Product Description
Abstract
In 2006, US-based law firm Seyfarth Shaw embarked on a program to bring concepts borrowed from manufacturing to the process of delivering legal services. By applying its own version of a Lean Six Sigma approach, the firm uses process techniques to redesign services in more efficient ways without compromising on quality. The case follows the adaptation of Lean Six Sigma for a law firm environment and describes the challenges the firm encountered when introducing it to partners. It also describes ways Seyfarth Shaw invested in systems and people to support a Lean Six Sigma approach and asks how far the firm can push its clients, its partners and its systems to embrace a new way of delivering legal services.
Learning Objectives
The case asks participants to consider the efficacy of traditional approaches for organizing law firms and delivering legal services. Participants are encouraged to also consider how to implement Lean Six Sigma principles, stay ahead of competitors when a company's innovative strategy becomes the gold standard, and shape a firm's talent and compensation to further Lean Six Sigma.
Subjects Covered
legal service delivery, Six Sigma, Lean, legal spend, efficiency, green belt certification, change management, cost-plus business models, process improvement, billing, workflow, productivity, pricing of legal services, financial crisis
Setting
Geographic: Chicago, Boston
Industry: Law Firm
Event Year Begin: 2000s
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