Today we’re focusing on one of the biggest wastes in the legal profession - not maximizing your most valuable resource: your people. And if you’re a solo practitioner, that valuable resource is yourself.

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Does Lean Mean Fewer People?

When we talk to law firm management about going Lean, many tell us they’re already Lean. What they usually mean is they have cut their admin staff to the bone. Four or five lawyers for every assistant. On paper, it looks good.

When we talk to attorneys, though, we see the other side. When you don’t have an assistant who’s available and knows your practice, you put on another hat. You become the assistant, receptionist, and word processing expert. Whether your in a law firm, a legal department, or a solo practice, ask yourself: Is that really what valuable lawyers should be doing?

How It Looked in One Firm

We’ve talked before about the downside of cutting employees. We saw it first-hand most recently with one of our clients, an AmLaw 100 firm based on the west coast. Because each assistant supports 4 or 5 attorneys, sometimes in different practice areas, they’re unable to provide any more than basic administrative support. Lawyers do most of their own word processing, calendaring, and other work that a trained legal secretary would have done for them 10 or 15 years ago.

If you’ve been following us at all, you’ll recognize that having attorneys spend valuable time on tasks an assistant can do is a waste. In fact, it’s the waste of non-utilized talent and you can learn more about it in our Eight Wastes Workbook.

The project focused on staffing: getting the right people doing the right work at the right cost. The result: the firm is rethinking the support they provide to attorneys, so that administrative/word-processing work shifts back to the right level.

Lean ≠ Layoffs

In almost every project we’ve ever done, the biggest rewards always come from shifting work to the right level. And despite what people think when they hear the word “Lean,” it rarely means firing staff.

Even in projects where technology takes over some tasks, people—your most valuable resource—can be retasked. They can stretch up. Learn a new skill set. Provide a different level of support. They can provide more value to your practice and your clients.

So, as you redesign your legal and administrative processes, think hard about the value of your people. Ask yourself, in every project:

Do I have the right people, doing the right work, at the right cost?

And that’s it for this week’s tip. Join us next week for more on building a profitable and productive law practice. Sign up here if you don’t want to miss it.

Thanks a lot everybody! See you next week.