Legal Operations

Process and workflow design

We map how work really flows, remove the bottlenecks and set one standard the firm follows.

• Map the real route a matter takes, from first contact to archive, with every handoff on it.
• Find where it waits: approvals, missing information, work that goes back a step.
• Agree one standard per matter type with the people who do the work, then build it into the system that runs it.

The result

One agreed way of working per matter type, and a shorter path from request to delivery.

Matter management and intake

Clear ownership, phases and a definition of done for the matter types that repeat. One documented way in, conflict checks before billable work starts, and deadlines that escalate.

• Define the matter types that repeat, each with phases, an owner and a definition of done.
• One documented way in: a request route, a triage rule and a conflict check before billable work starts.
• Deadlines in the system rather than in personal calendars, with escalation when one is at risk.

The result

Every matter has an owner, a stage and a next date, visible without asking anyone.

Knowledge management

A maintained library of templates and precedents with an owner, versions and fast search.

• Collect what the firm already has, keep what is current and retire the rest.
• Give every template an owner and a review date, so the library does not rot.
• Make it searchable where people work, and use it to bring new lawyers up to speed.

The result

Juniors draft from the firm’s best version, not from the last matter they happen to find.

Capacity, data and KPIs

See who is overloaded before it becomes a missed deadline. The few numbers partners should see weekly, defined once and reported the same way every time.

• Agree the few numbers partners should see weekly, and define each one once.
• Measure load per person and per team, so overload shows before a deadline slips.
• Report from the systems that already hold the data, not from a spreadsheet someone maintains by hand.

The result

A weekly view of workload, deadlines and profitability that nobody has to assemble.