LMS Lexcel Annual Forum 2008

London: 14th October 2008

Russell Hotel

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Practice Management Practice Management &&

Lexcel ConsultantLexcel Consultant

The Reality of Quality Standards

Paul F. Wood MA

Practice Management &

Lexcel Consultant

© 2008 P. F. Wood

Some pitfalls of quality standards

• Relevance and purpose.• No defined journey.• Resistance to change.• Understanding the business.• Leadership and management.• Maintaining focus.• Review, learn, adapt and implement change.• “Things are okay now”.

Quality Standards –a continuous journey

• Keeping the status quo.• Recognition of the need to change.• Plan, Do, Learn and Act.• Excellence by continuous improvement.• Level of commitment.• The journey must be strategic and

“managing for the future”. (Oakland,(1993). Total Quality Management).

The continuous journey toward excellence alters

• The way a business thinks.

• How a business views itself.

• The internal and external customer / supplier chain.

• How a business measures failure and success.

• The culture.

Benefits to your firm

• Excellence and constant improvement.• Reductions in waste and reworking.• Increased efficiency and productivity.• “Team” culture and trust.• Valuing of individuals.• Improved communications and work flows.• Reduction of complaints and exposure to risk.• Increased profits and opportunities.

Types of journey

• Journeys undertaken by law firms are:

• Compliance – “tick” the boxes.• Benchmark – equal to your competitors.• Baseline – continuous improvement.

A Compliance journey

• Do only that which is necessary.• Superficial understanding of the issues.• The journey has not been identified.• The business is subject to the standard.• Limited business driven initiates.• Staff and management do not think beyond

“ticking the box”.• Continuous improvement is limited.

A Benchmark journey

• Also known as “best practice”.• Quick uplift then levelling off.• Can focus to much on the competitors.• Likely to be following and not leading the

competition.• Requires a degree of willingness to learn.• Can create resistance to change if previous

changes have not been fully implemented.

A Baseline journey

• Excellence through creativity.• Defined journey.• A business wide approach.• The journey is strategic.• Customer requirements are considered.• The journey is continuous improvement.• All aspects of the operation are involved.• This is TQM – Total Quality Management.

The Reality

• No quick fixes or single solution.

• Maintain focus.

• Change will be necessary.

• Include everyone in the business.

• Be open to ideas and act on them.

• The journey will be invigorating, rewarding and profitable.

Any Questions

• There will be an opportunity for questions if time allows.

• I will be available throughout the day during initials, breaks and lunch for questions.

Thank you

• Thank you for listening. I hope that you enjoy and gain further insight and ideas about the benefits of quality standards for your firm during the remainder of the day.

• Paul F. Wood• Contact details:• Mobile: 07785 527955• Email: paulwood680@btinternet.com

Suggested further reading

• BECKFORD. J. (2002) 2nd Edition. Quality. London: Routledge.• CAPEZIO, P. & MOREHOUSE, D. (None) 2nd Edition. Taking the Mystery Out of TQM – A practical guide

to Total Quality Management. Book-Mart Press: USA.• CROSBY, P. (1979). Quality is Free. McGraw-Hill: Unknown.• DEMING, W. E. (1986). Out of Crisis. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Cambridge University Press.• EVANS, J. R. & LINDSAY, W. M. (1996) 3rd Edition. The Management and Control of Quality. West.• MOORE, M. (2001). Practice management – Quality Management for Law Firms. The Law Society:

London.• OAKLAND, J. (1993) 2nd Edition. Total Quality Management. Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford.• PETERS, T. J. & WAYERMAN, R. H. (1982). In Search of Excellence. HarperCollins: New York.• SCHONBERGER, R. J. Building a Chain of Customers. Free Press: (Unknown).• STEWART, H. (2003). Excellent Client Service, Strategies For Success. The Law Society: London.• THE LAW SOCIETY. (1997). Practice Management Standards: An Introduction to Quality Systems. The

Law Society: London.• THE LAW SOCIETY. (October 2005). Managing For Success, In Practice, Focus On Benefits – Lexcel,

(p25). The Law Society: London.• THE LAW SOCIETY. (2007) 4th Edition. Lexcel Assessment Guide. The Law Society: London.