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How law firms can modernize secretarial roles to drive innovation
- 1. Sandie Craciun, Director of Consulting Konsept Consulting sandie.craciun@konseptconsulting.co.uk 07738 499738 Denis Simpson, Director Career Legal 020 7382 4232 denissimpson@careerlegal.co.uk Ed Turner, Managing Partner Taylor Vinters +44 (0)1223 225124 Ed.turner@taylorvinters.com Chrissie Easom, HR Director Taylor Vinters +44 (0)1223 225155 Chrissie.easom@taylorvinters.com Caroline Fuller, Secretarial Services Manager Taylor Vinters +44 (0)1223 225252 Caroline.fuller@taylorvinters.com Drew Winlaw, Solicitor Taylor Vinters +44 (0)1223 225126 Drew.winlaw@taylorvinters.com
- 3. Legal market trends • More for less* – Clients can’t afford traditional legal services – Clients demanding more but paying less – Greater pressure on fee earners to deliver * Tomorrow’s lawyer: Richard Susskind, OUP, 2013
- 4. Legal market trends • Relaxation of legal market – New types of legal businesses – Alternative business structures – Greater competition at lower costs – Need for more commercial practices
- 5. Legal market trends • Advent of technology – Growth in use of technology – Automation of basic processes – Innovation on new processes
- 6. July 2002 ….now is the ideal time to rethink secretarial strategies…..
- 8. Secretarial tasks 30 15 12 14 8 21 Typing Data & Finance Organisation File Management Communication Basic Admin Average data taken from 14 law firms between 2012/13 65% on basic tasks 35% on higher level tasks
- 9. Secretarial ratios Average ratio across practice areas Highest ratio across other firms Lowest ratio across other firms Corporate 5.7 11* (6.6) 3.5 Real Estate 3.6 6.3 3.2 Finance 4.4 7.4 3.8 Regulatory 3.9 5.8 2.9 IP/IT 4.6 8.5 3.0 Litigation & Arbitration 3.8 7* (6) 3.5 Employment 4.0 8* (7) 3.2 Total 4.4 7.7 (6.8) 3.3
- 10. Path to the future
- 11. What changes to make?
- 12. Keeping control
- 13. Can the culture change?
- 14. One size doesn’t fit all
- 15. Future roles
- 16. Multiple approaches • Shake • New roles, new structure, assessment, selection, potential redundancies • Rattle • New roles, new structure, assessment, roles for all • Roll • Gradual implementation of new structure
- 17. Proof….
- 19. The Case for Change • Get your context right • Ensure your senior management team know their role • Plan your communication
- 20. Formulating Change • Know your drivers • Consult with key stakeholders and seek input from external experts • Make your decision and plan
- 21. Implementing Change Announce Changes Assessment Allocate Roles Communicate and Engage Train Go Live
- 22. Driving Change FoundationforChange ImprovedClarity Co-ordinated & Consistent Implementation Proactive & Effective Management Team Focused Lawyers Focused Support Team Co-ordinated Feedback Consistent Communication Best Practice Identify Improvements Visibility
- 23. Enabling InnovationLeadingthewaytoInnovation Culture Process Review & Improvements High Performance Environment IT Systems & Infrastructure Staff Engagement Structure Client Excellence
- 24. Fully Serviced Secretarial Role Structure Client Lawyer Before Supervising Partner Shared Team Secretary Diaries & Client Liaison Transcription & Typing Client & Matter Inception Maintain Physical Files Database Updates Lawyer Experience? Client Experience?
- 25. Restructure + Technology Client Lawyer Supervising Partner Shared Team Secretary Diaries & Client Liaison Transcription & Typing Client & Matter Inception Physical Files Database Updates Document Production Records Management Fully Serviced Secretarial Role Transcription & Typing Client & Matter Inception Database Updates Secretarial Services Management Virtual FilesVirtual FilesMaintain Physical Files
- 26. PREPARATION • Print and distribute WIP lists to lawyers COVERING LETTERS FOR BILLS • Prepare draft covering letter (Locate template, save as new file name, tailor, save again, print, deliver for checking) • Amend covering letter (Locate saved document, perform amendments, save again, print again) • Print report detailing Fees, VAT, Disbursements, VAT and totals by matter (CommDis only) • Retype into covering letter, the Fees, VAT, Disbursements, VAT and totals as a costs update (CommDis only) BILLS • Request draft bills for lawyers • Print draft bills and deliver to lawyer for checking + Process design & task elimination
- 27. Early Tangible Returns Attribute Before As at May 2013 Matters without physical files 0% 20% - 80% team dependant Engagement Info & Invoices by email and autofile 0% >70% PII Insurance Big Number Big Number less 30% Client payment record Y days Y less 5 days Support Costs Z Z
- 28. Early Intangible Returns underlying compliance staff engagement client experience capability for further process improvement A responsive support service function that can flex to meet the needs of the business
- 29. Structure ~ Process ~ Technology Client Lawyer May 2013 Supervising Partner Shared Team Secretary Diaries & Client Liaison Transcription & Typing Client & Matter Inception Physical Files Database Updates Document Production Records Management Secretarial Services Management Virtual Files Client Experience? Support Team Experience? Lawyer Experience?
- 31. Stepping back in time… • Poor performers ‘slipping through the net’ • Stagnation
- 32. • More Team focussed • Enhanced soft skills • Continuing Career Development The here and now
- 33. Developing the Talent Pool • A ‘fresh approach’ • Breaking down boundaries by focussing on ‘mindset’ and ‘potential’
- 34. Looking to the future… • Secretaries who embrace change will thrive • Enhanced role will attract better candidates, often from outside of the legal sphere • Secretaries making an increasing contribution to their firms
Editor's Notes
- Build up structure starting with clientExplain reporting lines, with emphasis on secretary reporting to partnerShow “Fully Serviced Secretarial Role” components – [these are familiar so no need to read or explain these – just watch as they populate automatically and allow people to read them]Lawyer Experience of FSSR:Often huge effort on the part of the secretary, but incapable processes + single point of failure =Unpredictable Outputs – timing and qualityHoliday and sickness – no dedicated cover ‘Pass the Parcel’ – lots of activity, but infrequent closure and completionClient Experience:Of the lawyer = dependant on service provided / responsive / manage expectations etcOf the firm = administrative processes more about firm’s compliance than client, timing often ‘in catchup mode’Great lawyers, but a responsive and consistent experience held back by incapable structure & processes
- Created a Central Document Production Team, physically separate, enabled by digital dictation product BigHandCreated a Central Records Management Team, physically separate, enabled by Sharepoint Forms for client and matter inception, and Autonomy iManage for virtual filesLeave the Shared Team Secretary physically close, but now with enough time to focus on service to lawyers[it sounds easy when expressed like that, but there was pain during our transition until the new processes bedded in]Those changes removed the Fully Serviced Secretarial role as was; andremoved the reporting link between the supervising partner and shared team secretary .. (releasing some partner time)Replacing that with a reporting line for all the Green, Blue and Orange functions into a secretarial services management structure, led by an external hire, Caroline.These standard products required some further work to support the efficient liaison between the lawyer and the people working within these new specialisations, and structured housekeeping and data cleansing programmes to support increased automationHow did we do that? We then applied our own change magic, in the form of:The dashboardDelivery automationNaming conventions and auto-filingall wrapped in a model of lawyer-facing change that involved selected lawyers in a limited way, delivering incremental change phased by team according to their readiness and willingness
- The new structure afforded me as a Project Lead, with a more efficient model for consultation and process redesign.We redesigned many process as much as we could without having to change our practice management system. The key ones so far:Client and Matter InceptionAutomated / Advanced Billing (decisions on-screen), distribution of bill handled centrallyAutomated Credit Managementwith others coming soonWe have taken the opportunity that OFR affords us to be less stuffy, less rule-bound, and more creative in our client and lawyer interactions.Lawyer hat off, Project Lead hat onProjects and contributorsClient and Matter Inception (Lead, Sec ServMgt, Records Management, Compliance + IT)Automated Invoicing (Lead, Sec ServMgt, Records Management, Accounts Team + IT)Dashboard Actions (Lead, Sec ServMgt, Records Management, Compliance, Accounts Team + IT)Themes? All process change involves Lead & IT, most process change involves Sec Serv Mgt.[CLICK OVER THE WORD ‘PREPARATION’ TO START THE ANIMATION]Here is a really really long list of tasks that 6 months ago were part of the billing process performed at our firm, and today none of these need to be done by a human. They have all been eliminated or automated. I don’t expect you to be able to read the list as it scrolls pretty fast – I just want to give you an insight into the level of detail that we have to go to properly redesign processes.I don’t think it is any coincidence that we finished implementing the billing changes in February 2013, and for the 3 months since then we have in each case beaten target unexpectedly. It is hard to get to true causality and of course there are other factors involved, but when hundreds of people are involved in an inefficient process, and you replace that inefficient one with a clean and elegant one, nice things happen.
- This is the start of our journeyGreat progress so farSeveral further project elements will be implemented this year that will have an impact on the last attribute. The change requires resource, and when the change is done less resource will be required.The ‘less resource’ implied by greater efficiency is only one side of the story. The other side is the cultural benefit, the changing of attitudes about what technology can do for lawyers, a willingness to have a go, a tolerance of imperfection at the outset, and really quite fabulous support. .. So, what about the intangibles ..
- Let’s return to a couple of the key stakeholders in law firm change management, and their experience AFTER the changes we have made so far to Structure, Process and Technology (we are not done yet)Client ExperienceSame or next day receipt of engagement materials, often by email [x%]Reply to engagement email “OK” or “yes”, rather than sign a duplicate copy of a multiple page document sent by snail mailInvoices received by email, payable by direct transferTeamwork between lawyers and credit control people to encourage payment behaviours that match our contractual agreements with clientsLawyer ExperienceServices that are managedCover arrangements for holidays and sicknessTarget Service Levels mean I can set client expectations more reliablyPlatform for specialisation (better quality) and continual improvement (reliability)Actionable information that shows my place in the process (eg Credit Control and the collections process) as part of the wider team – steps towards healing the divide between fee earner and non fee earner by showing joint contributions to common goals that align with the lawyer’s targets.Secretarial Services ExperienceTransitionExpertiseTeamwork