Will Project Management Become a Casualty in Law-firm Culture Wars?

Those of us who promote better project management in the practice of law sooner or later stumble into the debate over whether project management is a transplant from the business world that will eventually sap the professionalism out of law.  Is running a law firm like a business antithetical to law as an honorable profession?

Last week the ABA Journal's News blog published a post about William Lancaste, a Seyfarth Shaw partner who is suing the firm after they demoted him to non-equity status. Mr. Lancaste claims that although he had a productive practice, he was a victim of the firm placing profit motives over its stated core values of teamwork and mutual respect.^[1] 

I've written in the past about Seyfarth Shaw being on the forefront of applying project-management and process-improvement standards and methodologies to the practice of law, including the establishment of a legal project management office and the development of its own flavor of Six Sigma, which the firm advertises as Seyfarth Lean.^[2] With this background, one naturally questions the role of these initiatives in the firm's working environment as alleged by Mr. Lancaste:

In practice, the suit says, the law firm became a corporation, complete with a layer of nonlawyer managers who reported to managing partner Stephen Poor, who functioned more as a CEO.... The functions of law firm managers "became principally not the practice of law, but the instigation of profit seeking and what Poor, referring to the "management of lawyers, called 'herding cats,' " the suit alleges.^[3] 

That many lawyers may chafe at being asked to run their practices like a business should come as no surprise; plenty of physical and digital ink has been spilled on the subject over the years. With the current recession hammering law firm profitability, this is no longer academic. In their efforts to control costs and make a profit, and to respond to increasing client demands to lower fees or offer fixed-fee billing, many firms are taking a close look at project management. The legal profession is heading towards a culture clash. 

That a law firm seeks to make a profit and may seek to push out under-performing partners is hardly a revelation. Yet if you read the comments posted by various U.S. lawyers in response to the ABA Journal article, you'll see that the story clearly hit a nerve with some. The practice of law is seen by many lawyers as a calling. Like doctors and spiritual advisors, lawyers are subject to higher standards of ethical behavior and are given a more privileged relationship with their clients than "mere" businessmen.

Modern project management grew out of a different culture. A firm looking to bring in project management experts as consultants or full-time management is unlikely to find many who are also licensed attorneys. Many professional project managers, especially those with engineering or IT backgrounds, do not understand or appreciate attorney sensibilities and very well may feel that managing attorneys is like "herding cats," which increases the likelihood of conflicts and attempts by lawyers to undermine project management initiatives. 

There is nothing inherently incompatible with legal practice and project management standards. But the practice of law does involve more than making a profit and legal project managers must understand this. Firms that attempt to implement project management systems with an eye only towards squeezing out more profit are being short sighted. They are also selling project management short. 

Good project management can improve attorney job satisfaction when it is implemented to not only increase profit, but also to create a better working environment.^[4] It can also help lawyers better meet their ethical responsibilities, especially their duties of promptness^[5] and to "make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation consistent with the interests of the client."^[6]

There is no need for project management to become a casualty of law-firm culture wars.