Improving Law Firm Business Productivity through Process and Automation – a Case Study

Objective:

Unbiased Consulting was engaged by a 700-lawyer global law firm to develop an broad ranging roadmap to sync to future scale. Over multiple years, the firm’s operational strategy, processes, the operations organization and automation lagged the needs of the practices and business.  The goal of the firm is to achieve significant upward growth and the firm leadership recognized the need for more “industrial strength processes and best practice, organization models and skilling as well as technology to provide further efficiencies.

This strategic initiative aimed to reposition and position the firm for significant upward growth. 

Approach:

Based on a series of scopes of work, the consulting team was engaged to deliver a comprehensive set of independent, assessments and recommendations and implementation plans to support law firm strategic operational growth.   The series of engagements spanned almost all areas of law firm “business of law” and administrative operations, including process, organization and administrative and practice support technologies.  To support the operational strategies, process and organization assessment and recommendations, Unbiased Consulting team members addresses numerous technology areas, across business functions, including but not limited to document management, records management, contract management, knowledge management, ethical walls, new business intake/conflicts, email and email integration, IP and litigation docket, eDiscovery/Litigation support, enterprise, search, document assembly, litigation docket, financial systems, human resource related systems, customer relationship management (CRM) systems,  intranets, extranets, etc. 

The consulting team members developed a three (3) year strategy, plan and roadmap based on a full assessment that spanned operational strategy, governance, process, organization, software applications and infrastructure. Project results were delivered to the firm’s full Board of Directors.  Following the completion of the assessment, our team members were engaged in providing ongoing operational, process and technology leadership and counsel to the Firm’s COO and CIO, advising the firm in cross functional areas as well as assisting the firm in the ongoing budgeting process. 

Further, the firm engaged our team members  to assist on a number of follow-on hands-on execution initiatives including: selection and hiring of an certain roles for the operational leadership team, process improvements; a more detailed business re-engineering effort focused on certain core functions, technology requirements and selection and planning mini-engagements, as well as a continuing advisory roles.   

Results:

Firm leadership team’s feedback was that the successful engagement delivery, and ongoing work, was pivotal to driving law firm efficiencies, speeding work through the process, providing better value to law department clients and improving overall firm economics.  The firm’s operational cost basis was lowered, leading to improved margins.  The firm continues to realize benefits to this day.