// The HR manager is frantic about an employee issue that needs your attention right now. Sales needs updated versions of eight contracts by noon. It’s your turn to write a board report that is due in three days. Three weeks ago, the CEO asked you to rewrite the employee handbook to reflect the company’s growing DEI and ESG commitments. 

Your day is booked with calls till 6 p.m., when you’ll arrive at the city council meeting you’re part of, and you have 124 unopened emails in your inbox. 

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Ding! Make that 125 unopened emails.

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Years ago as a rookie GC, I quickly learned to delegate tasks (and entire projects when possible) to support professionals and other lawyers. It helps junior attorneys build specific expertise, and I would’ve been entirely overwhelmed otherwise. Here are three ways to make delegating smart and effective.

Reevaluate The Alleged Urgency Of Requests

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Often, better communication is needed rather than a full-blown emergency response. Before prioritizing your to-do list, ask: 

What are the sources of the given time constraints? As you’ll see below, it’s easy to overestimate the urgency of a request.

Who could I talk with to inquire about adding flexibility to the project?

Is there one part I can quickly complete while sending the rest to others to handle? 

Can I change the scope of the project? 

Who else can assist and perform these tasks?

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Visually Supplement Your Communications

Succinctly declare your expectations for response and task completion times in your communications. Be specific and clear. And visually format your written delegation messages consistently to help readers see relevant details quickly. 

Set the information apart using a separate heading, bold font, or color. Underline or highlight it. Make your response and completion times stand out, and use the same format every time. Don’t hesitate to throw in an emoji or meme when it can help others laugh, smile, and understand you.

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Visuals can help prevent email urgency bias. Research shows that receivers often overestimate how quickly senders expect responses to nonurgent work emails sent outside typical work hours, i.e., others may mistakenly claim urgency when there isn’t any.   

Use Technology To Track Tasks

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Some 84% of lawyers rely on email for task management, and 85% use email as a system of record for client projects. Nearly half (45%) of 500 in-house legal counsel surveyed spend three or more hours a day managing their team, determining workload capacity, individual task status, and managing internal processes.

Why, when technology has long been available to streamline and automate the task management process? Relying on email alone is not only time-consuming and error-prone, but it also prevents you from tracking who does what, the types and volumes of tasks, and completion times. Data on these factors can help your team eliminate workflow bottlenecks and anticipate resource needs more accurately going forward.

Imagine getting more than three hours a day back. What would you do with it? Spend more time with family? Work on a passion project? Or tackle your overflowing inbox, which (ding!) is now up to 200 unopened emails?

Olga V. Mack is the VP at LexisNexis and CEO of Parley Pro, a next-generation contract management company that has pioneered online negotiation technology. Olga embraces legal innovation and had dedicated her career to improving and shaping the future of law. She is convinced that the legal profession will emerge even stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive than before by embracing technology. Olga is also an award-winning general counsel, operations professional, startup advisor, public speaker, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She founded the Women Serve on Boards movement that advocates for women to participate on corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She authored Get on Board: Earning Your Ticket to a Corporate Board Seat, Fundamentals of Smart Contract Security, and  Blockchain Value: Transforming Business Models, Society, and Communities. She is working on Visual IQ for Lawyers, her next book (ABA 2023). You can follow Olga on Twitter @olgavmack.

Topics

Biglaw, General Counsel, In-House Counsel, Olga V. Mack, Technology