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Life in the Corporate Law Department:Life in the Corporate Law Department: Mountains to ClimbMountains to Climb
(aka Working with Corporate I/S)(aka Working with Corporate I/S)
Mike RussellLiberty Mutual Group
Boston, MA
LawNet 2001: A Technical OdysseyLawNet 2001: A Technical Odyssey
LawNet 2001 2
Issues to ConsiderIssues to Consider
Mission of Corporate Information Systems & Technology (IS&T) Typically works in partnership with business consumers
of services to wisely and creatively apply IS&T to reach their goals.
A “balancing act” of: the need for a stable, robust, & reliable infrastructure against the
allure of leading-edge capabilities the desire for operational excellence versus the reality of limited
resources the requirement of "ease of use," as well as the desire for
"powerful and feature laden." the desire to leverage infrastructure across the company, rather
than optimize for local solutions
LawNet 2001 3
The Needs of the Many…The Needs of the Many…
Corporate Legal is the “small fish” in the large pond of corporate enterprise Possibly viewed as a ‘necessary evil’ Not a profit center, often a high cost center
Legal Needs Differ Few in Corporate IS&T or Senior Management
understand then unique needs of Corporate Legal Document production and management is a whole new
world in Legal versus typical Corporate use of WP
LawNet 2001 4
Case StudyCase Study
Goal: Basic Case Management Audience:
1,800 users, ~70 offices across 25 states & Canada 40 offices to be completed in 6 months, between June
and December 2001; Project deadline: May 2002. Project Team:
2 from Corporate I/S (Proj. Mgr & Tech) About 12 from Legal, including Proj. Mgr, Tech. Mgr,
trainers, development support and help desk Vendor contacts & temp trainer
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Mountain #1: CommunicationMountain #1: Communication
Corporate IS located 60 miles from Home Office Many conference calls and e-mail exchanges Generally not the best communication environment
Effort #1: Team-building Day-long mixed session led by HR team guru Overall improved team feeling Overall communications with Corporate IS&T were
moderately improved. Often encounter lack of understanding of priorities or effect on users.
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Mountain #2: Too Many Cooks…Mountain #2: Too Many Cooks…
Initially, too many people interacting Difficult to get decisions made
Effort #2: Team optimization Select primary contacts for each
functional team area Allocate resources properly Delegate tasks appropriately
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Mountain #3: New TechnologyMountain #3: New Technology
Citrix was chosen delivery platform Very little I/S experience; resistant to business
recommendations Effort #3: Get help!
Qualified outside consultant brought in Business and consultant recommendations were in
alignment and proved a good fit Lesson Learned: sometimes Corporate IS&T is more
likely to listen to outside experts
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Mountain #4: TrainingMountain #4: Training
Business goal: training environment that exactly replicated look and feel of final product
Corporate IS&T unwilling to support Rolled back to stand-alone training labs;
lower quality user experience Significant Compromise
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Mountain #5: System ManagementMountain #5: System Management
IS&T working with system while in production and training is ongoing
Keep good logs and documentation of issues
Continued excellent communication a must Not everything provided by Vendor works
“as promised” the first time, or at all
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Mountain #6: SupportMountain #6: Support
Train HelpDesk early Include Corporate IS&T personnel in all
training Understand corporate priorities and relate to
Corporate IS&T; help them align their work with your business needs
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SummarySummary
Are we “glad we did it?” So far, so good…
Looking back… Teambuilding Compromise Points of contact Get it in writing! Blood, Sweat, and Tears . . .
LawNet 2001 12
LawNet 2001:LawNet 2001: A Technical Odyssey A Technical Odyssey
Mike RussellMike Russell(617) 654-3683(617) 654-3683
[email protected]@LibertyMutual.com
