and external, who will have an integral role in completing the project.

These stakeholders need to receive status updates on the project.

• Develop a project plan - Outline the necessary steps to complete the matter with responsible parties and an accompanying timeline. A good project plan will go beyond the traditional closing checklist.
• Manage project risks to achieve the objectives - Having identified the project risks, begin to plan around them.
• Adapt project plan for changes in circumstances - No project plan will accurately capture how any project will actually progress. Develop a system for changing the project plan as necessary.
• Report progress to team members and stakeholders – Establish a reporting system to communicate changes to the team and stakeholders regularly.
• Review and analyze project results - Upon completion of the matter, schedule a meeting with your legal counsel to review what went well and what went poorly. Rather, identify where the process could be improved for the next matter.