If you have been a long-time reader of the blog or my books, you know that I am a huge fan of checklists.  There is perhaps no tool as humble and simple as a good old-fashioned checklist.  There is also nothing more powerful than a checklist, especially when it comes to productivity for in-house lawyers.  Early in my in-house career, I had a friend and mentor who told me we needed to create some new standard operating procedures for the legal department.  I got very excited as this sounded like a cool, exotic assignment.  And it was about time my talents were utilized for just such a task.  Then he pulled out a one-page document with a list of tasks and tick-boxes next to each one.  I was kind of puzzled and said, “This is just a f*&%$# checklist.”  He paused for a moment and then smacked me upside the head, “Say that with respect newbie.  A good checklist can save your ass someday!”  Okay, that’s not all 100% accurate.  He did not call me “newbie” – it was something much, much worse.  But, seeking to avoid further disorienting blows to the cranium, I became a fast convert to the power and beauty of a good checklist … ummm, standard operating procedures.  Over the years, I created hundreds of checklists for myself, for my team, and for others.  I still use them literally every day.[1]  Like many things with the practice of law in-house, no one teaches you why a checklist matters or, more importantly, how to create one.  You’re just expected to know how.  I realized that while I write about them a lot, I have been remiss in not explaining the “why” and the “how” of checklist magic.  This edition of “Ten Things” corrects this state of affairs and we will get elbow-deep into the slimy, bloody guts of creating a good one:

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