Editor's Letter

Once again another year has flown by at an phenomenal rate. On a personal level I’ve experienced significant flux both in my professional and private lives, which has probably added to the rapid passing of 2007. And, once again, I find myself wondering how I’m going to shoehorn all the coming year’s activities and tasks into a mere 12 months. I have no doubt that most law firms will be wondering the same.
While at KM Legal’s sister publication, Legal Marketing, the words on the lips of everyone involved for the past few months have been ‘Legal Services Act’, we haven’t really touched on the subject within these pages. Of course, the ramifications of the Act on knowledge management (KM) are in no way trivial compared to the changes facing marketing and business development departments over the next few months, and even years.
Catherine Flutsch delves into this subject in her regular column this issue and suggests, quite rightly, that alternative business structures (which will enable support departments to charge for client-facing, ‘value add’ services) will make the hard work carried out by KM teams more recognisable – and easier to value – in an environment currently set up to reward only billable work.
Similarly, while some firms have already realised the benefits that can be gained from closer relations between their business development and know-how functions (Michal Hertz of Freshfields details the firm’s approach to integrated KM and business development in this issue’s case study on page 16), it will be interesting to see how firms respond to the challenge in light of the Act, over the coming months.
Should you have any thoughts on this or other topics, or would like to contribute an article about a KM project that you have been working on, I can be contacted at kclifton@ark-group.com.
In the meantime KM Legal would like to wish you all a happy and successful 2008.

Kate Clifton,
Editor

Features

Here we go again... This article is for subscribers only
LYNDA RATHBONE predicts a holistic user experience for 2008 and argues that while you can throw new technology at old problems, it doesn’t always solve them.

Up close and personal Free
Could personal knowledge management be the key to enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of information workers in your organisation?

Dealing with data diversity This article is for subscribers only
Departments often need different things from the mass of client information at a law firm’s disposal. Practice management has different needs to client-relationship management, which requires summary information to get an accurate picture of key client accounts. Consolidation of that data is therefore a challenge, but a phased and focused approach can avoid the pitfalls.

Joining Forces - Knowledge and business development This article is for subscribers only
Knowledge management and business development – selling expertise and know-how to clients – have traditionally been regarded as different skills. To maximise the impact of these functions on the business Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer decided it was time to merge the two disciplines into a single integrated team called knowledge and business development (KBD).

Handling information overload This article is for subscribers only
The amount of information a law firm routinely stores and processes places a huge strain on management systems to maximise efficiency. Portal technology can filter information for user-friendly presentation, but careful planning is required to ensure a return on investment.

KM for the Google generation This article is for subscribers only
Field Fisher Waterhouse was the first major law firm to establish a virtual presence on Second Life. Jane Bradbury, knowledge management director and who recently chaired Ark Group's Knowledge Capture and Retention Conference, talks to Joanna Goodman about the topics discussed there and outlines her innovative, technology-driven approach to these key aspects of knowledge management.

Regulars

Debt to librarians Free
Over the years librarians have come a long way and are now key connectors between those who need to know and those who know.

Thought Leader Free
The literature and discussion surrounding social computing and knowledge management (KM) has focused on both technology and cultural/human issues. While we acknowledge the importance of addressing the requirement for cultural change, we believe well designed and well-implemented social computing and KM systems will go a long way in overcoming social barriers to finding, constructing and using knowledge.