Thought leader

By Sandra Higgison

When it comes to knowledge management (KM), there are trailblazers who do the risky work and followers who can see the vision but want to lessen the risks and avoid the pitfalls. The legal profession, however, has been accused of being absent from both these groups by both industry analysts and the profession’s own press. As a knowledge-reliant industry, however, KM can offer law firms, lawyers and their clients indisputable benefits. Turning that recognition into action has taken time but it is happening and there are some impressive stories to tell.

All industries and organisations have inherent peculiarities that prevent seamless adoption of knowledge-management principles and activities. It may, however, be safe to say that law firms had – and still have – more than most. Bob Bater, author of the recent Ark Group report, KM in the Legal Profession, identifies some of the problems, including a preoccupation with technology, which has made many law firms regard KM as just an extension of IT. He also points to the conventional structure and working practices in law firms, which inhibited adaptability to market conditions and the resourcing and management of indepth change.

In the same way that other industries are moving through the KM generations, however, law firms are also now making worthy advances. “Over the past five years, I think there have been two significant changes in knowledge management in law firms,” says Juliet Humphries, managing director of Pierian Spring Consulting and former director of knowledge at Linklaters. “First, in the firms that have been involved with knowledge management for some time, it has moved from being a discrete activity – often referred to as know-how – that was focused on legal knowledge, to an activity that is seen to permeate across functions and boundaries. Second, KM is no longer seen as the preserve of the larger firms, which is due to improved articulation of the KM message by practitioners and an increasing appreciation of what the benefits of adopting KM principles can bring.”

“The legal sector is beginning to understand that KM is about leveraging the firm’s competence and experience to deliver better value products and services to customers, rather than simply improving internal processes,” adds Bater. Using knowledge management in this way sharpens a firm’s competitive edge, gives lawyers tools to work together more effectively and, ultimately, delivers higher levels of service and enables collaboration with clients.

As collaboration, internally and externally, becomes entrenched in a law firm’s daily activities, few commentators can claim that the industry has yet to acknowledge the value of knowledge management. Considerable and innovative headway has been made, but there is still much to do. Bater suggests that the current trends will continue and will trickle down to smaller law firms that have been put off by the cost of developing a KM infrastructure. For example, in 2002, 15 Scottish firms came together to start providing content to a database on Scottish law, which is then shared with clients through their websites. If similar initiatives become the norm, the value of knowledge management will be recognised by practices of all sizes and in all regions.