Sunday, September 08, 2013

185 - Karen Dunn Skinner & David Skinner on Lean in Law Firm

My guests for episode #185 are Karen Dunn Skinner and David Skinner and our topic, for the first time on the Podcast, is Lean in law firms and the legal profession. David and Karen are husband and wife, attorneys, from Quebec, and consultants for their firm Gimbal.I had a chance to meet up with them in Montreal earlier this year, after connecting via social media, and they're a delight to talk to - in person and in our podcast.

I think there are a lot of fascinating parallels between Lean in healthcare and Lean in law. There are opportunities to focus on payment for value instead of activity, big opportunities to reduce waste and errors, and to make sure people are doing the right work for their job level. "The way it's always been" seems very powerful in both professions and the "but we don't make cars" objection can be powerful.

In the episode, we discuss topics including:
2022 How do Lean methods apply in a Law firm?
2022 What are some benefits to the clients and the firm itself?
2022 How do you get past the "we don't build cars" objection?
2022 How widespread is Lean in the legal profession?
2022 How did Karen and David discover Lean (and Six Sigma) as attorneys?
2022 What's the balance between using Lean and/or Six Sigma in law?
2022 How can standardized work and checklists help?
2022 Why are legal clients dissatisfied with the pricing and quality of legal work?
2022 How do you strike a balance between law being an art vs. being a process?

For a link to this episode, refer people to www.leanblog.org/185. 

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