The law firm of Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced today that it is adding a "Corporate Technology and Outsourcing Team" to its Atlanta Office. What caught my attention in what is an otherwise ordinary law firm press release is the extent to which the firm highlights its adoption of Lean Six Sigma methodologies, dubbing the firm's methodology as "Seyfarth Lean."
According to the press release, the firm has 75 in-house Six Sigma Certified Green Belts (a certification with fewer requirements than the more advanced "Black Belt" certification, Green Belts typically take up Six Sigma implementation alongside their other work obligations and work under the supervision of a Black Belt). The firm claims to have adopted Lean Six Sigma across their practice areas and to have delivered to their clients cost savings ranging from 13-50%.
Unfamiliar with Seyfarth Shaw and its Lean Six Sigma program, I visited the firm's Web site for more information. In particular, I was interested in how many of their 75 Green Belts are attorneys. The firm maintains a page that introduces its lean six sigma program. This page, however, contains nearly the same content as that in the press release. I was also disappointed that the "publications" section of the firm's Web site did not provide any material related to their six sigma program.
A search for "six sigma" in their on-line directory returned 11 attorneys (7 partners and 4 associates) and one non-attorney, which leads me to assume that the majority of their Six Sigma Green Belts are litigation support, IT, legal assistant, or paralegal staff (which most firm Web sites do not list in their on-line directories). Browsing through the partner biographies, I was surprised to see that most of those returned by my search actually were certified. I was expecting some mention of their involvement in Six Sigma efforts, not actual certification.
Based upon my search and and review of their biographies, six of the firm partners are Six Sigma Green Belts, including the managing partner of the Boston office, and one partner is a Six Sigma Black Belt. Three associates are listed as being Six Sigma Green Belts.
Because Six Sigma testing and certification requirements are not as centralized and standardized as other certifications, such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, it is important to look at what organization provided the training and, if the certification is through an in-house training program, to compare that program against those of other well-regarded training programs. Not much information is given on the firm's training and certification program, although one bio mentions the "Six Sigma Academy" as the certifying organization. Given that this consulting firm was founded by the inventor of the Six Sigma practice, it is as reputable as you can get.
I'm impressed to see a firm so dedicated to process improvement that even partners in the firm have obtained six sigma certifications. I'm interested to learn more about the firm's Lean Six Sigma program, especially how they have adopted to the provision of legal services what was originally a methodology developed for minimizing manufacturing defects. I'm also interested in how the firm responds to criticisms of Six Sigma, including the claims that it drives out innovation and is being applied to areas where it is ill suited (e.g, where you can't measure the quality of an outcome, which is a common protest of many lawyers when pressured to adopt process-improvement methods). Also, given that the Six Sigma Academy is quoted as listing "poor project management" as one of the reasons that six sigma projects fail, I'd also be interested in what role project management plays in the the Seyfarth Shaw's Lean Six Sigma program.
I've sent a copy of this post to Lisa Damon, who leads the Seyfarth Lean Six Sigma program throughout the Firm, in the hope that she has time to share more details about their unique program.
There is not much information readily available on how Six Sigma can and is applied to legal services. For those interested in the subject, I suggest following Rees Morrison's "Law Department Management" Blog. Rees has written a number of posts about Six Sigma as it applies to the practice of law. A good post to use use as a jumping off point is his "Six Sigma and Three Time Six Posts On the Topic" post.
Paul,
Thanks so much for your interest in SeyfarthLean. We have been applying Lean Six Sigma and project management tools and methodologies to the delivery of our legal services since 2006. It's been quite an investment, but we wanted to proactively address the issues our clients were facing - namely how to get the most efficient delivery of legal services, and, in doing so, manage their legal costs and get better budget predictability, without sacrificing quality. We have learned quite a bit in that journey, and have been working with our clients to re-imagine the client/law firm relationship. Is it working? Yes! By removing inefficiencies, we've been able to reduce costs by 13-50% across our many practice areas: corporate, real estate, labor and employment , intellectual property, employee benefits, and litigation. Our clients are key to making this work - companies like 7-11 and UTC have been part of this journey with us and have been instrumental in shaping this new approach. Others like Tom Sager at DuPont and Jeff Carr at FMC are also helping drive these new paradigms for us and for the legal industry.
We do in fact have 75 Green Belts, 25 of whom are attorneys (not all have yet listed that credential on their bios, but thanks to your post, we're in the process of doing just that.) Seyfarth also has a dedicated Project Management Office (PMO.) Our PMI certified Project Managers are a key element in working with our attorneys and clients to create and implement the new Lean Six Sigma processes as well as making sure the new processes "stick." These individuals are responsible for making sure the process is followed, identifying ongoing improvement areas, working with clients on process improvement and measuring results. The great thing about this is that we have our entire team - lawyers, Green Belts, project managers and staff - focused on our clients and delivering high value legal work.
Thanks again for your post, and I'd be happy to answer more questions. And, if you're in the Southern California area and are participating in the ACC event, we're looking forward to seeing you there! If you'd like to see what we're up to, we invite you to follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/seyfarthshawLLP .
Lisa,
Thank you for your response. I find it interesting that your firm has a dedicated PMO and employs PMPs. I would think that this is something you'd want to emphasize in your marketing of Seyfarth Lean.
Updating the bios with PMI and Six Sigma certs is a great move in my opinion (and not only because this post prompted the update). I think that this is a real differentiator in what is now a tough legal market. It shows the attorney has made a significant investment of time into understanding how to work more efficiently and provide consistent, high-quality work.
While I'll be unable to make the ACC event, I'll certainly be following you on Twitter.
Project management certification and accreditation is determined by the passing of two exams. The Foundation exam is a multiple-choice test that lasts for up to one hour. The Practitioner test is a bit more complex, mixing in objective testing with multiple-choice questions, and clocking in at approximately three hours.
Project management certification and accreditation is determined by the passing of two exams. The Foundation exam is a multiple-choice test that lasts for up to one hour. The Practitioner test is a bit more complex, mixing in objective testing with multiple-choice questions, and clocking in at approximately three hours.
Online project management training is the best solution to any company, organization or professional that wants to learn how to analyze and resolve the problems impacting businesses today.