Stop Wasting Time: How to Run More Efficient Law Firm Meetings

Are your conferences serving to or hurting your agency? Strive these 5 methods for making your conferences extra environment friendly and worthwhile … and see how a lot time you save.

Conferences are a obligatory a part of operating a legislation agency, however let’s be sincere: most of them are a colossal waste of time. Based on the current Fellow Report on the State of Conferences, the common particular person spends over 11 hours every week in conferences. A 2024 survey by the London College of Economics of over 3,400 skilled staff discovered that greater than one-third of enterprise conferences had been unproductive. That’s virtually two full workdays wasted each single week.

For legislation agency homeowners and busy authorized professionals, that’s time you could possibly be utilizing to serve purchasers, develop your apply, or just go house earlier. Right here’s tips on how to run extra environment friendly legislation agency conferences.

1. Ask Your self if You Actually Want the Assembly

You’ve most likely seen the memes about conferences that might have been emails. Sadly, many people are nonetheless sitting by way of conferences that might have been dealt with extra successfully through an e mail, a shared doc or a fast name.

Begin with the lowest-hanging fruit: the unproductive (usually recurring) conferences. If attendees aren’t clear on the target and everybody attending isn’t contributing to choices that generate motion objects, your assembly isn’t productive. Take into account changing it with asynchronous communications.

2. Outline a Clear Goal and Agenda

Each assembly ought to have a clearly said aim. If you happen to can’t articulate why you’re assembly and what final result you want, cancel it. If you happen to proceed, distribute an agenda and supplies forward of time.

Many organizations use a “no agenda, no attenda” rule. With a transparent agenda, individuals arrive understanding what to anticipate, so that you don’t waste treasured time bringing individuals on top of things. Plus, the extra time individuals have to assemble the knowledge they want and develop concepts and options, the higher your outcomes can be. Even for preliminary shopper consultations, a brief agenda will maintain you and your purchasers on observe.

3. Preserve It Brief and Stick with the Clock

Conferences increase to fill the time you enable. Cap inner conferences at half-hour. We’ve set the default assembly occasions in our reserving system to half-hour. If the agenda suggests extra time can be wanted, we are able to modify, however conserving the default at half-hour saves us hours each week.

Begin on time, even when there are stragglers. How a lot time do you waste initially of conferences, ready for individuals to point out up? Begin on time, even when persons are lacking, and supply notes or recordings— not recaps — if individuals arrive late.

In case your conferences usually run over, use a timer and finish on time — no exceptions. If the dialogue drags on, take unresolved points offline. We attempt to construct in a compulsory buffer between conferences. Even simply 5 minutes will provide you with time to seize your ideas and motion objects from the final assembly and time to mentally put together for the following one.

4. Restrict Attendees to Important Members

Effectivity is the appropriate individuals doing the appropriate work on the proper time. Solely invite those that are instantly concerned within the choice or motion objects. If somebody simply must be knowledgeable, ship them a recap afterward. AI note-taking apps make this even simpler. You possibly can generate transcripts, notes and motion objects immediately, and flow into them to anybody who wants the knowledge.

Bear in mind, the extra individuals in a gathering, the much less productive it turns into. Analysis from Stanford College suggests the tipping level is eight individuals, so purpose to maintain conferences to seven or fewer when you can.

5. Finish with Motion Objects and Accountability

A gathering with out clear subsequent steps is a waste. Assign motion objects, set deadlines and doc who’s answerable for what. Nobody ought to go away questioning, What occurs subsequent?

Once more, AI is extraordinarily worthwhile for this. AI instruments will help you generate your agenda and transient you on points you’ll be discussing earlier than the assembly. They will additionally take assembly notes, seize motion objects and create a listing of subsequent steps.

Strive Zoom’s built-in AI workflow assistant or experiment with in-meeting transcription apps like Otter.ai and Fireflies, or AI assembly assistants like Fellow and Circleback to see how one can automate your conferences.

Conferences Ought to Make Work Simpler, Not Tougher

Conferences needs to be a software for decision-making and motion—not a productiveness drain. By being intentional about when and the way you meet, you’ll reclaim worthwhile hours every week and maintain your agency operating effectively.

You’ll want to learn “Bought a Course of for Your Processes? Create Regulation Agency SOPs in 5 Simple Steps.”

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Karen Dunn Skinner and David Skinner assist legal professionals and authorized professionals construct extra environment friendly, productive and worthwhile practices. They’re the co-founders of Gimbal Lean Observe Administration Advisors and legal professionals with over 20 years of expertise every in Canada and Europe. Collectively, they’re the unique World Advisors on Authorized Course of Enchancment to the Worldwide Institute of Authorized Mission Administration. They write and communicate usually, facilitate authorized course of enchancment initiatives throughout North America, and have taught Gimbal’s LeanLegal® strategy to 1000’s of authorized professionals.

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