In-House Counsel

Can project managers co-exist with litigation managers?

By Rees Morrison

Large lawsuits have lots of moving parts. They seem to be ripe for the skills of project managers, people who are trained in how to get the right resources at the right time to the correct activity. As mentioned in Met. Corp. Counsel, Vol. 16, June 2008 at 44, a lawyer who knows the laws, procedures and practices of major litigation does not necessarily have the mind set or the experience to keep the many trains on their various tracks and schedules.

To pair a lawyer who knows the law with a project manager who knows how to get things done efficiently sounds promising, but I do not know how well it works in real life. Litigation lawyers care about the law and strategy, not deadlines and metrics. Also, they outrank project managers (See my post of June 24, 2007: project management with 5 references; Aug. 15, 2008: perceptions of usefulness of project management software; and Dec. 12, 2007: project management software and litigation.)

Full post as published by Law Department Management on October 02, 2008 (boomark / email).