ATLANTA, May 11, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Principles of project management would be well-received in the legal world, according to results of a recent survey. The survey of general counsel was conducted by Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP in conjunction with a luncheon roundtable on "Managing Outside Counsel: Using Legal Project Management to Increase Efficiency and Control Costs," which the firm co-sponsored last month.
Among the survey's findings:
-- 44 percent of the general counsel responding to the survey
said outside counsel remains within budget only half the time.
-- 47 percent say they receive no updates or status reports from
outside counsel.
-- 55 percent were unfamiliar with the concept of project
management.
-- Only 6 percent doubted that project management would be an
improvement.
-- 82 percent of the respondents say they are responsible for
managing the budget for their company's outside legal services.
Survey respondents also indicated they felt project management could be applied positively in litigation; patents and intellectual property; mergers and acquisitions; and real estate.
"Project management is used in virtually every area of business except law," said Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP Partner Grant Collingsworth. "These results show that many general counsel are open to using legal project management to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their in-house legal departments."
Morris, Manning & Martin is the only law firm in the U.S. currently developing a patent-pending Legal Project Management system. It also recently hired Linda Klausing as Director of Project Management.
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, (www.mmmlaw.com) enjoys national prominence for its corporate finance, securities, litigation, technology, telecommunications, insurance, healthcare, environmental and real estate practices. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham, and Princeton.