Certifications & Programs
All Legal Lean Sigma Institute certifications, certificates, courses, workshops, retreats, and presentations are designed for legal and business professionals. We own the registered trademark in Legal Lean Sigma® and our programs are the first to be designed exclusively for the legal profession. This enables our participants to immediately bridge powerful, tried and true concepts from manufacturing to their work.
We offer more than 50 courses in our catalog that can be delivered in person or virutally, on our platform or yours. We are experienced curriculum designers and tailor each privately delivered program for your group or team. We use relevant case studies, examples, and success stories from law. This way, everyone learns about process improvement methodologies (such as Lean and Six Sigma), project management, and Design Thinking in the context of the processes and projects that are most relevant and important to them.
Certifications (Belts)
Our approach is to introduce concepts and tools, then provide opportunities for attendees to apply them to a legal or business process they’re interested in improving. Through case studies and the use of success stories from law firms and legal departments, participants learn about process improvement and project management in relevant and immediately useful contexts.
Legal Lean Sigma Institute White and Yellow Belt courses traditionally take place in person and include experiential learning, table work with exercises (such as process mapping), and interactive discussions. These are excellent opportunities to learn together, set the stage for actionable next steps, engage in team building, and collaborate. There is no prerequisite for either the White or Yellow Belt course. We deliver them privately and at a limited number of public, open enrollment courses during the year. If you are interested in hosting one, please contact us.
A Green Belt certification requires a Yellow Belt plus our acceptance of a successfully completed project. Please contact us to discuss interest in a Green and/or Black Belt certification, as these are tailored for each candidate.
All of our open enrollment programs may be privately delivered
Yellow Belt Certification Course
The Yellow Belt certification course is designed for those who want to do more than just get an introduction to the concepts and primary tools of process improvement and project management but want to begin learning how to apply them in the legal world.
Change Management Certificate
This program introduces participants to concepts, frameworks, and tools for those involved in innovation and transformation work in law firms/offices and legal departments.
White Belt
Participation in a one day course that is designed to be a high level introduction to Lean, Six Sigma and Legal Project Management. Learning objectives are geared toward participants gaining familiarity with the vocabulary, concepts, and some of the tools most commonly used in PI and PM.
YelLow Belt
Participation in a two day, more intensive course that is designed for participants to be able to understand and employ Lean, Six Sigma and Legal Project Management vocabulary, methodologies, and tools.
Green Belt
Requires a Yellow Belt plus the successful completion of an approved project and other certification requirements.
White Belt
Requires a Yellow and Green Belt plus completion of a dozen or more approved projects and other certification requirements (workshops, distance learning). For those committed to a career as a process improvement practitioner.
Virtual Courses & Certificates
Certificates
The Legal Lean Sigma Institute certificate programs are designed for legal and business professionals who want to build meaningful capabilities. Like our White and Yellow Belt Certification Courses, our certificates emphasize applied learning, legal-specific context, expert guidance, and real-world outcomes. Each is a series of lectures and most are structured around a capstone case study presentation. Participants gain practical, actionable tools they can apply immediately – and we are always developing new content.
Every program is taught by a team of Legal Lean Sigma Institute faculty scholars, each bringing deep experience across process improvement, innovation, legal operations, project management, coaching, behavioral economics, and organizational change. We keep each cohort intentionally small to ensure an engaging, hands-on, and immersive learning environment where participants receive individualized attention and coaching.
When delivered privately, we develop case studies that incorporate your organization’s challenges, data, workflows, opportunities, and strategic goals. Participants work in context and produce deliverables that can be used right away.
Whether learning as an individual or through a private cohort, candidates leave with frameworks, insights, and capabilities that directly advance their organization’s improvement, innovation, and transformation work.
2026 Certificate Program Descriptions
Behavioral Economics
Why do people and organizations make the choices they do? How can understanding this transform the way you lead change, improve processes, and make better decisions? This Legal Lean Sigma Institute certificate program reveals how insights from Behavioral Economics can be applied directly to change management, process improvement, and legal operations. You’ll explore how cognitive biases and human behavior impact decisions—and learn how to leverage that understanding to drive engagement, adoption, and results in your organization.
Read more about our Behavioral Economics course
Enrollment is limited to just 12 participants to ensure a highly interactive, discussion-rich learning experience with personalized attention from expert instructors.
Join recognized thought leaders and published authors applying Behavioral Economics to the legal industry—for this small-group program and discover:
- What Behavioral Economics is and why it matters in law
- How to apply these insights to Process Improvement, Legal Operations, and Change Management
- Real-world case studies and practical tools you can use immediately
For most of the past 20 years, Behavioral Economics has transformed fields like Government and Finance. Now, it’s reshaping how we think about leadership, innovation, and efficiency in the legal profession.
Legal and business professionals are now expected to do more than manage risk—they are called to drive prosperity, innovation, and strategic decision-making.
This certificate program equips you with the mindset and methods to do just that—helping you support organizational strategy, strengthen client relationships, and position yourself as an influential force for progress.
Change Management
This course introduces participants to concepts, models, frameworks, and tools for those involved in innovation and transformation work in law firms/offices and legal departments. Privately delivered programs include development of a case study that incorporates your organization’s unique challenges and opportunities, so that certificate candidates are working in context and produce usable, useful deliverables.
Read more about our Change Management course
Why is change so hard? Especially in LAW? We will uncover the primary reasons and assure you that you are NOT ALONE and that we can improve! We all need change management, whether we are making incremental or monumental progress, and that truth applies to everything, everywhere, all at once.
This course offers you new concepts and tools to help you be successful with leading, planning for, managing, and implementing change.
- Change management models: Kotter’s, 7S, ADKAR, Kubler-Ross, Lewin’s
- Behavioral economics: Why do people do what they do?
- Assessment tools: LLSI’s P+ Scorecard, the Smart Collaboration Accelerator, Personality Types, Communications styles
- Decision-making tools
- Leading change
- Stakeholder engagement
- Communications, power dynamics, and negotiations
- How to identify and overcome resistance and objectives (and turn those resistors into advocates!)
- Using PI, PM, and DT for change: A Legal WorkOut success story
- A case study, group work, and presentations to the faculty involving the selection of a change management model, development of a project, and a change management plan that includes communication, handling resistance, and measuring and reporting success.
A LLSI Change Management Certificate will be granted to all successful participants when the course concludes.
Design Thinking for Law
Unlock the skills, mindset, and tools to design better experiences, processes, and solutions across your organization. The Certificate in Design Thinking for Law gives legal and business professionals a practical, hands-on introduction to Design Thinking—tailored specifically for the legal industry. You’ll learn how to innovate with purpose, solve problems with clarity, and drive improvement one process, one project, and one client or employee experience at a time.
Read more about our Design Thinking course
Earn your Certificate in Design Thinking for Law from the Legal Lean Sigma Institute and gain practical, actionable skills to drive improvement and innovation in your organization.
Unlock the skills, mindset, and tools to design better experiences, processes, and solutions across your organization. The Certificate in Design Thinking for Law gives legal and business professionals a practical, hands-on introduction to Design Thinking—tailored specifically for the legal industry.
You’ll learn how to innovate with purpose, solve problems with clarity, and drive improvement one process, one project, and one client or employee experience at a time.
- This program is also the required foundation for Design Thinking for Law 2.
- This certificate is a prerequisite for Design Thinking for Law 2.
Design Thinking Core Stages
Empathize → Define → Ideate → Prototype → Test
Session 1 – Introduction & Mindset Shift
- Topics: What Design Thinking is, why it matters in legal, Legal Lean Design and how it blends with Design Thinking, Lean, Six Sigma, LPM, Behavioral Economics, and Change Management
- Activity: Stakeholder mapping & empathy interview exercise
- Takeaway Tool: Design Thinking + Legal Lean Design Frameworks
Session 2 – Empathize & Define
- Topics: Journey mapping, Voice of the Client (VOC), root cause analysis, behavioral biases
- Activity: Map a client onboarding/intake journey; apply the “Five Whys”
- Takeaway Tool: Problem Statement & Stakeholder Insight Matrix
Session 3 – Ideate & Prototype
- Topics: Divergent & convergent thinking, prioritization frameworks, risk mitigation (FMEA), rapid prototyping for legal services
- Activity: Brainstorm & prototype an improved client onboarding/intake process
- Takeaway Tool: Legal Prototype & Feedback Framework
Session 4: Test & Implement
- Topics: Pilots, KPIs, adoption strategies, scaling solutions, LPM roadmaps
- Activity: Draft a pilot & change management plan
- Takeaway Tool: Legal Innovation Implementation Playbook
Integrated topics:
- Lean: Eliminate waste, streamline workflows
- Six Sigma: Reduce variation, measure quality
- LPM: Plan, prioritize, and manage innovation projects
- Behavioral Economics – Understand decision-making and adoption
- Change Management – Lead people through transformation
Legal Operations & Leading Innovation & Collaboration Certificates
These two certificate programs are designed to help participants become more effective leaders of process improvement, change management and higher-performing, higher functioning teams engaged in transformation work. It includes readings, lectures, exercises, discussions, and individual development work to help you develop your skills specifically in the legal context.
This was one of the best workshops I have attended and participated in over the last eight years… Content very well organized and easy to follow… Legal examples nicely tied to content… Practically delivered in bite-sized pieces…I learned a lot… very valuable…engaging, friendly, intelligent speakers… Would recommend… Course materials are excellent… Exceeded my expectations, which were high… Well planned, well documented, well led – well done!…The White Belt was an excellent introduction to process improvement and project management.
An excellent and worthwhile program and experience… I enjoyed meeting the fellow summer cohort members as well as the LLSI facilitators and judges…Great scholars, attendees and judges … Our profession is safe in these hands… Loved being part of this!!… This was a fantastic program and I look forward to moving on to Level 200!…Thank you LLSI. It was an incredible experience…An absolutely valuable use of my time… It was great to work our way through the case study.
We received a complete introduction to this very comprehensive material in a way that allowed us to take away practical means to begin implementing the concepts as part of our work. Your facilitation met the class at its various participant needs and your design/structure allowed the teams to work on practical application in a way that reinforced the concepts via your own work/design.
Get the course catalog
We offer more than 50 virtual courses in a live lecture format and welcome opportunities to (co)design training and curriculum to support your organization’s or team’s specific objectives.
Private Delivery
Programs and Workshops
- Legal WorkOut®
- Process mapping
- Client collaboration
- Strategic planning
- Retreats and curriculum design
- Management/Executive, Steering Committee, and Sponsor development and overviews
- Team and team leader training
All our privately delivered course, workshops, programs, retreats, and presentations are tailored and designed specifically for your group. Processes, projects, and teams are selected in advance. For the workshop components of privately delivered certification courses, attendees learn together, begin drafting deliverables such as project charters and rough process maps, earn a certification and, in most cases, are eligible for CLE credit.
