Who owns each decision on a legal team?
For matter leads and legal operations coordinators.
How can a team find a gap in responsibility before it delays a matter?
Pick one real deliverable and follow it from assignment to release. For every decision, identify a named person, the evidence they need and who steps in if they are unavailable. A gap often shows up at the point where two people each believe the other has approved the work.
Start with the work on the calendar
Choose a job small enough to walk through, such as preparing a first draft of a response letter. Create one row each for collecting the record, drafting, checking factual statements, resolving legal questions, securing any necessary client direction and authorizing delivery. If two roles belong to the same person, name that person in both places.
For each row, record the person doing the work, the person authorized to decide, the expected handoff time and the evidence of completion. A factual check might require an annotated source copy. Authorization to deliver should identify the exact draft and recipient.
Run an absence drill
Ask the drafter what happens if the named reviewer is out on the day an answer is needed. Trace the answer to a backup who has authority, access to the right file and time to review it. Identify which decisions must return to the client, even if the backup lawyer is ready to proceed.
Mark a row open when the person assigned has declined, lacks access or has yet to acknowledge an urgent assignment. Keep the issue visible to the matter lead until a person accepts it.
Check the roles against the applicable rules
ABA Model Rule 5.1 distinguishes firm management from direct supervision of another lawyer. It is a model. Check the applicable jurisdiction's adopted rules when assigning responsibility, and account separately for the authority reserved to the client and the terms of the engagement.
Worked example
Illustrative example. A paralegal compiles invoices for a draft demand. The associate verifies the total against the invoices, and the matter lawyer reviews the demand. During an absence drill the team discovers that its backup lawyer can review the arithmetic but lacks authority to approve the settlement figure. The matter lead records who must obtain the client's direction and leaves delivery on hold.
Primary sources
Related work at Agentic Attorney
This responsibility worksheet belongs to the shared Agentic Attorney resource collection. Its hub describes AI consulting and implementation for legal teams. Explore Agentic Attorney’s approach to AI implementation.