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Building Better Habits with Legal Project Management

Ab Saraswat

Ab Saraswat

In this article

    Staying organized, fostering effective communication, and cultivating mindfulness are essential in legal project management. Lupl recently hosted a webinar, "Building Better Habits with LPM," featuring three seasoned professionals: India Preston, Director of Platform Solutions at Lupl, Trisha Wright, Project Coordinator at DecisionQuest, and Ericka Davis, Legal Project Manager at EDP Renewables. Moderated by Lupl's Marketing Associate, Isabella Lozano, the panelists dived into key aspects of LPM, offering valuable insights for legal professionals eager to optimize their project management practices.

    The Power of Organization

    Trisha Wright shared her passion for organization, emphasizing its significance in her life as a neurodivergent individual. She introduced the Pomodoro technique, a time management method, and explained how adapting it to her preferences has helped her organize her day effectively. Trisha highlighted the importance of understanding one's natural circadian rhythm to optimize productivity and avoid burnout. She also discussed using timers, particularly in a billable hour context, and encouraged the audience to leverage tools like focus areas on smartphones to maintain concentration.

    Ericka Davis delved into the practical aspects of organization, focusing on Microsoft's Viva Insights. She outlined four key features within Viva Insights that professionals can implement for improved organization. These include utilizing the My Analytics dashboard to track time and tasks, employing Insights Outlook for scheduling focus time, leveraging Teams for enhanced collaboration, and utilizing the Insights Home app for a personalized overview of tasks, deadlines, and meetings. Ericka emphasized how these tools can enhance productivity and goal achievement.

    India Preston continued the discussion on organization, addressing common challenges faced by lawyers using generic tools like email, Word, and Excel for project management. She advocated for legal project management platforms such as Lupl, emphasizing its tailored design to support lawyers in managing legal matters efficiently. India highlighted Lupl’s features, such as task tracking, deadline management, template creation, and collaboration capabilities. She encouraged the audience to explore various project management tools, including Asana, Monday, Trello, and Todoist, stressing that adopting such technology becomes a time-saving habit with lasting benefits.

    Mastering Communication in LPM

    Then, the topic shifted to the critical role of effective communication in project management. India Preston started this discussion by sharing insights on managing communication within legal matters, highlighting the challenge of numerous communication channels like emails, calls, and meetings. She stressed the necessity of establishing clear communication methods upfront and understanding the preferences of team members to prevent overwhelming inboxes and enhance efficiency.

    Ericka Davis focused on stakeholder identification, outlining five key steps to ensure project success. She emphasized the significance of clarifying project objectives, brainstorming potential stakeholders, categorizing them based on interest and influence, engaging with stakeholders through various means, and developing a stakeholder management plan. Ericka underscored that identifying and engaging the right stakeholders from the beginning is crucial for project success.

    Trisha Wright concluded the communication discussion by addressing setting the tone and taking a leadership role in communication. She emphasized the importance of being direct and directive in communication, providing practical examples of effective communication strategies. Trisha highlighted the need to understand team members' communication preferences and reinforced that soft skills, such as communication and leadership, are crucial in building successful project management teams. She urged organizations to prioritize these soft skills when hiring to ensure effective communication and collaboration within the team. Overall, the communication section underscored the significance of intentional and clear communication strategies in project management.

    Mindfulness in Legal Project Management

    The final segment of the webinar focused on mindfulness, during which the speakers underscored the importance of being intentional and mindful in both personal and organizational aspects. India Preston initiated the discussion, emphasizing mindfulness as a tool to enhance focus and decision-making in legal project management. She encouraged inquisitiveness, noting that asking questions opens doors to new understanding and perspectives. India highlighted the value of curiosity, suggesting that being proactive in seeking information and understanding legal topics contributes to success in project management.

    Trisha Wright expanded on mindfulness, differentiating between personal and organizational mindfulness. She emphasized the need for project check-in points to assess changes and prevent scope creep. Trisha discussed the importance of balancing organizational goals, team adaptation, and individual well-being. She stressed the responsibility of legal project managers to be mindful of various aspects, acknowledging the challenges and excitement inherent in the role.

    Ericka Davis shifted the focus to personal mindfulness, emphasizing self-care and mental health. She provided practical tips, urging legal professionals to be kind to themselves, prioritize rest, and mind their mental well-being. Ericka introduced the Headspace app, a meditation and mindfulness tool, and shared her positive experience with its guided sessions. She also mentioned the Happify app, which promotes emotional health and well-being through science-based games and activities. Ericka encouraged the audience to explore these tools to begin their mindfulness journey.

    Conclusion

    This Lupl webinar, "Building Better Habits with LPM," provided legal professionals with a wealth of insights. From organizational strategies and effective communication to mindfulness in legal project management, the webinar offered a comprehensive guide for enhancing habits and optimizing efficiency in the dynamic field of legal project management. As legal professionals strive to build better habits, these key takeaways will be valuable tools in their journey toward success.

    Are you interested in legal project management software? Book a demo today to get a firsthand look at how Lupl can improve your daily workflow.

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      # Lupl Workstream Design Principles: A Practical Guide to Legal Project Management for Lawyers Legal project management works when your setup is simple, ownership is clear, and statuses are unambiguous. This guide shows how to turn existing processes and checklists into a lean, reliable Workstream. Lupl is the legal project management platform for law firms, making it easy and intuitive to apply these principles. It also supports moving your work from Excel, Word tables, or if you are transitioning from Microsoft Planner, Smartsheet, or Monday. You will learn what belongs in a Workstream, a Task, or a Step, and which columns to use. If you want practical project management for lawyers, start here. **Excerpt:** Legal project management works when ownership, dates, and statuses are clear. This guide shows lawyers how to turn checklists into Lupl Workstreams with the right columns, Tasks, and Steps. Use it to standardize project management for lawyers, reduce follow ups, and move matters to done. --- ## How to organize your work with Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps are three different types of objects in Lupl. They form a simple hierarchy. Workstreams contain Tasks. Tasks may contain optional Steps. This hierarchy aligns with standard project management. In project management, you break work into projects, deliverables, and subtasks. Lupl adapts this for lawyers by using Workstreams, Tasks, and Steps. This makes it easier to map legal processes to a structure that teams can track and manage. * **Workstream.** Use when you have many similar or related items to track over time. Think of the Workstream as the table. * Examples: closing checklist, court deadlines, pretrial preparation, regulatory obligations, due diligence, local counsel management. * **Task.** A high level unit of legal work. A key deliverable with an owner and a due date. Tasks are the rows. * Examples: File motion. Prepare Shareholder Agreement. Submit Q3 report. * **Step.** An optional short checklist inside a single Task. Steps roll up to the parent Task. * Examples: Draft. QC. Partner review. E file. Serve. ### Quick test * If it can be overdue by itself, make it a Task. * If it only helps complete a Task, make it a Step. * If you need different columns or owners, create a separate Workstream. --- ## Do you need to track everything in Lupl Not every detail needs to be tracked in a project management system. The principle is to capture what drives accountability and progress. In Lupl, that means focusing on deliverables, not every micro action. * Use the level of detail you would bring to a weekly team meeting agenda. * Position Tasks as key deliverables. Treat Steps as optional micro tasks to show progress. * Example: You need client instructions. Do not add a Task for "Email client to request a call." Just make the call. If the client approves a key deliverable on the call, mark that item Approved in Lupl so the team has visibility. --- ## Start with the Core 5 columns Columns are the backbone of a Workstream. They define what information is tracked for each Task. In project management terms, these are your core metadata fields. They keep everyone aligned without overcomplicating the table. Keep the table narrow. You can add later. These five work across most legal project management use cases. 1. **Title.** Start with a verb. Example: File answer to complaint. 2. **Status.** Five to seven clear choices. Example: Not started, In progress, For review, For approval, Done. 3. **Assignee.** One named owner per row. If you add multiple assignees for collaboration, still name a primary owner. 4. **Due date.** One date per row. 5. **Type or Category.** Show different kinds of work in one table. Example: Filing, Discovery, Signature, Approval. **Priority.** Add only if you actively triage by priority each week. If added, keep it simple: High, Medium, Low. --- ## Add up to three Helper columns Lupl includes a set of pre made columns you can use out of the box. These allow you to customize Workstreams around different phases or stages of a matter. They also let you map how you already track transactional work, litigation, or other processes. Helper columns are optional fields that add context. In task management, these are similar to tags or attributes you use to sort and filter work. The key is to only add what you will update and use. Pick only what you will use. Stop when you reach three. * Party or Counterparty * Jurisdiction or Court * Phase * Approver * Approval, status or yes or no * Signature status * Risk, RAG * Amount or Number * External ID or Client ID * Document or Link * Docket number * Client entity **Guidance** * For Task Workstreams, prefer Approver, Approval, Risk. The rest are more common in Custom Workstreams. * Aim for eight columns or fewer in your main table. Put detail in the Task description, attachments, or Steps. --- ## Simple rules that keep your table clean Consistency is critical in project management. A cluttered or inconsistent table slows teams down. These rules ensure your Workstream remains usable and clear. * Only add a column people will update during the matter. If it never changes, set a default at the Workstream level or set a default value in the column. * Only add a column you will sort or filter on. If you will not use it to find or group work, leave it out. * If a value changes inside one Task, use Steps. Steps show progress without widening the table. * Keep columns short and structured. Use Description for brief context or instructions. Use Task comments for discussion and decisions. Link to work product in your DMS as the source of truth. * One accountable owner per Task and one due date. You can add collaborators, but always name a primary owner who moves the Task. If different people or dates apply to different parts, split into separate Tasks or capture the handoff as Steps. * Add automations after you lock the design. Finalize columns and status definitions first. Then add simple reminders and escalations that read those fields. --- ## Status hygiene that everyone understands Status is the single most important column in project management. It tells the team where the work stands. Too many options cause confusion. Too few cause misalignment. In Lupl, keep it simple and consistent. * Five to seven statuses are enough. * Use one review gate, For review or For approval. Use both only if your process needs two gates. * One terminal status, Done. This is the end state of the Task. Use Archived only if you report on it or need it for retention workflows. --- ## When to split into multiple Workstreams In project management, it is best practice to separate workstreams when workflows, owners, or audiences diverge. Lupl makes this easy by letting you create multiple Workstreams for one matter. Create a new Workstream if any of the following are true. * You need a different set of columns for a chunk of work. * Ownership or cadence is different, for example daily docketing vs monthly reporting. * The audience or confidentiality needs are different. **Signal** * If half your rows leave several columns blank, you are mixing processes. Split the table. --- ## Decision tree, three quick questions Use this quick framework to decide where an item belongs. This is the same principle used in task management software, adapted for legal workflows. 1. Is this a list of similar items over time, or a discrete phase of the matter * Yes. Create a Workstream. 2. Can it be overdue by itself, and does it need an owner * Yes. Create a Task. 3. Is it a step to finish a Task and not tracked on its own * Yes. Create a Step. --- ## Common mistakes to avoid Many project management failures come from overdesigning or misusing the structure. Avoid these mistakes to keep your Workstreams lean and effective. * Wide tables with many optional columns. Keep it to eight or fewer. * Two columns for the same idea, for example Status and Phase that overlap. Merge or define clearly. * More than one approval gate when one would do. It slows work and confuses owners. * Mixing unrelated processes in one table, for example signatures and invoice approvals. --- ## Build your first Workstream Building a Workstream is like setting up a project board. Keep it light, pilot it, then refine. Lupl is designed to let you do this quickly without heavy admin work. 1. Write the Workstream purpose in one sentence. 2. Add the Core 5 columns. 3. Add at most three Helpers you will use. 4. Define clear Status meanings in plain words. 5. Set defaults for any value that repeats on most rows, for example Jurisdiction. 6. Add two light automations, a due soon reminder and an overdue nudge. 7. Pilot for one week and adjust. --- ## Where this fits in legal project management Use these principles to standardize project management for lawyers across matters. Keep structures consistent. Reuse column sets and status definitions. Your team will find work faster, reduce follow ups, and close loops on time. --- ### On page SEO helpers * Suggested title tag. Lupl Workstream Design Principles, Practical Legal Project Management for Lawyers * Suggested meta description. Learn how to design lean Lupl Workstreams for legal project management. Get clear rules for Tasks, Steps, statuses, and columns to run matters with confidence. * Suggested URL slug. legal-project-management-for-lawyers-workstream-design

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