By incorporating LEAN principles into your law practice, you can maximize your efficiency as a practitioner to help achieve your personal and professional goals. In this article, we’ll discuss some beneficial outcomes from using LEAN effectively.
Adopting LEAN principles and associated technologies can substantially increase your bottom line. The average law firm spends 45 to 50% of its overall earnings on operating costs. High turnover costs account for 30 to 50% of operating expenses, while technology accounts for up to 4% of operating expenses. By incorporating LEAN principles and technologies, law firm owners can automate redundant tasks resulting in more productivity while reducing overall hiring needs. Increased productivity and reduced operating costs also facilitate more effective capital allocation into highly competitive practice areas to drive revenue growth.
Freeing up more time through LEAN not only increases profitability, but results in more freedom in life. Lawyers burdened by rote tasks and inefficient business practices under a traditional law firm model most counterbalance that lost time with substantive work. This leads to a gradual deterioration in work/life balance and less overall happiness. The most unsatisfied law firm lawyers report working an average of 57.8 hours per week and feel burnt out 74% of the time they are working. LEAN process implementation allows practitioners to focus more time on substantive legal work while reducing their overall time in the office. By saving more time with LEAN, lawyers are empowered to control their own destiny.
Even with more money and freedom, lawyers still aspire to find meaning in their work. Because LEAN increases profitability, enhances productivity, and reduces inefficiency, lawyers can spend more time developing meaningful relationships with a larger pool of clients. 86% of the civil legal problems faced by low-income Americans in a given year receive inadequate or no legal help. By reducing operating costs and driving higher volume revenue growth through operational efficiencies, LEAN process implementation can facilitate flexible fee arrangements to increase access to legal services. Helping those in need can help lawyers derive more meaning from their work as opposed to just chasing the next dollar.