“Rightly constituted laws should be the final sovereign; and personal rule, whether it be exercised by a single person or a body of persons, should be sovereign only in those matters on which law is unable, owing to the difficulty of framing general rules for all contingencies, to make an exact pronouncement.”
- Aristotle
Jurisprudence scholars and law firm administrators agree: standard operating procedures in law are not just guidelines; they are a path to integrity.
Standardized operating procedures (SOPs) are clearly written and consistently formatted guidelines that detail the exact methods and sequence of activities and roles involved in executing a specific task or recurring operation. Law firms that invest the time necessary to develop an SOP framework not only boost team consistency, they also increase efficiency, minimize errors, enhance training and build client trust in their brand.
Ad hoc procedures and project plans differ, in that they often arise extemporaneously or get developed to serve a particular project without reuse for future tasks. Thus, the return on an investment in ad hoc processes or project planning is negligible when compared to SOPs.
SOPs provide direction to help legal teams manage their time and resources effectively while reducing risk and increasing transparency so all team members know specifically what they must do and how they fit into the overall workflow. Consistent adherence to SOPs results in the delivery of a more professional, reliable and effective legal work product to clients.
The best place to start any project is wherever you are now. Because SOPs offer so many benefits when they are consistently followed, you will get more buy-in from your team by achieving the maximum return on your investment, so it’s best to start with your most common repetitive tasks first. Two techniques that can help you standardize your operating procedures include value stream mapping (VSM) and process mapping.
A value stream map (see figure 1) is broad in scope and visually represents the entire matter workflow from the client’s perspective, focusing on delivering value by eliminating waste, like bottlenecks, delays and redundancies. VSM often involves multiple departments, stakeholders and end-to-end workflows. The mapping process helps teams analyze the flow of information, matter files and resources across the firm. VSM is particularly helpful in litigation, contract lifecycle management and compliance programs.
Process mapping is narrower and more granular in scope. It documents a detailed sequence of activities, roles and decision points within a specific process or subprocess. Process maps are often confined to a functional team or department that uses them to reduce errors in the routine tasks that make up the specific process. Process maps are particularly helpful for client intake, drafting documents or responding to discovery requests.
Start with your firm’s current operations and identify the areas where SOPs would bring the most benefit. Look for processes where inconsistency, errors, inefficiencies and redundancies are common.
Determine what you aim to achieve with the SOP. Are you looking to improve quality, security, efficiency or training?
Consult with stakeholders. Involve those who perform these tasks daily. They can provide insights into practical challenges and the best practices they already use.
Observe and document how tasks are currently done. Do this with interviews, shadowing or reviewing existing guidelines.
Select which processes to standardize first, focusing on those with the highest impact or those that are critical to your operations. Clearly define what each SOP will cover and what it won’t to avoid scope creep.
Write clearly without legalese and use a consistent format for all your SOPs. Most SOPs include title, purpose, scope, responsibilities, tools/materials, step-by-step instructions, security precautions, quality checks, references, attachments and/or visual aids.
Conduct internal and external reviews. Ask colleagues, especially those performing the tasks, to review the draft for accuracy, clarity and feasibility. If appropriate, get feedback from outside experts, consultants or other firms regarding the best practices.
Get the necessary approvals from management or quality control. Establish a system for versioning, archiving and updating SOPs.
Regularly check if the SOPs are followed. Use audits or checklists and require signoffs for handoffs between teams. Evaluate if SOPs are meeting their intended goals.
Set periodic reviews to update SOPs due to changes in technology, regulations or organizational practices. Encourage ongoing feedback from users to refine procedures.
No law firm can exist without clients. In many firms, screening potential new clients (PNCs) is the most frequently recurring task that tends to be easiest to standardize. The purpose of this SOP is obvious, and its scope depends on both your practice area and your appetite for variety. Most firms will train support staff to screen according to a checklist that prompts the PNC to respond to the following questions:
Once a PNC passes the initial screening and schedules an interview with support staff, most firms will want to set up a client consultation with an attorney who can assess whether the firm is a good fit. The assigned attorney should review the screening notes and may follow a consultation checklist that might include the following:
SOPs are useless unless you can get your team to adopt and consistently follow them. When management commits to following the firm’s SOPs, they set a powerful example for the entire team by demonstrating that SOPs are not just formalities but integral to the firm’s success. When team members observe their leaders following the procedures, it fosters a culture of accountability and respect for established processes. Leadership by example encourages team members to take SOPs seriously, understanding that these are not only for compliance but also for achieving better results, optimizing work processes and facilitating training and onboarding. Consistent SOP adherence from management leads to improved team morale, as employees feel supported by a structured yet adaptable work environment, ensuring everyone is aligned toward common organizational goals.
SOPs are procedures but they do not have to be boring. You can motivate SOP adoption by gamifying the process with your legal team. Masaaki Imai was a Japanese organizational theorist and management consultant best known for pioneering the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. To do a Kaizen, you must address root causes to improve and standardize a process or procedure. To apply the Kaizen philosophy, first analyze a process or workflow to see if you can improve it by addressing at least one of the following: 1. safety/risk, 2. quality or 3. waste. You can eliminate waste by reducing overproduction, excessive inventory, waiting/delay, unnecessary movement/motion, overprocessing, error correction, unused ideas or by optimizing conveyance to align movement with just-in-time principles. Kaizen encourages all employees to suggest improvements in conveyance. A Kaizen must address the real root cause(s) of a problem. Superficial remedies result in unpredictable results. A Kaizen will not roll back with time. It gets sustained through standardization techniques. Kaizen is useful in gamifying SOPs because it outlines evaluation metrics according to proposed improvement’s effectiveness, savings, innovative idea and effort. Firms can develop a score sheet to evaluate Kaizen metrics and award points to engage team members and incentivize them to continuously propose new improvements to standard procedures, making SOPs both fun and rewarding for everyone.
SOPs are indispensable in achieving the precision and consistency required in legal practice. By formalizing intricate workflows, SOPs not only enhance firm efficiency they also fortify the foundation of client trust and professional integrity. From the broad strokes of VSM to the detailed granularity of process mapping, SOPs allow firms to visualize, streamline and standardize their operations. The development of SOPs requires a thoughtful approach, involving stakeholders, setting clear goals and ensuring ongoing relevance through regular updates and audits.
Moreover, gamifying SOPs can transform routine tasks into engaging activities, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. This not only makes adherence to SOPs more appealing but also encourages team members to actively participate in enhancing the firm's procedures.
Ultimately, SOPs are more than just documents; they are a commitment to excellence and a strategic asset that can set a law firm apart in a competitive field.
