A day in the life of... a knowledge manager

Kathryn Pearson describes the activities that her time is focused on, having recently joined the London office of international firm Bird & Bird, as a knowledge manager.

I recently joined the knowledge management (KM) team at Bird & Bird. Lots of people have asked me why I moved into KM. Having previously worked in the library and information services team at Freshfields, I had worked closely with the firm’s KM team on various programmes, such as building a practice-group intranet and designing a discussion forum. I enjoyed the experience of working with the lawyers and seeing projects through to the finish. So when Catherine Flutsch, head of KM at Bird & Bird (and formerly at Freshfields), told me she had a job in KM, I was immediately interested.

Since I have been at Bird & Bird, I have been working on the technical upgrade of the know-how system. I am helping to design and develop a new search engine. My background in research has been really useful for this. Because I have used numerous databases and trialled many others, I am used to looking at search functionality and how user friendly search interfaces are. I am now designing acceptance tests for the new search.

I am also working with IT to see what aspects of our know-how maintenance process we can automate. We have a strict know-how maintenance policy, however, the way we identify documents for review is largely manual. In addition to looking at how far we can automate the process, we will also be considering when it is best not to automate. Bird & Bird has a good knowledge-sharing culture and we need to make sure that the right balance is struck between automating processes to achieve greater efficiency, and continuing interaction with the lawyers.

Another project I am working on is helping to design some detailed, KM-specific reporting tools. Having complete transparency on know-how contribution, use and maintenance will enable us to identify any resources which are no longer used, and to investigate why. For example, lawyers may be using other resources as their first port of call, which may reduce the need to maintain in-house versions. KM reports would also supplement the existing information we get from investment-time codes and by simply talking to the lawyers regarding the time they spend on KM programmes. We can then provide feedback at appraisal time, so that lawyers get the recognition they deserve.

One of my other responsibilities this year is to work on improving our debrief programme for all our lawyers who go on secondment (either to clients or to other Bird & Bird offices). Debriefs are an effective way to track down useful know-how. It is also important to speak to lawyers before they go on secondment to make sure they are properly prepared with all internal materials they may need.

I have started to help with KM inductions for new joiners. I introduce them to the firm’s know-how system and explain what benefits they personally get from contributing to KM programmes. Inductions are also a great way to get ideas on what worked well (and what didn’t) at other law firms, as most new joiners are happy to share their experiences.

The first few months at Bird & Bird have provided a variety of work and challenges. I am looking forward to working more closely with the lawyers and other support departments on all of the above throughout the course of the year.

Kathryn Pearson is knowledge manager at international firm Bird & Bird. She can be contacted at kathryn.pearson@twobirds.com