ACC Value Challenge (Part 2): Six Sigma at Seyfarth

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Value Challenge to help law firms give “corporate clients [what they] want and need: value-driven, high-quality legal services that deliver solutions for a reasonable cost.”  The more I learn about this initiative, the more important I think it is.

In this economy, increasing value is one of the most effective ways to protect existing clients and to find new ones, so I’ve been sifting through the online Value Challenge Toolkit to get a better understanding of exactly what large clients are looking for these days.  One of the first documents that caught my eye was on the “Use of tailored Six Sigma methodologies at Seyfarth Shaw.”

When I went to Wikipedia to get the 50,000 foot view of Six Sigma, I learned that more than 2/3 of Fortune 500 companies have used this system to improve quality and reduce costs.  (I thought that it was invented by Jack Welch at GE, but Wikipedia says that Jack was just a famous early adopter.  The process was actually invented by Bill Smith at Motorola, who might want to consider getting a new PR agent).  

Then I went to Seyfarth Shaw’s web page www.seyfarth.com and found a section on “Six Sigma Solutions” which explains how they adopted the system in 2006 to manage “legal costs and budget predictability.” 

It wouldn’t be featured on the web page if it hadn’t worked, and the ACC toolkit report noted that as of September 2008, “more than 75 projects have been completed” and “total fees on certain legal projects reengineered through Six Sigma have been reduced from 13% to up to 50%.”  A booklet entitled “Seyfarth Shaw: Six Sigma Solutions” describes several other benefits, including “elimination of cost variability” and “transparency in the pricing model.”

How did they do it?  Six Sigma is built around sophisticated tools and methodologies that force people to get to the heart of a problem, and figure out how to improve business processes and save money.  For example, at the start of a large matter, in-house lawyers on Six Sigma projects meet with Seyfarth attorneys to “create a ‘process map,’ perhaps literally on a huge piece of drafting paper, that depicts all the steps involved in completing a legal assignment.”  Then they discuss how to “eliminate or modify steps to save time and money.”

Six Sigma is not a process for law firms that want simple solutions or shortcuts.  Seyfarth started with a pilot test training program for 30 lawyers, and found that “The ‘off the shelf’ version of Six Sigma created cultural and logistic problems in the law firm setting.”  So they had to create a “lean” version tailored to law firms.

The Value Challenge report notes that to date 75 lawyers and staff members have been certified as “Six Sigma Green Belts,” which “requires completion of an intensive four month training program, and the successful completion of two Six Sigma projects.”  I’d love to know what that cost.

From my perspective, what’s most interesting is that Seyfarth, a firm with 750 lawyers and 10 offices, has made such a significant investment of time and money to provide clients with greater value at a lower cost.  That’s what your competitors are doing to provide more value to their clients.  What are you doing? 

Comments

[Emma Watson]

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