Canadian Lawyer InHouse

37 CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE NOVEMBER 2017 L a w D e p a r t m e n t M a n a g e m e n t WHILE ALL general counsel would prob- ably say they'd like to pay less for legal ser- vices, others would suggest predictability of cost continues to be even more important to them on large or ongoing transactions and litigation. When you're in the depths of a major M&A or piece of litigation, the ability to have a plan in place to track costs and the progress of a major matter can go a long way to providing peace of mind. For expe - rienced corporate counsel such as Jennifer Good, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary with CRH Canada Group Inc., greater certainty is something she looks for from her external firms. CRH Canada is a building materials manufacturing and construction company with offices in Toronto. One of the com - pany's law firms, Gowling (Canada) WLG, has used Cael Project (previously Cael LPM) from Elevate Services on a couple of acquisi- tion transactions for the company. It's a tool Good says allows "for a lot more flexibility and transparency." The functionality of the tool is provided by Cael Project, but the content is custom - ized by each law firm. The firm has spent the last few years im- proving its project templates and it's starting to pay off for clients. "I find the litigators creating the project plans are finding life is easier with them than without," says Rick Kathuria, national director of project man- agement and legal innovation at Gowling WLG, who heads up the project manage- ment initiative at the firm. Gowlings uses the project management software to budget out matters so clients such as Good have an idea of how much is expected to be spent on various aspects of a transaction as it relates to legal fees. "It also gives me the ability, over the course of the transaction, to monitor spend and have realistic numbers for specific aspects of the transaction," she says. "Often times, it's hard to predict what your legal fees are going to end up looking like at the end of a big transaction," says Good. "It may go on for months and months and there are complications along the way, so it's hard to predict exactly where the fees will go. This tool seems to allow more predictability and tracking at a more granular level, which is nice, and I think encourages the law firm Reduce the pressure Project management software can be used by both in-house and external firms to keep tabs on budget and progress of matter. BY JENNIFER BROWN

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