Canadian Lawyer InHouse

february 2015 36 INHOUSE of workers in an effort to balance human resources with areas of growth. "We got through unscathed," Pekilis says of the legal department. She credits executive support. "I went around to each one of our vice- presidents to validate what we were doing." bank bids goodbye to process mayhem Lawyers at financial institution RBC took a different route to efficiency: they used Lean Six Sigma, a process improvement system, to dissect and streamline their workflows. "The concept is that everything you do is a process, so you process-map it from begin- ning to end," says Emily Jelich, vice president and associate general counsel at RBC law group. "You will typically find duplications, circuitous efforts, or extraneous elements." The law group decided to try Lean Six Sigma after learning that Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago had used it to reduce costs and save time. RBC's lawyers tested the method on two projects and discovered numerous process inefficiencies. After the law group addressed those problems, they took the system further, employing it on 18 more projects. The results were staggering: RBC saved more than $5 million in billable hours and fees. One simplified process best illustrates where those savings came from. Jelich says her team aimed to improve the way external counsel communicated with RBC businesspeople. Traditionally, when the law firm wanted to update an RBC manager on a legal matter, the firm would write him or her a letter. Unfortunately, sometimes that letter would confuse rather than inform the recipient. Without context, the manager had no idea what the law firm was talking about. External lawyers are "immersed in the file," Jelich says, explaining why the letters lacked details. "The businessperson, on the other hand, hears about the file once in a blue moon. So they receive the letter, but they have no context for it." Seeking more information, the businessperson would contact the in-house legal team, which would contact external counsel — and external counsel would send a copy of the letter to the in-house lawyers. Each link in this chain wasted time and money. The solution, which RBC discovered after creating a process map, proved simple. "All you need is a standard covering letter to give context to the businessperson and make sure the internal law group is copied on it," Jelich says. That way, the businessperson probably wouldn't need the law group's help; the cover letter would provide context. And even if he or she did need further assistance, the law group would already have the background information at hand, no need for them to contact external counsel. Jelich encourages the entire law group to use Lean Six Sigma. "You don't have to suffer the challenges of process mayhem. If you think this methodology will help make your desk better and, therefore, your day more meaningful and your work more efficient, give it a try." shaking up the cost mix Lawyers may be reluctant to think of their work as a series of processes, as though this L aw D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t TIME: EVENT: 12-month, part-time, executive LL.M. for lawyers and business professionals Advance your career to the next level! Learn important legal and business concepts that can be immediately applied to better serve your clients. Explore the implications of real-life cases in an increasingly complex global business environment. Acquire in-depth knowledge of how the law interacts with both the private and public sectors. For more information please contact Jane Kidner, Assistant Dean Professional Legal Education at j.kidner@utoronto.ca http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html or visit our website: ntitled-7 1 2014-11-25 8:53 AM

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