Legal project management (LPM) can be an effective approach to enhance planning, budgeting and more efficient delivery of an organization's legal services. Client demands, competition, and economic pressures now compel law firms to manage at the matter or project" level. Improved project management is fast becoming a key component for law firm profitability and growth in client relationships.

This exhaustive reference will provide any lawyer with a complete and comprehensive review and discussion of legal project management (LPM), including the business case, the definitions and application, ethical considerations and the issues and constraints in implementation. You'll discover a simple, easy-to-use framework that can be applied from start to finish in any firm or practice area. The book also functions as a complete desk reference for anyone implementing LPM by offering helpful examples, case studies, tools and methodologies.

The book can be read cover to cover to get the full picture for how legal project management is applied in legal organizations, or the reader can skip to specific Sections for useful tips to improve their practice and client relationships, or to implement a particular part of LPM such as planning or budgeting. Throughout the book, you'll find examples of three different, but consistent, approaches. First, the core principles and methodologies of LPM, followed by the BakerManage" framework and system is used to show an example of these principles.

Finally, to ensure application to in-house lawyers as well as private practice lawyers, you'll find examples and background information throughout the book. Importantly, this book incorporates insights from current and former corporate counsel who have also been some of the first legal professionals to implement project management concepts, applying them to the work of legal departments. In addition, the authors gathered contributions from almost 30 different law firms and legal departments, consultants and LPM software vendors to cover this topic from a wide range of viewpoints.

The book is organized into four sections, with individual chapters within the section areas:

1. The Need for a Solution
• Current Trends in the Delivery of Legal Services
• A Short History of Hourly Billing by Lawyers
• Introduction to Legal Project Management
  
2. Implementing Legal Project Management
• Engaging the Client
• Planning the Representation
• Budgeting for the Matter
• From Budgeting to Pricing the Matter Executing the Matter
• Communication Management
• Evaluating and Closing the Representation
  
3. Considerations for Lawyers Implementing LPM
• Ethical Considerations and Obligations
• Lawyer Personality Traits and Legal Project Management Roles
• Using LPM for Competitive Advantage
• Process Improvement and Legal Project Management
  
4. Considerations for the Organizations in Implementing LPM
• Role of KM in Legal Project Management
• Aligning Compensation to Support Legal Project Management
• Establishing a Project Management Function in Your Legal Organization
• Introduction to Traditional and Alternative Project Management Methods
• Conclusion

If you are looking for a complete up-to-date resource to implement the basic concepts of legal project management in an ever changing legal marketplace, then this book will be a welcome addition to your legal library.

Praise for The Power of Legal Project Management: A Practical Handbook

“This book, written by two of the leading advocates globally for better legal project management, successfully manages the delicate balancing act of being thought provoking and practical at the same time. Regardless of the stage of development you are at with your own LPM initiatives, you will find much to value in this book, the most comprehensive on the subject to date. From the opening pages setting the context of why LPM is now critical for today’s lawyer, through the various stages of LPM and implementation approaches, to the real life case studies and overview of current software tools included within the Appendices, there is much to reflect on and learn, irrespective of whether you work in a small, mid-sized or international firm. The learnings captured will not only will help your firm but your clients. In sum, an extremely very valuable addition to the canon of every lawyer.”
-Stuart J T Dodds, Director, Global Pricing & Legal Project Management, Baker & McKenzie