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Knowledge Management
The 3Kites Team has experience dealing with the complex issues surrounding law firm knowledge management.
The management of knowledge and information
Push v pull. Searching and finding knowledge and information
What do lawyers sell?
Know Who
The management of knowledge and information
Every firm has, or has access to, a wealth of raw data, information, and precedent material. Many will also have codified or indexed know how in some form, often with associated metadata. Merely having such material is not sufficient, however. Understanding the real value of the different types and sources of material available within the organisation is a first step towards managing knowledge.
Creating sustainable systems and processes for maintaining the currency of material and for making it readily available to the professional at the point of need are areas where real value can be delivered.
Push v pull. Searching and finding knowledge and information
Lawyers have for many years been able to perform searches to find relevant know how and information. The results of these searches can often depend on the user understanding information sources and appropriate search techniques. More recent search technologies are helping to overcome these limitations but success depends on a full understanding of how such tools will fit within fee-earner working practices - this may differ from one practice area to the next.
Technology also enables relevant knowledge to be delivered (pushed) to the professional, rather than relying on the individual to search for it. There is therefore potential to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of lawyers’ work, but only if applied in a way that has credibility for the fee earner. Ensuring the correct material is provided within the relevant context remains a challenge but one that law firms must address as the pressure to avoid re-inventing the wheel increases.
What do lawyers sell?
When lawyers pitch for new business, they refer to their own and their firm’s previous experience of similar work. 3Kites understands the challenges of ensuring that acquired know how can be found and applied in every pitch across the firm.
Know Who
Knowledge management extends not only to ‘know how’, but also to ‘know who’ – identifying the right people within or outside the organisation to involve on particular issues. Word of mouth is not the most effective way of doing this in large organisations but maintaining bespoke experience databases can be time-consuming and bureaucratic. Extracting the ‘know who’ from the information and metadata held within the organisation’s other systems can be a practical and effective way of doing this without overburdening the practitioners.
