Innovate not recreate

The first 2010 issue of KIM Legal has a distinctly continental feel and anyone who attended Ark’s recent Knowledge Management in the European Legal Profession conference in Amsterdam, will recognise the names and faces of some of the contributors. At this stage I would like to thank all those involved in producing this issue of the magazine, during a period of substantial change – but more on that later.

Regular
Thought leader
One of the main themes at the conference was that we are in a new legal landscape, partly due to the economic crisis and also because of so-called ‘Tesco Law’, in the case of the UK. Therefore, we have to look at possibilities to outsource work, make even better use of our knowledge management (KM) technology and perhaps buy more from external content providers, such as PLC, then try to integrate that information into our own systems.

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Knowledge doesn't matter
This probably looks like the worst title possible for an article on issues faced when implementing a knowledge management (KM) strategy in European law firms. Nevertheless, this phrase represents the biggest issue of all for any KM initiative (regardless of whether it is in Europe or anywhere else). The problem is often the realisation that there is no true commitment to a KM initiative within your firm, along with the assumption that there is no way for you to rescue the situation. Suddenly, knowledge no longer matters.

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It's all about the money
A recent report published by the International In-house Counsel Journal (IICJ) sheds light on some very interesting issues when it comes to the background for clients’ choice of law firm. The full report can be downloaded here: www.iicj.net.
Not surprisingly, the clients look at price, and they expect discounts or some sort of fixed fee. It is particularly interesting that clients bargain on a case-by-case basis – and not only because they deliver a vast volume of cases.

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The strongest link
Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Martindale Hubbell Connected, Legal OnRamp. Few law firms can afford the time and resources necessary to have an active presence on all of these social networking sites. So, if a firm has to choose one, which should it be?

Regular
Cover feature: A strategic imperative
Back in 2006, in KIM Legal’s launch issue cover feature, interviewees commented on the ‘knowledge is power’ attitude, which was prevalent among lawyers at the time. This, combined with the constant pressure to complete billable activities, meant that updating a precedent or posting information to the knowledge repository were often far down lawyers’ list of things to do.

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Guerilla KM
If there’s one thing you can say about knowledge management (KM) professionals, it’s that we’re a flexible lot. We wear many hats as we endeavour to facilitate change – often in uncooperative and, perhaps even, adversarial environments. Being successful necessitates pushing the limits of our flexibility and, true to the multi-disciplinary nature of our field, drawing inspiration from unlikely sources.