Navigating Legal Excellence: Insights in Legal Operations & Project Management

Where and how do communication issues arise on legal projects?

1. Multiple forms of communication and different working styles

Hybrid working has moved us away from a face-to-face model of communication and introduced a number of technologies which keep us connected and facilitate collaboration. The problem arises where multiple communication channels begin to form on a project. These can include email, instant messaging, spreadsheets and specialist legal technology platforms. Communication has therefore become less direct as projects expand and resourcing has extended throughout multiple offices. 

Within this intricate web of communications, team members naturally gravitate toward the channels that align with their individual working styles and from existing habits. The result is unintended friction when communication  references come into conflict with each other.

How the Legal Operations and Project Management team can support

A well-executed communication plan serves to cut through this noise on projects and aims to simplify the communication structure. The Legal Operations and Project Management team can play a pivotal role in developing a coherent communication plan for a project which:

• Maps out the stakeholder structure, identifying each role and the individual / groups’ involvement in the project;
• Specifies each team member’s preferred communication styles and how to effectively engage with them;
• Sets out a communication policy on how team members coordinate, share and store information and  
• Identifies the reporting obligations and responsibilities of them team. 

2. Unclear objectives and project structure

Engagement letters serve as a useful guide for how projects will be delivered. They set out the scope, how the project will be run, how and when the client will be updated and what the objectives will be. 

When any of the project’s components are not clearly set out then this results in two distinct communication problems:

1. Communication with the client becomes inconsistent which can adversely affect the working relationship.  
2. Lack of a unified approach which results in the project objectives not being effectively communicated to the wider team. 

How the Legal Operations and Project Management team can support

Engaging the Legal Operations and Project Management team from the onset of the project can help avoid these damaging communication issues. The Legal Operations and Project Management team can assist through:

1. Scope development: The Legal Operations and Project Management team can help in shaping a project's scope, ensuring it is comprehensive and well-defined. This aligns the team's objectives and provides clarity on what work is to be carried out. 
2. Structured project management: The Legal Operations and Project Management team are project management specialists and can draw upon their expertise and experience to optimise how projects are run and managed. This significantly reduces the workload on the lawyers, improving their synergy and enabling them to place their focus primarily on the legal work at hand. 
3. Wider team communication: Developing a clear scope and project structure helps drive towards a purposeful Engagement Letter. This can then be circulated to the wider team, ensuring that everyone has a foundational understanding of how the project will operate and what their respective roles will be.  
4. Client expectations: From the client's perspective, a well-structured Engagement Letter provides clarity on the timing and methods of communication. This will better promote a transparent and trust-based relationship with the client.
5. Automation and portals: The Legal Operations and Project Management team can offer expert advice on the implementation of client relationship portals and whether to consider automation for routine communications. 

3. Knowledge capture practices

Resourcing needs can change throughout the course of a project. As team members leave the project, important know-how leaves with them. This is sometimes captured in handover notes, however, the understanding of how a project operates and nuances of working with a particular client are not always captured through this process. 

The consequence of this knowledge gap is twofold:

1. Challenges in team transition: When new team members join a project, they may face difficulties in understanding how the project operates and the intricacies of working with a particular client. This can create inefficiencies and hinder their integration into the project. 
2. Uneven distribution of expertise: The lack of a systematic knowledge capture process can lead to uneven distribution of expertise across the team. This can create inefficient communication practices which leads to wasted time and unnecessary delays. 

How the Legal Operations and Project Management team can support 

The Legal Operations and Project Management team can bridge this communication gap through:

1. Stakeholder mapping: The Legal Operations and Project Management team can map out the various project stakeholders and create clear visual charts to demonstrate the wide range of relationships and interdependencies. This will capture the key relationships and enable the team to direct their communications effectively. Additionally, lawyers will benefit from a clear understanding of the larger communication structure of both the firm and client and where these overlap.   
2. Centralisation of expertise: Throughout the project, important knowledge will begin to become more centralised and captured in a set of master documents. The Legal Operations and Project Management team can help design this process to ensure that the project's processes, client-specific learnings and project structure are captured and engaged with during every step of the project. The Legal Operations and Project Management team will consistently follow up to drive the best work practices and guide the lawyers through any adjustments needed.  This approach maximises the value gained from project specific knowledge.  

How do other sectors leverage their communications and what learnings can be applied to the legal sector?

The management of communications in customer facing industries such as marketing often draw  from the well-established principles of the seven C's of effective communication: clarity, conciseness, concreteness, correctness, coherence, completeness, and courtesy. Adopting these principles means that information is provided in the right format, at the right time, to the right audience and with the right impact.  

There is an opportunity for law firms to leverage these principles to optimise their own communication practices. Using the 7 Cs as a guiding framework, lawyers can set up reviews following key points on the project to seek feedback on how their overall communications were received. This will ensure that the methods and styles of communication are tailored specifically to the client and result in positive relationship building.