Deconstructing the work model

By Catherine Martin The Daily Record Newswire Law firms everywhere are feeling the pressure to do more for less, forcing them to come up with innovative solutions, like a platform implemented by Littler Mendelson that continues to grow. The platform, called Littler CaseSmart, uses "flextime" attorneys who work from home. CaseSmart also breaks down the practice of law so each of those attorneys is only focused on a specific task, like writing briefs. Kim Yates, an attorney at Littler's St. Louis office, said the concept was fascinating to her, so when a leadership opportunity opened up with CaseSmart, she jumped at the chance. "I want to be part of the change within the firm," she said. 'Dissecting litigation' Yates explained CaseSmart as "the process by which the law firm re-engineered delivery of legal services to clients." When a client uses CaseSmart, they have access to Littler's 57 flextime attorneys across the country. The attorneys are still Littler attorneys, not contract attorneys, which Yates stressed as an important difference. Littler's shareholders and associates supervise the performance by attorneys in the CaseSmart platform and handle case strategy and local work when an appearance is required, Yates explained. Clients not using the platform will receive services as they always have. Clients working through CaseSmart use a virtual dashboard to which all data flows. The client can pull up the information pertaining to a case at any time, and see where the case stands, Yates said. The dashboard also provides a means for a client to analyze all of their cases in the aggregate. "The dashboard enables clients to identify important trends, such as the growth of a particular type of claim or the prevalence of it in a particular division of their organization," Yates said. Yates said allowing flextime attorneys to focus solely on one task gives them that expertise, and also leads to savings for clients. "They're able to do things, in terms of time and money, far more effectively," she said. "When you are focused on doing one thing, you do it better, faster and even fasterâ?¦ you build a bank of experience." Yates refers to the new approach as "dissecting litigation." At a traditional law firm model, an associate would "do it all." Having specialized attorneys to do those tasks drive down costs, as does the concept of flextime attorneys itself. Flextime attorneys do make less, but many are willing to take the cut because they don't want the lifestyle that often comes with working for a big firm, such as spending 60 hours a week in an office,Yates said. "They just want to be lawyers," she said. In her new role, Yates will still be in the firm's Met Square office, but she will now oversee a segment of the flextime attorneys, instead of focusing her practice on labor and employment litigation. She said the model, which is continuing to expand at Littler,has always fascinated her. Fertile area for exploration Many firms allow attorneys to work from home, said Marcia McCormick, director of the William C. Wefel Center for Employment Law at Saint Louis University, but what's innovative about Littler's model is the piecemeal approach to litigation, which she thinks is "somewhat new" at law firms. "I think that's a really good way to chunk up the work," McCormick said of the approach. "Having people just focus on briefs, means the briefs are going to be much more efficiently produced, and are often going to be focused on the best arguments available." Of course, the trial attorneys working on the case do have the "best, up close knowledge" of everything happening in the case, which an attorney specialized in writing briefs would not, McCormick said. "Often trial attorneys have a perspective on what actually happened once there's a judgment, which may not be reflected in the record," she said. On the other hand, "having fresh eyes look at the case," could actually be good for the case, she said. The main argument against the model would be that it would take someone who just specializes in briefs longer to understand the case, McCormick said, although it may not necessarily be an issue. "Honestly, it's a different skillset needed. It doesn't necessarily require in-depth knowledge of the case. It actually could require an external point of view," she said. Overall, McCormick said she thinks the concept is "really a fertile area for exploration and experimenting," but whether or not it catches on depends on Littler's success. "If Littler seems really successful at it, I think it will catch on," she said. "I'm sort of pessimistic. There have been other attempts at innovation in the past, but we still seem to be stuck in the same old model." Overspecializing Spring Taylor, a third year law student at Mizzou who has extensively studied flexible law firm models, also thinks the future of the model could depend on Littler, but she has some concerns about the approach. "It's very possible that Littler is the one that could very well be successful at this and could pave the way," she said. Taylor said the main disadvantage is the possibility of overspecializing. "If you spend your time writing briefs, what is the rest of your career going to look like?" she said. "How likely is it that someone is going to make partner or shareholder when their major contribution to the firm is brief writing?" A lawyer just doing one task could also get burnt out, she said. But Taylor does see a few advantages, such as developing expertise and becoming more efficient at the work. While the fate of the specialization model is still unclear, Taylor said that flexible work schedules have been a hot topic among law firms for at least 15 years, although there is still a low level of adoption. As millennials, who are often described as wanting better work-life arrangements, move into firms, Taylor said she sees flexible arrangements taking off more in the near future. "I do expect a continued move to this more flexible lifestyle/work arrangement, it's just how long it will take and if more firms like Littler kind of champion these arrangements and say, 'were having tremendous success,' it makes it easier for others to follow," Taylor said. Published: Fri, Dec 11, 2015