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Book Review
LegalBizDev, a Boston-based consultant to law firms and lawyers, recently released the Second Edition of Legal Project Management ' Quick Reference Guide, Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency. Written by Jim Hassett, Ph.D., the founder of LegalBizDev, the spiral bound book is an easy-to-read, informative overview and guide for applying project management techniques in the legal field. Particular emphasis is placed on moving from billable hourly rates to fixed fee arrangements. The publication is an update of the First Edition published in July 2010.
The first chapter of the book advises, “This book was not designed to be read cover to cover.” Accordingly, it is somewhat challenging to write a traditional book review. The guide is a compilation of narratives, checklists and templates organized around key concepts and issues related to project management. It includes chapters on Key Issues in Legal Project Management; Setting Objectives and Defining Scope; Identifying and Scheduling Activities; Assigning Tasks and Managing Teams; Planning and Managing Budgets; Assessing Risks; Managing Quality; Negotiating Change Orders: and, Ten Best Practices. The chapters are supported by more than 80 pages of Appendices providing additional narratives and sample template forms.
A refreshing aspect of the book is that it's not a one size fits all, must do things this way, “how to” book. The author, a recognized consultant in the legal field, notes that all law firms are different, and that size, organization, areas of specialization, and personalities will play a role in the extent and manner in which information provided in the guide will be used. He has also collaborated with a team of nearly 40 law firm partners, marketers, business developers and industry consultants in compiling, editing and reviewing the book.
Hassett does a very good job of taking complex project management issues and summarizing and explaining them in everyday language. For example, the book provides an overview of the differences between project management, process improvement, Six Sigma and Lean methodologies within the framework of several pages.
While providing overview information, the book also provides the reader a wealth of resources to learn more detailed information on key topics. A chapter entitled “Assign Tasks and Manage the Team” pays homage to and builds upon the American Management Association's “Ten Rules of Team Building.”
It is one of numerous examples where Hassett takes broad business concepts and tailors them to law firms and legal professionals. The book also provides many tips on where to find useful tools, such as providing website addresses for free downloads of Gantt Chart development software and calendar and scheduling tools.
As previously noted, a basic premise of this guide is that legal work is increasingly shifting from general tasks performed at hourly billable rates to specific, focused tasks performed as fixed-priced contracts. The author presents ideas for making this transformation within the existing resources and framework of your law firm, without necessarily making large investments in new systems.
A section of the book is devoted to how to write an effective Statement of Work. Another chapter discusses developing checklists and assigning responsibilities. Yet another is devoted to Planning and Managing budgets. All these tasks currently apply within law firms, but need to be tailored to effectively fit the new industry paradigm.
This Quick Reference Guide also leaves the reader with the feeling that he is not alone in the marketing and business development challenges he faces. I found myself on many occasions reading a passage or case study and saying, “Well, that sounds familiar.” And the book provides brief examples of current and recent initiatives at leading law firms and companies, such as Seyfarth Shaw's Lean Initiative, Morgan Lewis' process improvement analyses, Dechert's RAPID Resolution approach to project management, and FMC Technologies' General Counsel's development of templates around the Association of Corporate Counsel's Value Index.
A potential criticism of Legal Project Management ' Quick Reference Guide, Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency is that the book is too simple and lacks detail. Hassett states that the book is written for lawyers. While I found it very informative and useful from the perspective of a marketing professional, readers will have to make an individual decision as to how they believe Partners and leadership at their firm might respond to the book.
Because this publication is intended as a reference guide, there is repetition of information between the chapters and appendices. Somewhat surprisingly, the book cites Wikipedia.org as an information source. While additional sources and websites are almost always noted, this may raise some eyebrows, given Wikipedia's reputation among many academics and researchers.
LegalBizDev is in the consulting business, and the book, while useful as a stand-alone document, was written as a sales support tool, or “teaser” for introducing the firm and its capabilities. That noted, the book is well written, informative and enjoyable reading. The layout includes broad margins and pages dedicated to inserting hand written notes. Priced at $49.95 + shipping, the book is affordable, and the templates and outlines that it provides can be used and customized without restriction.
Order at: http://www.legalbizdev.com/projectmanagement/quickreferenceguide.html. Price: $49.95 Plus $3.00 Shipping in U.S.Note: Law firms, lawyers, or in-house counsel having existing consulting relationships with LegalBizDev receive a 50% discount.
William (Bill) Means is a professional services marketing and communications consultant based in the metro Philadelphia area. He can be reached at 856-784-9058 or via e-mail at [email protected].
LegalBizDev, a Boston-based consultant to law firms and lawyers, recently released the Second Edition of Legal Project Management ' Quick Reference Guide, Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency. Written by Jim Hassett, Ph.D., the founder of LegalBizDev, the spiral bound book is an easy-to-read, informative overview and guide for applying project management techniques in the legal field. Particular emphasis is placed on moving from billable hourly rates to fixed fee arrangements. The publication is an update of the First Edition published in July 2010.
The first chapter of the book advises, “This book was not designed to be read cover to cover.” Accordingly, it is somewhat challenging to write a traditional book review. The guide is a compilation of narratives, checklists and templates organized around key concepts and issues related to project management. It includes chapters on Key Issues in Legal Project Management; Setting Objectives and Defining Scope; Identifying and Scheduling Activities; Assigning Tasks and Managing Teams; Planning and Managing Budgets; Assessing Risks; Managing Quality; Negotiating Change Orders: and, Ten Best Practices. The chapters are supported by more than 80 pages of Appendices providing additional narratives and sample template forms.
A refreshing aspect of the book is that it's not a one size fits all, must do things this way, “how to” book. The author, a recognized consultant in the legal field, notes that all law firms are different, and that size, organization, areas of specialization, and personalities will play a role in the extent and manner in which information provided in the guide will be used. He has also collaborated with a team of nearly 40 law firm partners, marketers, business developers and industry consultants in compiling, editing and reviewing the book.
Hassett does a very good job of taking complex project management issues and summarizing and explaining them in everyday language. For example, the book provides an overview of the differences between project management, process improvement, Six Sigma and Lean methodologies within the framework of several pages.
While providing overview information, the book also provides the reader a wealth of resources to learn more detailed information on key topics. A chapter entitled “Assign Tasks and Manage the Team” pays homage to and builds upon the American Management Association's “Ten Rules of Team Building.”
It is one of numerous examples where Hassett takes broad business concepts and tailors them to law firms and legal professionals. The book also provides many tips on where to find useful tools, such as providing website addresses for free downloads of Gantt Chart development software and calendar and scheduling tools.
As previously noted, a basic premise of this guide is that legal work is increasingly shifting from general tasks performed at hourly billable rates to specific, focused tasks performed as fixed-priced contracts. The author presents ideas for making this transformation within the existing resources and framework of your law firm, without necessarily making large investments in new systems.
A section of the book is devoted to how to write an effective Statement of Work. Another chapter discusses developing checklists and assigning responsibilities. Yet another is devoted to Planning and Managing budgets. All these tasks currently apply within law firms, but need to be tailored to effectively fit the new industry paradigm.
This Quick Reference Guide also leaves the reader with the feeling that he is not alone in the marketing and business development challenges he faces. I found myself on many occasions reading a passage or case study and saying, “Well, that sounds familiar.” And the book provides brief examples of current and recent initiatives at leading law firms and companies, such as
A potential criticism of Legal Project Management ' Quick Reference Guide, Tools and Templates to Increase Efficiency is that the book is too simple and lacks detail. Hassett states that the book is written for lawyers. While I found it very informative and useful from the perspective of a marketing professional, readers will have to make an individual decision as to how they believe Partners and leadership at their firm might respond to the book.
Because this publication is intended as a reference guide, there is repetition of information between the chapters and appendices. Somewhat surprisingly, the book cites Wikipedia.org as an information source. While additional sources and websites are almost always noted, this may raise some eyebrows, given Wikipedia's reputation among many academics and researchers.
LegalBizDev is in the consulting business, and the book, while useful as a stand-alone document, was written as a sales support tool, or “teaser” for introducing the firm and its capabilities. That noted, the book is well written, informative and enjoyable reading. The layout includes broad margins and pages dedicated to inserting hand written notes. Priced at $49.95 + shipping, the book is affordable, and the templates and outlines that it provides can be used and customized without restriction.
Order at: http://www.legalbizdev.com/projectmanagement/quickreferenceguide.html. Price: $49.95 Plus $3.00 Shipping in U.S.Note: Law firms, lawyers, or in-house counsel having existing consulting relationships with LegalBizDev receive a 50% discount.
William (Bill) Means is a professional services marketing and communications consultant based in the metro Philadelphia area. He can be reached at 856-784-9058 or via e-mail at [email protected].
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