How Law Firms Can Use The Livable Law Method to Increase Efficiency, Reduce Attorney Attrition And Prevent Burnout
Livable Law author Dr. Giugi Carminati introduces a novel project management method for law firms to create healthier workplaces and transform the practice of law
DENVER, Oct. 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Law firms can be more efficient, profitable and retain more staff, especially women attorneys, by implementing project management techniques and creating a culture that supports work-life boundaries to reduce burnout, according to Livable Law author Dr. Giugi Carminati.
Carminati is an attorney and a certified legal and e-discovery project management consultant, who helps legal firms implement the Livable Law Method to improve their operations.
After two burnouts, a life threatening event in 2020, and years trying to leave the legal profession, Carminati created a system that's transforming the practice of law for the better.
"The big benefit of project management through the Livable Law Method, is that it makes the law livable and stops lawyers fleeing the legal profession looking for sanity," said Carminati.
Lawyers and their staff typically put in long hours, experiencing unhealthy levels of stress, and eventual burnout. Levels of anxiety, depression, and substance abuse among lawyers are alarming.
Bar associations are sensitive to this, and seminars on ways to "decrease burnout" abound. But, until now, the only solutions they offered centered around lawyers doing "self-care." Carminati's Livable Law Method is different because it focuses on systemic change.
Lawyers and their staff work crazy hours leaving little time for family life or personal wellbeing.
"Eventually, they leave. The exodus is disproportionally among women lawyers, and especially women of color, who are crucial if we want to have an equitable justice system representing everyone in society," said Carminati.
When she implemented The Livable Law Method at a civil law firm, stress levels immediately plummeted and workflows leveled out, which is uncharacteristic in the legal field.
"We leveled the workload and neither staff nor lawyers had to work weekends or evenings. There's also very little bottlenecking; so many frustrations were gone," said Carminati.
When a law firm starts a new case in the Livable Law world, the first thing to happen is a kickoff meeting, with lawyers, staff, partners, and possibly the client, to map out where the case is going.
During the meeting, one person is assigned as ScrumMaster and writes down a timeline of all tasks needed to implement by the lead attorney's and client's vision and goals. Standardizing these types of events will radically change the practice of law.
The Livable Law Method is based on Agile project management techniques and daily "stand up" or Scrum meetings. It's also an iterative process in the sense that tasks are revisited regularly to see which direction the case is going.
"Change is a constant in the legal profession. If a terrible fact emerges or new witnesses appear that could change everything in the case, then adjustments to the project must be made," said Carminati.
Agile was originally developed for the software development world where scopes and goals are constantly changing, much like working on a case in the legal profession.
"I've modified it to fit our profession. With Livable Law Method techniques, there's constant communication, through a variety of channels, but in a way, that's compartmentalized so we're not chasing information," said Carminati.
Staff communications with the Livable Law Method cuts down on "dead time," where staff are just "waiting" for someone else to complete a task before they can continue doing their job.
"It happens all the time and can be frustrating. You're in a meeting asking if a task is getting done and the person says, 'I was waiting for something.' It's been a week now, what are you waiting for?" said Carminati.
That won't happen if you're having regular Scrum meetings with the Livable Law Method. In addition, at those meeting, if you're stuck or overwhelmed, you just ask for help adds Carminati.
The Livable Law Method is centered around ten principles, including People Are Not Widgets and Burnout is Forever, and operates around a three-pillar framework: Management of Tasks, Management of Time, and Management of Things.
The Livable Law Method is available in paperback or digital at Amazon. You can also review the Livable Law website and find out how certified legal and e-discovery project manager Carminati can help improve the livability of your firm's caseloads.
Her online courses, training, and coaching can help level workflows to increase transparency in assigned tasks and decrease unnecessary stress that's common in today's legal profession.
For further information or to schedule an interview, contact Dr. Giugi Carminati at (773) LIVABLE (548-2253) or [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Dr. Giugi Carminati
Author
Livable Law
http://www.livablelaw.com
Denver, CO
Phone: (773) LIVABLE (548-2253)
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Livable Law
Share this article