Best Practices in Legal

Knowledge Management
Edited by stephanie ramasamy

Published by

In association with

Best Practices in Legal Knowledge Management

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Best Practices in Legal

Knowledge Management
Edited by stephanie ramasamy

Published by

In association with

Contents
Executive summary.............................................................................................................VII
Acknowledgements.............................................................................................................IX
Part One: Knowledge Management in the Legal Profession Expert Analyses
Expert analysis 1: KM A valuable contribution to law firm success..................................... 3
Putting knowledge to work...................................................................................................... 3
Long live the extranet............................................................................................................. 4
Client relationships Partnership and purpose......................................................................... 5
The end of PSLs?................................................................................................................... 5
Making innovation stick.......................................................................................................... 5
Expert analysis 2: Framing the KM journey.......................................................................... 7
A seven-dimensional framework.............................................................................................. 7
Articulating strategy and developing implementation plans........................................................ 9
Why policy?.......................................................................................................................... 9
Towards the successful implementation of a KM strategy......................................................... 11
Expert analysis 3: Forming a KM strategy for your firm...................................................... 13
The strategic challenges....................................................................................................... 13
The essential components of a KM strategy............................................................................ 14
Practical tips for creating an effective KM strategy................................................................... 15
Keep your KM strategy current.............................................................................................. 16
Expert analysis 4: What makes a law firm outstanding The client perspective.................. 19
Contract databases and KM systems..................................................................................... 19
Cost-free, tailored seminars on key legislative developments................................................... 19
Access to knowledge databases and client extranets............................................................... 19
Secondment of trainees and associates at preferential rates.................................................... 19
Set up surgery visits during office hours................................................................................. 20
What role do knowledge managers play in helping the firm differentiate itself?......................... 20
Conveying legal know how to meet your clients information needs......................................... 20

III

Contents

Expert analysis 5: How we choose and purchase legal services The client perspective........ 23
Opportunities for partnership................................................................................................ 24
A two-way relationship......................................................................................................... 24
Expert analysis 6: Directing knowledge activities................................................................ 25
The changing role of the PSL................................................................................................ 25
Towards centralisation.......................................................................................................... 26
Expert analysis 7: Creating valuable knowledge in the firm through legal
project management......................................................................................................... 27
Launching the legal project management programme............................................................ 28
Creating knowledge that has competitive value...................................................................... 29
Expert analysis 8: Maintaining innovation within a robust risk management framework..... 33
The drivers behind law firm risk management......................................................................... 33
The risk assessment process.................................................................................................. 34
The close tie and tension between risk management and knowledge management.............. 34
Expert analysis 9: Behind the times................................................................................... 37
A day in the life . ............................................................................................................. 37
Push over............................................................................................................................ 38
Expert analysis 10: How to engage the 21st century associate in the firms technology?..... 41
Too slow in bringing solutions to the table?............................................................................ 41
Do we really listen to the business?....................................................................................... 42
Do our younger lawyers really want to use technology in the workplace?................................. 42
Are we ready for the digital natives?.................................................................................... 42
Expert analysis 11: Exploiting the full benefits of collaboration technology......................... 45
Back to basics What is social software?.............................................................................. 45
How can social software be used in the legal profession?....................................................... 45
The benefits of social software.............................................................................................. 47
Uses in practice................................................................................................................... 48
Expert analysis 12: Attracting and retaining generation Y law librarians............................ 49
What makes a generation?................................................................................................... 49
Attracting and retaining generation Y.................................................................................... 50
The changing face of library services..................................................................................... 52
What does the future hold for library and information services?............................................... 53
Expert analysis 13: Building an integrated social knowledge platform................................ 55
Choosing the right platform.................................................................................................. 55
Case study: Reynolds Porter Chamberlain A social integration framework.............................. 56

IV

Best Practices in Legal Knowledge Management

The platform with an Edge.................................................................................................. 58

The result............................................................................................................................ 60
Expert analysis 14: Best practice in information management............................................ 61
The issue............................................................................................................................. 61
The solution........................................................................................................................ 61
Best-practice examples......................................................................................................... 62
SharePoint as an enterprise social media tool........................................................................ 63
Part Two: Case Studies
Case study 1: Mills & Reeve Re-engineering KM processes and services.......................... 71
Increased flexibility............................................................................................................... 71
Case study 2: Reynolds Porter Chamberlain Our people first........................................... 73
State of play........................................................................................................................ 73
Outside help....................................................................................................................... 74
On the edge....................................................................................................................... 74
Knowledge applications........................................................................................................ 75
New ways of working........................................................................................................... 75
Standing out from the crowd................................................................................................. 76
Case study 3: Shepherd and Wedderburn Intuitive search............................................... 77
Client and matter centric presentation................................................................................... 77
The push............................................................................................................................. 78
Engagement and collaboration............................................................................................. 79
Consistency versus flexibility.................................................................................................. 80
Will it solve everything?........................................................................................................ 80
Case study 4: Pinsent Masons Implementing a document assembly solution................... 81
The first steps...................................................................................................................... 81
The pilot............................................................................................................................. 82
The business case................................................................................................................ 82
Implementation.................................................................................................................... 82
The next steps...................................................................................................................... 83
Is document assembly right for you?...................................................................................... 83
Case study 5: Squire, Sanders & Dempsey Legal project management in practice........... 85
Overcoming obstacles to KM and LPM . ............................................................................... 85
The LPM process.................................................................................................................. 87
Communication The client extranet..................................................................................... 88
Index................................................................................................................................ 91

Executive summary
The Knowledge management (KM)
profession is facing significant challenges as
a result of the changes in the legal market.
Deregulation and heightened competition,
the rise of demanding and sophisticated
clients, the efficiency drive in legal process
and meeting technology expectations of
the generation Y lawyer, all mean that the
KM function will have to prove more than
ever that it can play a key role in adding
successfully to the firms overall strategy.
This report aims to help you tackle some
of the following key questions:
How do you differentiate your firm in an
increasingly competitive market?
How do you meet clients demands for
value-added services and innovation in
service delivery?
How do you align the KM function with
other functions in the firm to meet the
firms core strategy?
How do you create valuable knowledge
to the firms competitive advantage?
How do you deliver information to your
fee earners on a timely basis (before they
realise they need it)?
How do you add real value with
technology? and
What does the future hold for law
firm librarians?
This report will help you to understand:
What your clients really want and how to
innovate to deliver added-value services;

How to adapt to changes in legal

service delivery with new participants
and investors in the market;
How the KM function and model
is changing;
The key considerations before
embarking on a KM strategy; and
The new KM trends and systems
firms are adopting such as legal
project management.
In addition, readers can learn from the
perspectives of law firm IT experts on
new technology such as SharePoint and
implementing successful document
assembly projects.
This report is a compilation of written
contributions from thought leaders and
experts in the KM space and aims to help
you tackle the challenges at a fundamental
and strategic level. The report also includes
case studies from Squire, Sanders &
Dempsey, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain,
Shepherd and Wedderburn, Mills & Reeve,
Pinsent Masons and Husch Blackwell LLP.
The first expert analysis provides a
summary of the highlights of the KMUK
2011 Conference and draws on the essential
themes which emerged from this event
such as efficiency projects and technology
development and the market demands and
challenges law firms are facing.
Expert analysis 2 focuses on successful
KM strategy implementation and provides
detailed guidance on creating an adequate
framework for a KM strategy development.

VII

Executive summary

A key challenge in implementing a KM

strategy is choosing amongst the many
potential projects that will have the most
impact on the organisation. Expert analysis 3
looks at formulating a KM strategy that can
be successfully realised with practical tactics.
Expert analyses 4 and 5 provide law
firm clients perspective on what makes a
law firm outstanding. Expert analysis 4 offers
guidance on how firms can achieve quick
wins and how legal know how can effectively
meet clients information needs while Expert
analysis 5 provides an insight into how law
firm clients are choosing and purchasing
legal suppliers and what they seek from their
lawyers after the work engagement.
Expert analysis 6 looks at the changing
role of the PSL and whether the PSL function
should become more centralised.
Expert analysis 7 explores how a law firm
is effectively using legal project management
(LPM) to create knowledge which has
competitive value for the firm and its clients.
Expert analysis 8 discusses how the two
functions of risk and knowledge can work
effectively together to identify, quantify and
manage risk associated with the delivery of
legal services.
Expert analyses 9, 10 and 11 turn to
the theme of technology and Expert
analysis 9 takes a look at whether current
law firm technology is meeting the needs
of the generation Y lawyer while Expert
analysis 10 explains how you can change
lawyers perception of technology to get
them more engaged in the technology
offered by the firm. Expert analysis 11
discusses how law firms can exploit the
full benefits of social software.
As generation Y takes up the reins in
law firm libraries, how should law firms
successfully plan this succession and attract
the new wave of generation Y librarians?
A librarian provides her thoughts on the

VIII

future of law firm librarianship in Expert

analysis 12.
As more and more firms are looking
to try new platforms and tools to support
knowledge sharing and choose amongst the
numerous options available, Expert analysis
13 advises on how to choose the right social
business platform for your firm and ensure a
successful implementation.
Expert analysis 14 concludes with a
discussion on enhancing client service
delivery through implementing best
practices in information management,
drawing on examples from both the legal
and finance industry.
This report is produced with the KM
practitioner in mind as well as managing
and senior partners, IT directors, marketing
and business development directors, and the
external law firm management consultant.

Acknowledgements
The editor would like to thank all the contributors who have shared their thoughts and insights
in this report.

IX