General counsel can try and reduce costs by demanding discounts or alternative fees from their outside counsel—but at the risk of pitting their own interests against those of the firm. An alternative could be collaborating with outside counsel to streamline processes so legal projects get done more efficiently and at a lower cost.

To that end, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein is the latest firm to try out Lean Sigma management techniques, originally deployed in the manufacturing industry, for delivering legal services.

Seyfarth Shaw was an early adopter almost a decade ago. Clifford Chance has instituted firmwide Lean Sigma training, even publishing a white paper about the firm's experience applying “continuous improvement to high-end legal services,” and other firms, including Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart and Reed Smith, have instituted training for key firm leaders and staff.