RALEIGH, N.C. — Poyner Spruill LLP hosted over 70 professionals at Market Hall for a Legal Lean Sigma Institute® Project Management Yellow Belt Certification Course earlier this week in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dan Cahill, the firm’s managing partner was in attendance and opened the event on Monday.
“I was really pleased to hear the generous and grateful comments of clients who approached me at the event,” said Cahill. “This project management and process improvement program is a great example of the effort our firm puts into enhancing the client experience and constantly working to create a true partnership with our clients.”
Legal Lean Sigma Institute’s certification courses are the first and only combined process improvement and project management certification courses designed specifically for the legal profession. The two-day Yellow Belt Certification Course includes lectures, exercises, simulations, videos, discussions, group and table-team work, and demonstrations covering key Process Improvement methodologies, tools and concepts and the stages of Project Management.
Over 30 attendees from Poyner Spruill, including approximately 20% of the firm’s attorneys, the head of every administrative department and several support staff from across practice areas completed the program. Also included were 35 client representatives, who came with specific processes in mind, from across North Carolina and neighboring states. In addition to earning a Yellow Belt, all of them went home with draft work completed and some of them created entirely new solutions through the project mapping and process improvement exercises.
Of special note: every member of Poyner Spruill’s employee benefits practice group earned their Yellow Belt certification, including the group’s paralegal and practice administrator.
“Our team is always focused on partnering with clients in a way that adds real value to the bottom line,” says Kelsey Mayo, the employee benefits practice leader. “Participating in this program alongside our clients allowed us to learn more about how and where we can help them make a significant impact.”
Poyner Spruill recently promoted Brandi Hobbs to the position of Director of Client Service & Strategy, a move emphasizing the firm’s commitment to increased collaboration with clients. She, along with the firm’s Business and Professional Development Coordinator Hillary Davis, helped organize the Legal Lean Sigma Institute® course, led by consultants Catherine MacDonagh, Mark Beese and Ronna West Cross.
Long known in the region for excellent client service, Poyner Spruill is taking those efforts to new heights, focusing on innovative automation projects, increasing efficiency and seeking in-depth client feedback to shape future initiatives. Hobbs and Cahill have teamed up to conduct client service interviews, collecting input the firm can use to further solidify relationships and improve the overall client experience.
The Legal Lean Sigma Institute® course was another opportunity to spend time with and hear from clients in a productive environment.
“The course led us to reprioritize opportunities to improve the way work is done,” Poyner Spruill Chief Operating Officer Jack Stone said. “Based on a clear benefit to our clients and our firm, we are advancing the implementation of a new, complete solution for matter planning, tracking and analysis. The solution will interactively enhance the client experience and improve our business.”
As the excitement from the event slowly wears off, the excitement for the future continues to grow, “this is only the beginning, now it’s time for the real work to begin,” Hobbs says of her outlook after the event. “When you invite your clients to the table, the relationship dynamic shifts significantly; trust and collaboration grow. I think this new law approach will bring dramatic benefits to the clients we serve. Getting to know our clients’ businesses and processes better will also help us serve them in more meaningful and valuable ways.”
