If you have been following us for a while, you already know how enthusiastic we are about matter management boards. Here are links to our October 2, 2019, and to our March 18, 2020, posts on the subject.

They’re a flexible tool for keeping your matters on time and on budget, and avoiding surprises that can derail your files. This week, we thought it would be useful for you to see how some firms are using matter management boards.

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Here is what one firm did. Our client, an AmLaw 100 firm with offices up and down the west coast of the US, found that staffing M&A transactions was overly complicated. The firm prides itself on collaboration between its attorneys, and regularly staffs deals with lawyers located in different offices. But the practice group leaders were concerned that work wasn’t being distributed equitably across the associates, and partners couldn’t tell who had availability.

They needed a system that would give them instant insight into who was working on what, and who was available to take on more work.

The solution had to be easy to learn and use, and it had to be available for partners and associates to check and update, no matter which office they were working from.

Enter the Matter Management Board

We mapped out the team’s typical M&A transaction from start to finish, and looked carefully at who was doing what, when, and how across the life cycle of the deal. After spending a little time optimizing the process (the “how”), to make sure right work (the “what”) was being carried out by the right resources (the “who”), they were ready to translate their map to a board.

The firm already had licenses for a few software platforms that offered the matter management board functionality. They selected the one that was easiest for their attorneys to learn and set up their board. You can do the same thing with our Seven-step Board Builder Framework. If you haven’t already done so, you can download this all-in-one guide that teaches you the seven-step board builder framework.

Their Staffing Board was designed to track deals across the main phases of a typical M&A life cycle. It’s what we call a Work-in-Progress or WIP Board.

Setting up a Staffing Board

Each open matter went onto a separate digital card that included the names of associates working on it, and each card moved across the board according to which phase of the M&A life cycle it was in. Partners could see, at a glance, who was working on what and where the matter stood in the deal lifecycle.

The team tested their board with a small group of attorneys (partners and associates) working on a discrete set of deals. It’s helping them staff deals quickly and fairly; both associates and partners are happy. Now they’re bringing other partners (including their professional development partner) up to speed. The practice group is using their staffing board to allocate work, and ensure that associates are getting the training they need.

Another firm did almost the same thing.

An M&A attorney from a mid-sized firm in Raleigh, North Carolina, attended one of David’s workshops in Washington DC (back when we could travel…). He sent us an email shortly after, saying,

“I now have a personal board in my office, and our M&A group has a full color-coded board for the whole group. While not as detailed as some of the ones you showed us, it has made staffing decisions much easier.”

We have lots of other examples of how firms are using this flexible, highly visual, easy-to-learn tool to manage workflow and work allocation. It’s a tool you can use no matter what kind of practice you’re running, and it’s especially useful right now, when everyone is working remotely.

And that’s it for this week. Join us next week for more on building a profitable and productive law practice.

Don’t forget to grab your free Matter Management All-in-One Guide.

Thanks a lot everybody!