Thought leader: Maintaining momentum

By David Halliwell

The effects of the downturn in the markets law firms and their clients trade in are being felt across the sector. In such a climate, most firms will be looking at two priorities: managing their costs and winning new work. For knowledge-management (KM) professionals this is the perfect time to demonstrate precisely how what you do is aligned with the needs of your firm’s business. But, where do you start?

Do the basics right
Look at the core services your teams provide and make sure you are doing them well.

Review all your projects
Prioritise those that are most likely to bring a positive return quickly, and at minimum extra cost.

Consider alternatives to redundancies
Are people willing to reduce days? Do you have a population that might take periods of parental leave? If your firm is looking at fee-earner headcount, talk to practice group heads about whether stars who they don’t want to lose can be seconded to work on your projects.

Examine all your information resources
Weed out any duplication between hard copy and online and back it up with a training programme – quick online self-help guides work well.

Check your online services licences
If user headcount has gone down, you may be in a different pricing band and, therefore, able to negotiate a price reduction.

Ensure that the client is king
Focus on client-facing initiatives that help the partners get closer to their clients. Feed them news stories and legal developments – any information that they can use to keep in touch with clients. If you have client-facing information services, give them a push. Clients may be cutting their own external subscriptions and yours could be used as a substitute.

Communicate
Talk to your team and pass on information as you can. What little information you might be able to provide – even if you can’t reassure them – is better than none at all. Stay in touch with the senior management in your firm. Let them know what you are working on and how it is progressing. Get their support and input towards your strategic priorities.
It’s going to be a bumpy ride for all law firms over the next year – or two, at the very least. A well-defined, focused KM and information strategy can support a firm by enabling cost savings, helping lawyers to provide advice to their clients efficiently and effectively, and providing opportunities for lawyers to promote and build relationships with their clients.
These are not luxuries, but essentials for a law firm in any market. Our challenge – and opportunity – is to show that we can do it, right now.

David Halliwell is chief knowledge officer at DLA Piper UK LLP. He can be contacted at david.halliwell@dlapiper.com