Q&A: Culture shock?

Gretta Rusanow of Curve Consulting discusses the changing face of KM culture in the law firm environment. Interview by Kate Clifton.

Over the past few years, what have been the main challenges faced by KM professionals in law firms?
Engaging management in the value and importance of knowledge management (KM) to the business of the firm. If management isn’t engaged, it won’t invest adequately in KM and it’s an uphill struggle to get the rest of the firm to commit to it.
Even when management is onboard, if KM contribution isn’t built into the firm’s business processes – for example, planning and reporting against plans and performance assessment – KM is unlikely to gain traction.
If KM professionals can crack this one, many of the typical cultural challenges tend to go away.

Is there still the old adage that lawyers don’t like sharing information or ‘wasting time’ on KM activities?
I think they do want to share their knowledge, however, law firms have a short-term (reactive) business model; it’s about responding to clients in the present. That’s how they make money. There is little time for long-term strategic planning, which, of course, is often where KM fits in.
We need to accept that lawyers are busy responding to clients and work within that framework. This means ensuring that: initiatives are directly linked to the business objectives of the firm and its lawyers ( if you’re going to implement an initiative, make sure that it delivers direct value to lawyers); lawyer involvement in KM is minimised and the bulk of the work is done by a team of KM professionals; when you do involve lawyers, you reward their contribution; and, the value specific KM initiatives bring to the firm is demonstrated.

What are the main concerns that firms have highlighted to you?
Enabling lawyers to get what they need when they need it, with minimal lawyer involvement, reducing initiatives that reinvent the wheel and risk management – how does the partnership ensure that all lawyers are giving consistently high quality, current advice that minimises the firm’s risk exposure?

But, generally, has the cultural landscape improved in recent years?
I’ve seen a huge uptake in KM in law firms in the past five years. Law firm management interest has increased significantly; the size of KM organisations has grown significantly. KM is a given in law firms today, though I do see a gap in the KM function’s efforts to engage the firm and talk to partnerships on their terms. For example, I have seen KM initiatives being implemented because in theory, they looked good, but have had no relationship to the firm’s burning business issues, users weren’t adequately engaged in the decision to implement, or not enough thought was put into the ongoing maintenance of the systems.

What role can professional support lawyers (PSLs) play in increasing awareness of the importance of KM to the business of the firm?
PSLs can make a huge difference and they should consider that a critical part of their role is to constantly question the value of KM initiatives to the lives of their lawyers, and constantly promote the value of those initiatives to them. This is the only way that lawyers will see that their contribution was all worth it.

What advice would you give to KM people looking to implement change?
Engage management, engage the partnership and engage the users. Ask people what they do and what knowledge they use to do it. Demonstrate value.

Run focus sessions with users;
Do project plans and business cases at the start to clarify the value and complexity of each initiative;
Identify the value of KM to the firm’s business objectives – and if you are unable to, don’t bother implementing;
Piggy back on other firm-wide initiatives (for example, mergers, acquisitions, office moves, new performance-evaluation frameworks – anything that the firm is already focusing on.

Aside from partner buy-in and reward and recognition schemes, what tools can be deployed to encourage more fee-earner support?
Business planning and reporting – choose initiatives that deliver demonstrable value to the firm and to the individual. Always bear in mind that a law firm is a business, so don’t pursue initiatives because they seem like the thing to do. Ensure that KM is closely tied to the firm’s sustainability, whether that means reduced costs, increased revenue, better staff retention, leveraging expertise or managing risk.