Applying Agile to Legal Practices
Lesson 2: Kanban Deep-Dive with John Grant
Kanban Deep-Dive: Agile Practices with John Grant
In this 40-minute masterclass, John Grant moves beyond the basics of a Kanban board to unpack the full Kanban Methodology—principles, practices, and mind-set shifts that help law firms streamline work, reduce stress, and communicate value to clients.
Key Points at a Glance
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See Work as Flow
Understand suppliers → inputs → process → outputs → customers (SIPOC) so every matter actually moves. -
Six Core Kanban Practices
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Make work visible
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Limit work-in-progress (WIP)
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Measure & manage flow
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Make policies explicit
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Establish feedback loops
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Evolve through small experiments
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Design Boards Around Handoffs
Create a new column for each person or resource transition to expose hidden delays. -
WIP Limits & Monotasking
“Start less to finish more”—cut multitasking costs and close files faster. -
Explicit Policies that Stick
▸ FIFO as the default priority rule
▸ Clear exceptions (e.g., safety issues)
▸ Definitions of Ready and Done to slash rework. -
Agile Cadences for Legal Teams
Weekly planning + review, daily 90-second stand-ups, and “5 % time” reserved for continuous improvement.
Course Curriculum
Your 9 Agile Lessons
Lesson 1: How to Tell If Kanban Could Work For You
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to identify if you should implement the Kanban methodology and how to get started.
Lesson 2: Applying Agile to Legal Practices with John Grant
An in-depth look at integrating Agile methodologies in a legal setting, guided by industry expert John E. Grant.
Lesson 3: Getting Started
Where and how should you start implementing Kanban? Let’s go over how to use what you already do and translate it into Kanban.
Lesson 4: Building a Board
Let’s walk you through how to build a Kanban board using Legalboards for our example firm.
Lesson 5: Boards As An Overview Of Workflows
Now that we know the framework and how to build a board, let’s step back and examine how to view the work we’ve completed so far.
Lesson 6: WIP Limits
In this lesson, we’ll dive into one of the concepts that John covered in lesson 2, WIP limits. You’ll learn how to apply them for effective management.
Lesson 7: Board Viewing Tips
Tips about how to best view your board so you can ensure you understand everything at a glance.
Lesson 8: Client Centric Operations
One of the most important benefits of using Kanban is the enhanced client experience. Let’s examine how to optimize your operations for clients.
Lesson 9: Conclusion
In this lesson, we’ll wrap up this course and the Agile concepts covered.