Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Mapping Law Firm Capabilities

By Alan Rich & Ric Merrifield
September 29, 2006

Not so many years ago, running a law firm was a simpler process. If you were good at legal research, drafting documents, arguing cases and attracting and advising clients, the business took care of itself. But today, managing a legal practice, particularly for large firms, is more like running a large, sophisticated, multinational business.

Additionally, law firms have been largely unable to take advantage of modern business improvement methods such as Six Sigma and the Theory of Constraints ' complex techniques that have been applied to manufacturing processes with much success. These methodologies are measurement-based strategies that focus on process improvement and variation reduction.

Methodologies such as Six Sigma look at how something is done, with an eye toward continuous procedural improvement. One of the byproducts of the Six Sigma technique is a flowchart that can be used to examine a particular process. While flowcharts can be excellent tools, in a law firm setting they fail to take into account larger considerations such as business strategies and the environments in which the law firm operates. They fail to consider the what of complex legal practices. What does a large firm do, and need to do, in order to conduct the firm's business?

Read These Next
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws Image

This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.

Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin Image

With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.

The Article 8 Opt In Image

The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.

Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York Image

In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?

The Benefits of Blockchain for e-Discovery and Data Preservation Image

As businesses across various industries increasingly adopt blockchain, it will become a critical source of discoverable electronically stored information. The potential benefits of blockchain for e-discovery and data preservation are substantial, making it an area of growing interest and importance.