By Pablo Yannone Sancho, Journalist at GLTH
Anna is a lawyer who studied Law but who decided not to be a lawyer. Yes, it is strange, but it happens sometimes. She wanted to become a lawyer, even since she was 12 but, then, she thought "it was a little bit boring".
“I thought what I really wanted to do was maybe not the safest choice, but to help people”, she claims. So, she started to work in a human rights organization as executive director and project manager. “It was quite interesting because sometimes you were working in education, sometimes in law, in legal issues, sometimes in arts and theater”, explains Anna. “I mean, there were so many different kinds of projects, writing a book or writing articles or writing a newsletter or whatever.”
This situation suffered a radical change when she came to Spain to live and her Italian degree was not valid, and neither was her experience as project management. “I was not an engineer and I couldn't find myself in any vacancy because I didn't belong to any sector and I didn't have a very defined profession”, she recalls.
Then, she decided to start a new education on project management that drove her to a new mindset: she was not a lawyer nor a project manager; she was both. “And that was my click, the idea to apply project management to legal issues, to create what is called legal management or legal project management”. This was the first moment she started to have contact with legal tech, a moment that was different and very difficult. “When you are innovating in something, you feel alone.”
Processes and soft skills, the key of success in legal project management
For Anna, technology is much more than engineering; it is “the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes”, in this case, legal purposes. Within these terms, her role as legal project management consisted of suggesting changes, something that was not easy. “It was 2012 and nobody was speaking about legal project management or process improvement”, she claims.
When talking about people-centered change management, Anna thinks that “every law firm or department should build a people-centered system, a transformation system that is not just digital transformation, but culture, action, people and processes”. “You can start just at the opposite”, she follows, “you know, start in technology, because technology is a driver. Sometimes it's technology applied to your legal issue that can create the culture, that can create the motivation, that can create the change. So we are both ways.”
A very important part in legal project management are the different approaches you can manage: the waterfall approach and the agile approach. These approaches, by the way, can conform to a hybrid methodology. “That means to use the best from every approach we had in the past”, claims Anna. “The idea is that legal project management is very linked to strategy and very linked to needs. So, every methodology you are going to use has to be linked to the identification of the right need. This is what really makes the change, to identify a need and to decide how to approach the need, how to resolve the problem. That's the reason why it's not just about methodology, it's a lot about power skills.”
Following this line, the importance of soft skills emerge, above all, in terms of “problem solving”, followed -non in an hierarchical order-, critical thinking or lateral thinking. “So it's to have the right skills to approach the change with the right methodology”, adds Anna.
Let's see this process with an example: Anna tells us the case of a digital transformation, whose goal is to introduce technology in a legal department:
"When it comes to managing contracts or implementing a ticketing system in your department to streamline consultations and resolve them as quickly and accurately as possible, these are situations where Agile methodology can be useful. Often, when introducing new technology, it’s important to have an Agile, evolutionary approach. In this case, using a Scrum framework could be beneficial. On the other hand, in situations like mergers and acquisitions, a predictive approach might work better, as the client typically wants a clear plan and a detailed understanding of what actions will be taken."
This example highlights the relevance of certainty, as “the more you can predict what you are going to do, the easier it is to use a predictive methodology.” “The best thing is”, follows Anna, “to think like a project manager, so to be able to change the approach you are having, to introduce aspects from one methodology that can work better, and to eliminate some things that you learn that are better to unlearn in this case. So the capacity to learn and unlearn is basically about project management.”
Are lawyers reluctant to agile approaches?
We all have been talking for years about the recurrent conception of lawyers as people who are reluctant to use technology, right? Does this happen also in agile approaches?
Spoiler -yes-.
Anna explains that there are clients who “are not really open to the agile approach”. “This is because sometimes”, says Anna, “you cannot give them a close budget, or you can not give them a timing for what you are doing.” It seems that agile approaches are, at first, evolved by uncertainty, since it is important to know where the “value” is before making a decision.
“When you discover something you can not be very clear when you are going to deliver the solution and how much it's going to cost”, explains Anna. “So clients want to have this kind of information, and that's the reason why applying agile is not always well seen by clients, unless they already have an agile mindset.”
A powerful weapon that can fight this reluctance is if there are people in the organization with an agile mindset: “Are they used to applying this kind of methodology?”, wonders Anna. “Because sometimes we think it's easy, and it's not”.
Sometimes, agile is related to “spontaneous”, “to do everything on the way.” But it's not, as Anna says: “you have to have some technique, some technology, some knowledge before starting to use agile. And you have to be sure that your people understand what's the finality, what's the real objective of using an agile methodology. And once again, when it's right to use them, and when it's right to avoid an agile approach.”
A little bit of Anna's path
As a child, she dreamed of becoming many things -first a doctor, then an engineer, and eventually a lawyer-. This is why orientation courses were for her a continuous rethinking of her future. "Every time you discover a new way of doing things, at least for me, it's attractive," she reflects. While she originally aspired to be a lawyer, she found herself drawn to other areas as she grew older. “That's silly because I wanted to become a lawyer when I was young and I didn't want to when I was an adult,” she says. Yet, today, Anna admits that being a lawyer is more appealing than ever due to the exciting changes brought by legal technology. "Right now, it’s a moment where being a lawyer is very attractive, with so many chances to transform the value of the legal function," she notes.
As a methodology strategist, she has a very good mantra that inspires, not only her workframe, but her everyday routine: “taking things step by step." For Anna, balancing her numerous ideas and ambitions requires careful planning and patience. “Step by step is a good mantra. I will do it; I just need time and conviction.”
Although Anna now resides in Spain, her heart remains in Italy. She feels a deep connection to her homeland, particularly the northern region near Milan, where she is from. "Every time I can come back and visit my family, that’s where I feel at home," she says. Despite her appreciation for the various cultures and countries she has visited, no place compares to the feeling of being home with her family.
If she had her younger self in front of her, she would see a very good advisor, not a legal one, but amore an emotional life-hacks advisor. “I wish she would tell me right now, you did well, keep going and keep moving. You did it. I think it's important because when I was young, I didn't have as many doubts as I do now.” Very inspiring thought, since most of the people are likely to see their younger versions more like a baby to guide, instead of someone who they rely on.
Anna's perspective on life is particular, and is grounded in humor and the joy of process over outcome. When asked about her favorite TV show, she immediately mentions Friends and the humor of Chandler Bing. "We would like to be the perfect guy, but in so many ways, we are imperfect, like Chandler. But humor makes all the difference." Her love for the process is echoed in her reading recommendation, The Practice by Seth Godin, which emphasizes the importance of focusing on the journey rather than the results. As Anna wisely notes, "Sometimes you cannot measure your value by the outcome. It’s about falling in love with the process."
Legal Project Management & Legal Process Improvement
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