SOP template.
A two-page format with the eight sections that matter. Co-write with the people doing the work, instrument with one signal, review annually. Stops SOPs becoming wallpaper.
A pre-structured CSV that imports as a fillable form into Sheets or Excel. Eight sections, one row per field, prompts in plain English.
Practice managers and senior fee-earners standardising the firm's most repeated jobs (matter opening, NDA review, time-entry narratives, intake fact-find). Pairs with the 'standardising the five most repeated jobs' playbook.
SOPs that nobody uses because they're written without the team, run twenty pages long, and have no named owner. The two-page format with one owner and one signal lasts.
| Section | What goes here |
|---|---|
| HEADER | SOP name, owner, last reviewed, version, status |
| OBJECTIVE | One sentence on what good looks like |
| TRIGGER | The event that starts the process; required inputs |
| STEPS | Numbered, one sentence each. Cap at ~12. |
| HANDOFF | If the next step belongs to someone else |
| EXCEPTIONS | Edge cases needing a different process |
| INSTRUMENTATION | One signal that says it's being followed |
| NOTES | Common pitfalls; related SOPs |
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Five rules
- Two pages maximum.If it's longer, the steps are too granular — you're writing a manual, not a process.
- One named owner per SOP. Reviews annually; updates when the firm changes. No owner = the SOP rots.
- Co-write with the team. SOPs written by a partner alone, then handed down, become wallpaper. The people who do the work need to be in the room.
- One instrumentation signal. A single number or flag that tells you the SOP is being followed. Reviewed weekly at the matter meeting.
- Trust legal training.Don't explain what an NDA is. Steps describe this firm's process, not legal substance.
Adoption pattern
Day 1: capture how the work is currently done across 2–3 fee-earners. Day 2: design the canonical version. Day 3: walk it through with the team. Day 4: instrument. Day 5: dry-run with someone who hadn't been in days 1–3.
Five days, one job per day. See standardising the five most repeated jobs for the full pattern.
Common pitfalls
- Writing too many SOPs. Five is enough at first. Fifty is a library nobody opens.
- Skipping instrumentation.An SOP without a signal is hope. Pick one column on the matter sheet that tells you it's being followed.
- Copying another firm's SOP wholesale. Useful as a reference; not a substitute for the day-1 capture of how your team actually does the work.
Notes from other operators.
Comments on what worked, what didn’t, and where this piece missed the mark. All comments are moderated before they appear — we’re looking for substance, not noise.
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