The Livable Law Method: Project Management to Battle Burnout & Attrition in Solo, Small, and Plaintiffs’ Firms

The Livable Law Method: Project Management to Battle Burnout & Attrition in Solo, Small, and Plaintiffs’ Firms

The practice of law is unlivable and this book aims to change that. The Livable Law Method is a legal project management approach that prioritizes stress reduction and process transparency, rather than productivity at all costs. The central tenet of the Livable Law Method is the decoupling of case management from process management. While case management focuses on the goals of the matter, process management focuses on how those goals are achieved, including protecting the team from excessive work and stress. Depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and burnout are documented maladies of the legal profession. Traditionally, advice regarding these issues is aimed towards individuals, providing "tips and tricks" to manage stress. What Dr. Carminati posits in her book, the Livable Law Method, is that the solution cannot come from individuals alone, but has to result from a systemic change within the legal profession. Basing her approach in agile project management, Dr. Carminati proposes a novel approach to legal project management, which leverages agile techniques, standard operating procedures, and legal tech (including small scale legal tech) to apply the Livable Law Method to solo, small, and plaintiffs' firms. The goal is to bring sanity back to the practice of law, prevent burnout, and reduce attrition, especially among women attorneys, who cite stress and lack of reward as two main reasons for leaving the profession. This last aspect is one near and dear to Dr. Carminati, who discusses at length how legal project management would address the issues raised by women, and especially BIPOC women, when they "walk out the door."