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Description

Legal Project Management: Scoping, Steering and Delivering Complex Matters

Run a legal matter like a project, with scope, milestones and budget under control

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

An in-house legal function handles several long-running matters at the same time, each mobilising different disciplines: litigation, acquisitions, compliance remediation, contract redesign. Without proper scoping, the perimeter expands, deadlines slip, external fees overrun and the internal client no longer knows where the request stands.

This one-day programme applies project management methods to legal work: scoping the request, breaking the matter into deliverables, estimating workload, steering external counsel, tracking the budget and running progress reviews. Participants apply the method to a live matter from their own portfolio and leave with a ready-to-use set of steering tools.

Learning objectives

  • Scope a legal request and formalise its perimeter
  • Break a matter down into verifiable deliverables and milestones
  • Estimate workload and build the budget of a legal matter
  • Steer external counsel and monitor fee consumption
  • Run progress reviews with internal clients
  • Close the matter and capitalise on the deliverables produced

What makes this programme different

The method is applied to a live matter brought by each participant
Steering tools are built during the session and are immediately reusable
Managing external law firms is practised on concrete fee situations

Programme

1Scoping the legal matter

Turning a request into a project

  • Qualifying the internal client's request
  • Formalising the perimeter and what falls outside it
  • Identifying stakeholders and decision-makers
  • Defining expected deliverables and completion criteria
  • Analysing risks and dependencies

2Planning and budgeting

Holding the schedule and the spend

  • Breaking the work into work packages and positioning milestones
  • Estimating internal and external workload
  • Deciding between in-house handling and instructing a law firm
  • Drafting the terms of reference sent to external counsel
  • Monitoring fee consumption

3Steering and closing

Staying in control until the final deliverable

  • Running progress reviews and reporting to the internal client
  • Handling requests to change the scope
  • Managing delays and the decisions to be escalated
  • Closing the matter and reviewing the spend
  • Capitalising on reusable deliverables

Who is it for

In-house counsel, legal managers, general counsel, lawyers and members of legal departments.

Prerequisites

Hold a legal role within a company or a law firm.

Dates & locations

24 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.