The Oklahoma Bar Journal January 2024

LPM is focused on anticipating risks through reliable estimates, greater cost control and enhanced communication. LPM also requires more flexibility in project plans due to the fact both internal and external parties are working together to manage matter-specific deadlines on top of client and law firm schedules.

management of the matter through completion. 12 Developing a project plan and following it should result in many benefits, including more efficient delivery of legal services. A Note About Budgeting vs. Pricing Development of a budget is a critical part of the Planning Phase. The corporate client’s legitimate con cerns with the billable hour include the law firm’s lack of accountability and the disconnect between value and cost. Collaboration using LPM ensures better and more trans parent communication with the client and the legal team on the budget. Identifying the framework for development and tracking of the budget includes determining whether to map the phases of the matter by significant scheduling milestones or by significant deliver ables. A starting point is to deter mine whether UTMBS task-based billing codes or simply task codes will be used as the framework.

The Six Step Budget Approach can be an effective way to develop a litigation budget that the legal team and the client can adopt and execute. It is comprised of the following six steps: 1) confirm the scope of the engagement; 2) identify the framework for bud get development and tracking; 3) create a playbook for the matter; 4) identify resources, rates and time estimates; 5) identify task-level assumptions, risks and constraints; and 6) collaborate with the client and implement the budget. Rather than automatically adopt ing the budget as the price, the firm should identify the most appropri ate fee structure and then decide on the appropriate fee level. It is these decisions that are the difference between budgeting and pricing. The Executing Phase The Executing Phase is comprised of two main aspects: doing the legal work for the matter and managing

deliverables and work product gen erally encompassed in the Engaging Phase are a stakeholder analysis, a high-level matter timeline/schedule and a scope of work statement. The Planning Phase The Planning Phase is one of the most crucial parts of LPM. The activities and processes generally included in the Planning Phase are to determine the deliverables/ work product, establish work assignments and other resources needed, develop a detailed budget, a detailed matter schedule, a commu nication plan, a risk management plan and a change management plan. The deliverables and work product generally included in the Planning Phase are a list of specific deliverables/work product, a task plan detailing work assignments, an approved budget, an updated matter timeline and a project plan. In summary, the project plan should guide the team in the active

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL