Recently in Training Category

On November 1st, the Canadian Bar Association will host its first conference on focused on the topic of legal-project management.  Title: "Project Management for Canadian Lawyers"  Format/Location: Live Conference. Hyatt Regency, Toronto. Cost: Free for OLP members. 79 USD per telephone line for non-members.  Organizations: The Canadian Bar Association Description: The CBA is pleased to offer its first conference on Project Management for Canadian Lawyers.  Many lawyers struggle to estimate how long a legal mandate will take or how much it will cost. Project management methods have been used successfully for many years to answer these questions in corporations, consulting firms and...

On August 17th, the Organization of Litigation Support Professionals will host a presentation on "common sense project management," presented by Jane Gennarelli, a principal of Magellan's Law Corporation.Title: "Common Sense Project Management" Format/Location: Teleconference. Cost: Free for OLP members. 79 USD per telephone line for non-members.  Organizations: The Organization of Legal ProfessionalsInstructors: Jane Gennarelli, a principal of Magellan's Magellan's Law CorporationDate: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7:30 to 9:30 A.M. United States 10:00 a.m. Pacific; 12:00 Central; 1:00 EasternDescription/Agenda: [T]his webinar...will discuss the typical reasons that litigation projects get "broken" -- why there are cost overruns, why deadlines are missed, and why quality expectations aren't met -- and [will] outline...

On August 18th, the Practicing Law Institute will present a one-hour CLE program that promises to demystify project management. Title: Demystifying Project ManagementFormat: Audio only (Windows Media Player, Real Player, or Adobe Flash Player software needed).Cost: $299Organizations: Practicing Law InstituteInstructors: Stephen V. Armstrong, Principal, Armstrong Talent DevelopmentTimothy G. Leishman, Managing Director, Firm Leader Inc.Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 1:00 pm  - 2:00 pm United States Eastern TimeDescription: As clients push law firms to be more efficient and as alternative fee arrangements spread, firms are beginning to apply project management principles to manage their work.  But the tenets of classic project management, as they were developed to...

Legal education has been getting a bad rap recently for failing to properly prepare students in today's environment where clients are less willing to foot the bill for training lawyers how to practice law. In addition to practical legal skills, there have been calls to better prepare law students with business skills, including project-management skills.[1]Therefore, I was happy to come across a proposal for a Project Management for Lawyers course to be taught for the first time at Indiana University this fall by Professors William Henderson and Carole Silver at the University of Indiana Maurer School of Law.[2] The course will focus "on teamwork and project...

Today I attended, via Web cast, the American Law Institute and American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) continuing legal education course on project management for lawyers.[1] The instructor was time-management-for-lawyers guru Margaret Spencer Dixon.[2]Ms Dixon's two-hour lecture provided a crash course in project management, tailored for a legal audience. I had predicted that this would not be a standards-based course, but rather a discussion of general principals of "project management" as the term is loosely defined.[3] I was wrong. Although Ms Dixon kept the presentation lawyer-friendly, I was surprised at how much standard project-management terminology and practices she covered. Unlike most project-management-for-lawyers courses...

The American Law Institute and American Bar Association (ALI-ABA) are offering a continuing legal education course on project management for lawyers.[1]  The Web cast, schedule for December 9th, will provide two hours of MCLE credit at a cost of 199 USD. The topics covered include:  Defining the Project So All Stakeholders Are on the Same Page Creating a Functional and Effective Project Plan Identifying, Organizing, and Scheduling Tasks Estimating How Long Various Tasks Should Take Setting Realistic Deadlines Keeping Projects on Track Closing Out Projects Including Creating Forms and Checklists for Use in Future Projects Analyzing Lessons Learned To Continually Improve Firm Processes [2]The instructor will be time-management-for-lawyers guru Margaret Spencer...

One of the benefits of maintaining this blog is that it brings me into contact with experts in the fields of legal project management, legal process improvement, and legal technology. It is my stepladder to the shoulders of giants. Recently, I've started approaching members of the legal and legal support communities to ask them to share their views on legal project management. Most have been very encouraging and willing to speak with me.A while back I came across Baker Robbins & Company's Project Management for Litigation Clinic. It was exciting for me to see a two-day program devoted entirely...