Law and Order: Seyfarth Shaw Adopts Lean Six Sigma

The changing business environment is forcing some industries to adopt new operating models, and professional services companies are no exception   Take law firms, for example.  The current customer expectations for reduced costs presents law firms with the challenge of changing their billing methods and reducing their cost structures.  Seyfarth Shaw, a US-based law firm comprised of 750 attorneys, recognized the need for change back in 2006, and turned to Lean Six Sigma – a data-driven, process-focused methodology that has helped drive billions of costs out of companies around the globe.  The challenge?  The approach had never before been applied in the legal industry..

SeyfarthLean, the name of the customized Lean Six Sigma program used by Seyfarth, differed from the traditional LSS methodology in that it had to be tailored to meet the needs of a professional services environment as opposed to a manufacturing or transaction-based enviroment.  To help ensure the effort’s success, Seyfarth hired SSA & Company, an operations consultancy founded by the creators of Lean Six Sigma,  to kick off and implement theirnon-traditional Lean Six Sigma program.  With the help of SSA & Company, Seyfarth trained a significant number of its employees as Green Belts to establish a broad understanding of the Lean Six Sigma methodology.   SSA & Company then went on to train Black Belts and Master Black Belts at Seyfarth, creating a strong internal capability to execute Lean Six Sigma projects.Through various Lean Six Sigma projects, Seyfarth’s attorneys learned to better understand the underlying processes of their business and find ways to improve service.  For example. one project discovered that one legal process was comprised of more than 200 steps.  By understanding the  time, cost, and quality of each of those steps, the attorneys were able to assess the value of each step and whether all 200 steps were necessary.  This allowed the firm to streamline the process, reducing the amount of time required to complete this process, which ultimately enabled both Seyfarth, and the client, to save money.

Seyfarth’s Lean Six Sigma efforts have set a precedent worth following in the legal field.  As clients become more cost-conscious and as firms move away from the billable hour system to attract more business, law firms will have to find new ways to reduce costs and innovate their business models; for Seyfarth, it’s already provided a competitive advantage. It could also mark the genesis of a new and improved business model for the industry at a time when the industry is in need of a boost.

The Association of Corporate Counsel has noted that Seyfarth is “five years ahead of every other AmLaw 200 firm” because of its Lean Six Sigma program.  Because of the success of Seyfarth’s program, other law firms are sure to follow.

                                                                                                        Get the Full Article (iSixSigma Subscription Required)