Five Key Principles for Streamlining Your Legal Practice

Invented after World War II by Toyota engineers struggling to maintain productivity amid massive supply chain disruptions, lean methodologies revolutionized modern manufacturing. By focusing on efficiency and continuous improvement in their operations, factories, and warehouses around the world have maximized their profits by doing more with less. 

Smart business leaders are always looking for the next big thing and soon adapted the lean principles of manufacturing to everyday business practices. These principles are so popular right now that you can’t talk to anyone in a management role without hearing about how they just finished a Kaizen DMAIC cycle after using a Kanban to plan a GEMBA walk. 

Huh? Yeah… it hasn’t been quite the same in many professional services sectors like law.  

Legal industry professionals can be averse to change. Because their jobs often come with steep consequences for missteps, lawyers are almost never the first to jump on any bandwagon. For example, many law firms still lag behind in areas such as accepting online payments.  

But there’s no question that the rise of AI, alternative service providers, and technologies that allow for increased efficiency are changing the way modern law firms do business. Law firms that don’t embrace the principles of lean law may struggle to stay viable in the markets of the future. 

What is lean law and why does my firm need it? 

At its core, lean law is about running a law firm like a business. It involves delivering superior service to clients, increasing employee satisfaction, and growing profits—all by reducing inefficiencies and improving productivity. 

To run a lean law firm, you should:  

• Optimize how you use your staff and resources so you can spend the majority of your efforts on profitable activities 
• Have a draft control process that ensures multiple people aren’t spending too much valuable time on tedious tasks 
• Use performance data to find bottlenecks in client onboarding and communication

If you’re like most lawyers, you may be thinking that these are the most obvious, basic, fundamental rules for any business. (And you wouldn’t be wrong.) 

But it’s one thing to understand a principle and something very different to implement it effectively. 

Five ways to implement lean principles and streamline your legal practice 

When implemented correctly, these five lean principles can help your law firm stay up-to-date with best practices and new technologies that keep a firm responsive, agile, and ultimately, successful.  

1. Identify your resources 

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by big projects if you aren’t starting from a place of strength.  

Instead of making a long list of everything that’s broken, take some time to identify what your firm is doing well. This list shouldn’t only be about how many cases you win—remember to include the less glamorous (but equally important) administrative operations that keep the wheels turning. 

For example: are you great at communicating with clients? Do you have a low error rate for data entry or record filing? Do your invoices go out and get paid on time? Is your team good at negotiating settlements?  

Create the most accurate list possible by seeking input across your firm. Ask your receptionists, paralegals, IT group, HR team, and accounting department as well as your associates, partners, and clients where they think your organization excels.

2. Pinpoint inconsistent or inefficient practices 

Once you know what you’re good at, it’s time for a longer look in the mirror. Some problems—such as low collection rates, poor consult-to-conversion ratios, or frequently missed deadlines—are easy to spot. 

Others, like inadequate client communications, redundant administrative tasks, and inconsistent processes, might be harder to nail down. 

Select a few key players from each level of your org chart and ask them to list three or four things that they think aren’t working well or that make their job harder. Some issues may be department-specific and some may be universal, but try to prioritize them based on: 

• How many employees or clients the issue affects 
• How much the issue affects overall productivity 
• How complex the solution will be 

You might be able to fix some problems with a simple tweak, while others may require an investment in equipment or technology. But all of them will be easier to fix once you know what they are.