An Introduction to Legal Project Management

Project management is no new thing – for decades, many large organisations have realized the importance project management principles play in planning, handling clients, solving problems, closing deals and beating deadlines, but it is only over the last few years that we’ve seen this expand into the legal sector.

Since then, there’s been a steady growth in the use of project management philosophies within the delivery of legal services in a bid to improve efficiency, minimise costs, manage workloads and keep clients happy.

For many working within the legal sector, this is a positive step, but for those working in smaller law firms it can mean adding another bow to your, already overloaded, string.

Here, at Creative Word Training (the biggest legal training provider in the GCC) we’re best placed to help you discover more about Legal Project Management and find out how our training can help you become more adept at project management within the legal sector.

What is Legal Project Management?

Legal Project Management (LPM) recognizes that legal matters are ultimately, projects, which must be operated and managed in an effective method to ensure success and strategic competency.

LPM provides a framework for managing legal projects successfully including:

• Assessing the scope of a project

• Defining project objectives/outcomes

• Risk assessment

• Stakeholder engagement

• Client communication

• Process development

• Project costings

• Project quality

• Project time

• Resource availability and accessibility

• Technology application/availability

• Project delivery

• Closing projects

• Client satisfaction

LPM procedures ensure that all legal projects are managed in an efficient, timely and cost-effective method for both stakeholders and clients.

The core management principles are universal but have been adapted to fit within the legal setting.

Legal Project Management Training

The growth of LPM within the law industry is mostly due to its success in facilitating general project administration and operation, meaning costs and time are reduced without a loss of quality.

Within larger law firms, there is often dedicated project managers who supervise major projects but in smaller firms this role is often filled by lawyers who aren’t given the title of ‘project manager’ even though they are performing the task.

Both of the above types of ‘project managers’ benefit from LPM training (those who already are named as such, and those who are not) as it reinforces key concepts and introduces new methodologies.

Our LPM training course encourages participants to assess and review their personal skills, and those of their firm, in key areas such as;

• Communication

• Time management

• Project Management Terminology

• Identifying areas for business growth

• Identifying key areas for improvement

• Understanding how LPM can benefit legal firms

• Developing a career as a Legal Project Manager

• How to differentiate from other legal professionals

Our LPM course is CLPD accredited and worth 2 CPLD points.