CLWM cheat sheet

A process map documents inputs, steps, decision points, handoffs, and outputs; a value stream map adds cycle time and wait time per step to expose delay.

SIPOC (Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, Customers) scopes a workflow at one page before any detailed swimlane mapping begins.

Swimlane maps assign each step to an actor (client, intake clerk, paralegal, attorney, court); steps spanning two lanes mark a handoff and a potential delay or error point.

Cycle time is elapsed time to complete one unit of work; lead time is elapsed time from request to delivery, including queue time. Lead time = cycle time + wait time.

Little's Law: average work in progress (WIP) = arrival rate x average lead time. Halving WIP at constant arrivals halves lead time.

Process capacity = available work time / time per unit. A step with the longest time per unit is the bottleneck and sets throughput for the whole workflow.

Decision diamonds must have mutually exclusive, exhaustive exits; every exit path must terminate in an end event or loop back to a defined step.

A workflow step is a candidate for automation only if it is rules-based, high-volume, digital-input, and has a stable, documented standard outcome.

Intake order of operations: conflict check, then engagement scope and fee agreement, then identity verification and beneficial-ownership checks, then file opening - no substantive work before conflicts clear.

Conflict screening searches party names, adverse parties, and related entities across the firm's matter database, prior clients, and personnel affiliations; near-name variants and corporate parents must be included.

Triage assigns a priority tier by deadline severity, limitation or statute date, matter value, and risk; a limitation date triggers a calendar entry at intake, not after review.

Engagement letters must state scope, fee basis, cost responsibility, client duties, and termination terms; scope exclusions prevent later billing disputes.

Client identity verification requires government photo ID plus a second corroborating source; entity clients require ownership and control identification to the required threshold.

Declined or referred matters are logged with the reason and date so a later conflict check can show the firm previously screened the adverse party.

Onboarding completion criteria: signed engagement letter, cleared conflicts, verified identity, opened matter number, and a documented communication preference.

Naming convention pattern: Client_Matter_Doctype_YYYY-MM-DD_vN, where vN increments only on substantive change; formatting-only edits do not increment the version.

Version numbering: 0.x for drafts pre-approval, 1.0 for the first client- or court-issued version, then 1.1, 1.2 for edits and 2.0 for a re-issued substantive revision.

Document status states are Draft, In Review, Approved, Executed, and Superseded; only Executed and Superseded are read-only in a compliant repository.

A document register records owner, version, status, distribution list, and retention class; the register, not the folder tree, is the authoritative index.

Metadata fields (matter number, author, date, confidentiality label) drive search, retention, and access control; missing metadata is the leading cause of misfiled documents.

Check-in/check-out locking prevents concurrent overwrite; editing outside the system of record creates a shadow copy that must be reconciled before finalization.

Redlining compares a base version to a revised version; accept-all without reviewing each change loses the audit trail of who changed what.

Budget build: estimate hours per phase per timekeeper role, multiply by each role's rate, add disbursements and a contingency; phase-level budgets enable variance tracking.

Variance = (actual - budget) / budget. A favorable variance is negative cost variance; report variance by phase and by timekeeper role, not only in total.

Earned value: earned value (EV) = percent complete x budget; cost performance index = EV / actual cost; a CPI below 1.0 means spend is outpacing progress.

Estimate at completion (EAC) = budget / CPI when the current cost trend continues; compare EAC to budget to forecast overrun before matter close.

Budget contingency is sized by risk exposure, not a flat percentage; a matter with a trial date carries more contingency than a routine filing.

Alternative fee arrangements: fixed fee shifts volume risk to the firm; capped fee shifts overrun risk to the firm above the cap; success fee ties part of compensation to outcome.

Scope change control requires a written change request, impact estimate on budget and timeline, and client approval before the additional work is performed.

A rule has a trigger (event or condition), a condition set (all/any logic), and an action (create task, send notice, update field); ambiguous all/any logic is the most common rule defect.

Templates separate fixed text from variable fields; every variable must map to a validated data source or the output fails at generation.

Deadline rules calculate from a trigger date using a counting method (calendar days or business days), a jurisdiction holiday calendar, and a roll-forward rule for weekends and holidays.

Automation exceptions must route to a human queue with an owner and a due date; silent failures in legal deadlines are the highest-severity automation risk.

Rule precedence must be explicit: when two rules match the same record, the more specific rule wins or the record is flagged for review.

Every automated rule requires a test case set covering the normal path, each boundary condition, and at least one negative case before production release.

Template and rule changes are versioned; a matter opened under rule version 3 continues under version 3 unless a documented migration is approved.

Core objects in a case management system: client, matter, contact, task, document, time entry, calendar event, and invoice; records link to a matter as the central key.

Matter number is the primary key linking time, documents, tasks, and billing; a matter opened without a number cannot be billed or reported reliably.

Role-based access control assigns permissions by role and matter team; ethical walls restrict specific users from specific matters regardless of role.

Calendar entries must be system-generated from the matter record, not manually typed, to preserve the link between deadline and source event.

Time capture: contemporaneous entry has higher accuracy and defensibility than reconstructed entry; narrative must be specific enough to survive a billing review.

Data migration requires field mapping, deduplication rules, and a reconciliation count comparing source and target records before cutover.

Integration points to verify: document repository, e-signature, accounting, court filing, and calendar; each integration needs an owner and a failure alert.

Duty of competence extends to technology: a lawyer must understand the tools used in a matter well enough to identify risks and supervise their output.

Confidentiality attaches to all information relating to the representation, not only privileged information; inadvertent disclosure triggers notification and mitigation obligations.

Fee agreements must be communicated in writing before or within a reasonable time after engagement, stating the basis or rate of the fee.

Safekeeping of client property: funds held in trust must be segregated, records maintained, and third parties with access to client funds are subject to the same controls.

Supervision duty: a firm remains responsible for the conduct of nonlawyer assistants and outside vendors performing legal support work.

Advertising and communications rules apply to automated client-facing content; template-generated advice must be reviewed by a lawyer before release.

Conflicts are imputed across the firm; a screen alone does not cure a conflict unless the applicable rules permit screening for that situation.

Confidentiality label tiers drive controls: Public, Internal, Confidential, and Highly Confidential (privileged or sensitive personal data); access follows the label, not the folder.

Encryption standard: data in transit over TLS, data at rest with AES-256 or equivalent; removable media encrypted and, where feasible, prohibited.

Access principle: least privilege plus periodic recertification; access is granted to a matter team and revoked at matter close or role change.

Retention schedule maps each record class to a retention period and a disposition action; the longer of the legal hold, matter requirement, or regulatory period governs.

Legal hold suspends disposition for affected records; hold release requires written confirmation from counsel that the matter is concluded.

Incident response sequence: contain, assess scope and data types, notify per applicable breach rules, remediate, and document lessons learned.

Secure destruction requires a certificate of destruction for paper and verified erasure for media; destruction is blocked while any hold is active.

Intake conversion rate = matters opened / intake inquiries; a low rate points to triage criteria or response time, not marketing.

Cycle time by phase is the core operational metric; report median and 90th percentile, since averages hide the tail that drives client complaints.

Rework rate = documents or tasks returned for correction / total completed; a rising rate signals a template, training, or review-gate defect.

On-time completion rate = deadlines met / total deadlines; any missed limitation or filing date is reported as a critical event, not a percentage.

Utilization = billable hours / available hours; realization = collected revenue / billed revenue; collection = collected / billed. Track all three separately.

Dashboard design: one owner per metric, a defined data source, a refresh cadence, and a stated action threshold; a metric with no threshold produces no decision.

Continuous improvement loop: measure, identify the constraint, run a small change, compare before and after on the same metric, then standardize or revert.

Stakeholder map segments by influence and impact: high-influence/high-impact stakeholders require co-design involvement, not just notification.

Adoption curve segments innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards; pilot with early adopters and convert the early majority with peer evidence.

Readiness = (belief in value x ability to use) minus disruption cost; a low score on either factor blocks adoption regardless of training volume.

ADKAR sequence: Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement; a gap at Desire cannot be closed with more training.

Training effectiveness is measured by task completion in the live system, not attendance; define the minimum competent task set per role.

Resistance sources to diagnose separately: loss of autonomy, added time, unclear ownership, prior failed rollout, and incentive misalignment.

Reinforcement requires visible use data by team, recognition of adopters, and removal of the legacy path within a stated date.