Knowledge Management continues to grow

Ron Friedmann talks about another aspect of KM – capturing not only your own work product, but that of others.

You may recall that I’ve said that I believe that the law firm of the future will depend heavily on Knowledge Management. Today’s law firms won’t survive without the adoption of KM; this will be a cost, not only of doing business, but of survival. Folks like DuPont, United Technologies and insurance companies who pay legal bills for Corporate America are pushing law firms in the direction of KM.

And law firms with a clear view of the future are adopting the philosophy of using today’s work product again in the future; there is no need to reinvent the wheel each time  the same issue arises. Lawyers are accustomed to doing this when they swivel their chair and open the drawer behind them, seeking the documents on the last deal or the last motion they worked on in the new issue before them. Today, we have technology that makes that process easier, faster and less expensive. Not only will clients no longer pay for such "original" research, they will seek lawyers who will pass the savings on to them.

Categorized in: Management