Lean Adviser Legal

March 03, 2023 | Lean Adviser

Once you start thinking of attorneys as problem solvers rather than cash generators, a very interesting thing happens. You realize that the prize isn't money, it's happy clients. Then you see that it's actually a "set up to succeed" strategy. To the problem solver, money is just a by-product, albeit a vital one, but it's still a by-product.

By Lean Adviser Legal

3 minute read

February 24, 2023 | Lean Adviser

A North Dakota law firm successfully sued its former associates for missing their billable hours targets. The firm won. But they forgot about the law of unintended circumstances.

By Lean Adviser Legal

3 minute read

February 17, 2023 | Lean Adviser

The better you understand the position of the GC, the better support you'll be, and the more business you'll get as a direct result.

By Lean Adviser Legal

3 minute read

February 10, 2023 | Lean Adviser

Pretty much the first thing any good leader will do in any project, be it surgery, sailing, or running a legal assignment, is set out clear roles and responsibilities. Then comes communications. If anybody sees something that looks off, whether it's your work or the team leader's, they need to speak up.

By Lean Adviser Legal

4 minute read

February 03, 2023 | Lean Adviser

Planning properly starts with understanding your client. And clients won't answer the questions they're not asked, so it's on you to understand their business and what they are trying to accomplish. This is all core context which can come back to bite you if left uncovered.

By Lean Adviser Legal

5 minute read

January 27, 2023 | Lean Adviser

A common, but undiagnosed, root cause of malpractice claims is lawyers misunderstanding who they work for. When it comes to your job, there is a subtle nuance at play. It's this: You don't work for your firm, you work at your firm for your clients.

By Lean Adviser Legal

4 minute read

January 20, 2023 | Lean Adviser

Your firm may be big on driving compliance, and yes this avoids malpractice claims. But all the while, billing pressures are relentless, and levels of available work are variable. This can have a counter-effect. It can lead to tinkering, hoarding, haste to execution, padding, sharp elbows, and a host of other unsafe practices. Methods matter.

By Lean Adviser Legal

5 minute read

January 13, 2023 | Lean Adviser

What matters to clients isn't the law, it's how you practice it. Your methods matter. At the root of every disputed bill and malpractice suit is one constant — lawyer methods.

By Lean Adviser Legal

5 minute read

January 04, 2023 | Lean Adviser

Like any presentation, the goal is to present real facts, in an interesting way, as a story. In this case the story is about you. The commonly used Q&A format may not lend itself to story-telling, but that's OK, we have a "lean hack" for that.

By Lean Adviser Legal

3 minute read

December 16, 2022 | Lean Adviser

A familiar feature of the performance review process is the lawyers' self-evaluation form. The temptation is to get it all out, add some flourish wherever possible, and maybe indulge in some spin or even poetic license. This is a perfectly natural and common approach. It can also be a costly mistake.

By Lean Adviser Legal

2 minute read