Legal Operations

Omelets And Legal Operations Have More In Common Than You’d Think

Don't scramble your projects like your eggs; define your processes first.

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(Image via Getty)

I like an omelet every Sunday. It’s not because I particularly like eggs. They’re okay. No, it’s rather because there’s a certain challenge to making an omelet. I’ve learned over the years that a good pan is a key ingredient. It’s also the preparation and anticipation. I chop green and red peppers, a little red onion. If you’re at a breakfast buffet with an omelet station, you’ll typically see some form of oil used to sauté the vegetables. Me, I used 100 percent butter. The butter adds flavor. And I whip the heck out of the eggs. I’ve seen some just barely break the yolks. Nope. I crack some black pepper over them and whip the eggs into a frothy mix.

The challenge comes, of course, in trying to flip the omelet without breaking it in half or causing it to simply fall apart. Obviously, you’ve got to cook it fairly well so that the eggs stick together with the vegetables. The right spatula helps, as does the appropriate level of, for lack of a better word, lubrication. Forget it if the omelet is stuck to the pan — you might as well scramble it up and called it scrambled with peppers and onions.

I frequently add American or cheddar cheese, too. Not only does it create this interesting mix of flavors, it also helps to hold the damn thing together. Just two slices or so and when it melts it’s like food glue.

But why in the heck am I describing how I make an omelet in a legal operations column?

The truth is I woke up this morning fully aware that my column was due and I hadn’t written word one. For anyone who’s ever tried to write a column every week, you know it can be difficult and even frustrating to come up with fresh and new material each and every week. Sometimes I’ve been somewhere or seen something and that inspires me to write about whatever that may be. But often I find myself just sitting here wondering what to write about.

I then I remember what a writer friend once told me many years ago when I was attempting to write my first book. “Just write!” he would say. “Every day write a little something. You can always go back to fill in the gaps.” I don’t mind telling you that it works.

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The formation of this column began at the breakfast table when I was lamenting the lack of a topic for this week’s ATL column. My beautiful and inspiring wife asked, “Does your column have to be about legal stuff? Why don’t you write about how you messed up the omelet today?”

And so, it began.

As I was writing, though, it began to occur to me that making an omelet and legal operations are related in ways one never expected (at least in my view). You see, it’s all about process. And I write and talk about process all the time; but never has it been more true that legal operations professionals need to better define their processes.

People ask me all the time, “Mike, what project management software should I use?” and my response is almost invariably that project management software is not going to do a bit of good if you have not first examined and defined your processes.

So, for anyone out there that is struggling to find efficiency, do more with less, or simply work smarter and not harder, gather your team, sit down, and have a conversation about the what you are trying to accomplish. It might be stronger compliance controls, better e-discovery processes, or how to manage outside counsel spend. Whatever it is, define first what you want to do. Then, break the work, the goals, and the outcomes into smaller, more management parts. Picture what you want the final product, service, or result to look like and use the basic project management tools of aggregation and bottoms-up analysis to build the tasks and workflows you need to get the work done.

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The moral of the story: Careful how you flip the omelet lest your project become all scrambled.

Mike Quartararo

Mike Quartararo is the managing director of eDPM Advisory Services, a consulting firm providing e-discovery, project management and legal technology advisory and training services to the legal industry. He is also the author of the 2016 book Project Management in Electronic Discovery. Mike has many years of experience delivering e-discovery, project management, and legal technology solutions to law firms and Fortune 500 corporations across the globe and is widely considered an expert on project management, e-discovery and legal matter management. You can reach him via email at mquartararo@edpmadvisory.com. Follow him on Twitter @edpmadvisory.

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