Project Management for Lit Support

Use Common Sense Techniques and You’ll be a Hero – (Part II)

In the last issue of Litigation Support Today, we presented the first installment of this two-part series. In the first part, we covered planning, written procedures, team assembly, training, problem resolution, reviewing, monitoring, documenting and reporting. In this issue, we present the final tool-set needed to become a hero in your organization through the application of common sense project management techniques.

Effectively Manage Your Staff

An important part of managing a project is effectively managing and motivating staff. Volumes have been written on this topic but it may be worth one’s effort to do some reading on management skills. Below are a few basic management principals.

Know your people and make assignments that are in sync with their skills, strengths and preferences. You will always receive better results if you give staff members work at which they are likely to shine. In order to get employees on board with the assignment, make sure they understand the bigger picture, where their work fits in, and why their work is important to the case.

In addition, it is important to give staff clear instructions on each assignment. You should be available to all of your staff and each staff member should know how to best reach you.

Project management can be challenging. Regardless of what challenge you face, stay calm. Panic on your part will instill panic in your workforce. Instead of panicking, seek input, suggestions and opinions from your staff. By requesting their input, you will gain ideas and feedback and your staff will feel appreciated. If you don’t implement a suggestion made by a staff member, let them know why and make sure they understand that you appreciate their input.

It is also important to avoid micro-managing your staff. Monitor them enough to catch problems, but give them room to perform their jobs.

Feedback is also important. Recognize and acknowledge good work. Make sure you let your staff know when they are doing a good job and when you want them to change their methods. When someone performs well on a project, write a memo telling them so. Describe the assignment and how their efforts contributed to the overall goals of the project. It is a good idea to copy senior employees on such memos. By memorializing your praise in writing and copying senior staff, you will keep moral high and encourage good work.

Effectively Manage External Resources

As a project manager, some of the tasks for which you are responsible may be better handled by litigation support vendors. Sometimes, the thought of using a vendor may cause anxiety. Almost every law firm employee can report a bad experience with a vendor — a situation where cost overruns, missed deadlines, or work quality did not meet expectations. To minimize or eliminate these problems, it is important to perform a thorough vendor evaluation and make an intelligent selection. For small rush jobs, it is best to choose a vendor that you know and trust, even if the cost may be slightly higher.

Below are several management and communication techniques that can be helpful in working with vendors.

Before the Project Starts

First and foremost, recognize the need for steady two-way communication. Poor communication is the source of many problems. Good communication must start during the vendor selection process and continue through the life of the project.

Most vendors will provide unit pricing for their work. In addition to unit pricing, you should require an estimate of total project costs based on solid assumptions that you provide. In order to eliminate any surprises on the invoice, it is also a good idea to require line items with estimates for all incidental costs like media and shipping. You should also request a sample invoice. Make sure you understand the invoice and ensure that it includes the information you need.

You should also require the vendor to submit regular status reports. Request and review a sample of a status report to ensure that the information is sufficient. If the information is insufficient, ask the vendor to adjust it to include the information you need. Status reports should detail what work was estimated for the week, what work was accomplished for the week, what work was estimated to date, and what work has been completed to date as well as the variation.

You should require vendors to notify you in advance and in writing if they are going to miss a deadline. Request contact information for vendor staff at various levels and positions of the vendor-organization so you can quickly reach the right person if a problem arises.

At the Start of the Project

If possible, and if the nature of the project warrants it, visit the vendor’s facility at the start of the project. Most questions will arise in the beginning of the project and a personal visit may get your project off to a good start. Just like with your own staff, carefully check vendor work early to ensure they understand your requirements. It is always better to catch problems early when they can be fixed before they become big problems. You should also provide immediate feedback regarding any issues.

It is also critical to establish regular communication with your vendor to resolve issues and answer questions. Make sure the vendor knows how to reach you and understands your preferred method of communication.

Throughout the Project

Throughout the project, you should review status reports, communicate with the vendor, perform regular spot checks of the work and keep the vendor on track with respect to schedule and costs. If a vendor veers off track, you might attempt to simplify the project or ask the vendor to adjust staff levels.

Effectively Manage Clients

A good project manager must manage clients effectively. For most litigation support professionals, your clients are the litigation teams in your firm. It is important to maintain good lines of communication with the litigation teams throughout a project. You must also set expectations so that all parties have a mutual understanding of the project and the scope of work.

At the beginning of each project, you must gather all relevant information including the schedule for the case, the expected size of the document collection, the locations of the documents, the contact information for litigation team members, and the case management order requirements. If possible, schedule a meeting to collect this information. If you cannot hold a meeting, make it easy for the clients to provide this information through a simple e-mail questionnaire or another means.

Next, prepare and distribute a memo summarizing your understanding of the project requirements. Include a description of the deliverables, schedule and budget information as well as a description of your approach. Don’t agree to the impossible or the unreasonable and try to talk your clients out of bad decisions. If you cannot steer a client from a bad decision, prepare a memo that describes what potential problems may occur.

Throughout the life of the project, submit regular status reports that highlight project points of interest and update the litigation team with regard to budget and schedule. Do not wait to pass along important project information in a regular status report. If a problem arises that needs the attention of the litigation support team, call them immediately or put it in a memo. Keeping the team current on where things stand will prevent future problems.

Effectively Manage Your Time

Managing your time is one of the most challenging parts of the project manager’s role. Although no single set of rules work well for everyone, below are several tips that may improve your time management skills.

First, organization skills are crucial to time management. Tools such as calendars, to-do lists, email alarms, and project management software can help you juggle multiple priorities. If possible, spend the first fifteen minutes of each day planning your day. Set reasonable goals and include time to respond to emails and phone calls, review status reports, and address unexpected situations.

Second, delegate tasks whenever possible. If you delegate a task, define it well, give clear instructions, make due-dates clear, and define authority levels (for example, let the employee know if they can add staff on their own or if they need to run it by you).

Third, keep track of your daily activities. You might want to maintain a project diary in which you document daily tasks. By tracking your tasks, you can see how you are spending your day and identify ways to better manage your time.

A forth tip for managing time is to effectively facilitate meetings. Avoid letting your meetings run over the scheduled time by preparing and distributing an agenda, starting the meeting on time, stating the purpose of the meeting and describing the meeting’s goals. Take care to adhere to the agenda and avoid letting the discussion get off track.

A final time-saving tip is to use standard materials and templates, such as project planning meeting agenda reports and questionnaires to collect case information, technology surveys, requests for proposals, and status reports.

Managing your time effectively is critical to success and will set a good example for staff. If you feel overwhelmed, it is helpful to step back, prioritize tasks and adjust your to-do lists. Always keep the big picture in mind when you get caught up in chaos, and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Conclusion

Projects managed by bright litigation support professionals sometimes fail miserably due to poor project management skills. These simple tips for managing your staff, resources, clients, and time can help make every project a huge success.

About the Author: Jane Gennarelli is a principal of Magellan’s Law Corporation. She has been working in the litigation support field for thirty years as a project manager and consultant assisting law firms to apply technology to litigation support tasks and improve their approaches to handling litigation discovery documents. She may be reached at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).