Knowledge Management in Law Firms: Challenges and Opportunities Post-Pandemic

by Nick Milton, Katerina Menhennet (Editor), Chris Boyd, Amy Halverson, Ian Rodwell

Overview

Strategies for gathering and harnessing knowledge have existed in law firms for decades. However, knowledge management suddenly found itself in the spotlight as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enforced remote working reduced opportunities for knowledge sharing between colleagues and this gap was filled with knowledge databases and experienced knowledge lawyers. Now that hybrid and virtual workforces are here to stay, these new working practices have combined with technological developments, enhanced demand, and the transformation of how to access knowledge to drive the advancement of knowledge management into a new era. Knowledge Management in Law Firms: Challenges and Opportunities Post-Pandemic is the essential guide to the evolution of law firm knowledge management. It covers how to revisit your strategy in light of recent and future changes, the expansion of knowledge management to encompass legal tech and innovation, the rise of the importance of data, strategies for overcoming the challenges hybrid and virtual working pose to knowledge management, managing knowledge teams, and much more. Chapters are written by an international group of KM experts from a range of organisations and leading law firms, including DLA Piper, Linklaters, and Dentons. Pandemic experiences and lessons learnt are shared as well as ways to approach the future. Knowledge is at the heart of the legal profession, and this book provides guidance on how to prepare for and thrive in the knowledge management practices of the future, overcoming the obstacles and embracing the opportunities that have arisen from or been accelerated by the pandemic. Through demonstrating how effective knowledge management can help firms exceed client expectations, differentiate themselves in the competitive market, and, ultimately, improve their bottom line, this title will be of interest to knowledge management professionals including professional support lawyers, law firm leaders, partners and fee earners, and, outside of law firms, in-house lawyers and consultants.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781787429444
Publisher:	Globe Law and Business
Publication date:	01/16/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	139
File size:	3 MB

Table of Contents

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii Chapter 1: Knowledge management strategies and frameworks for the post-COVID world By Nick Milton, director and co-founder, Knoco Ltd Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The four main scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 KM strategies for a new world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 How KM operated during lockdown and remote working . . . . . . . 5 A KM framework for a hybrid organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Chapter 2: Adapting legal knowledge management to the hybrid workplace By Chris Boyd, chief operating officer, and Amy Halverson, director of knowledge management, research and information services, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich&Rosati Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The new legal workplace will be a hybrid one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 KM resources and practices will be key to making the hybrid workplace succeed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Preparing KM for a hybrid future by cultivating connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Leveraging fully remote learnings to optimize KM for a hybrid world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Chapter 3: Social KM in a time of COVID…and beyond By Ian Rodwell, head of client knowledge and learning, Linklaters LLP The role of social KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 The impact of COVID-19 on social KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 “Rewilding” social KM in a COVID-emergent world............... 23 Concluding thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Chapter 4: Knowledge management 2.0 – after the perfect storm, sailing with AI to new discoveries By Joe Cohen, UKIME head of innovation, and Andrea Miskolczi, Europe director of innovation, Dentons A perfect storm? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Keeping the good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Embracing the new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Beyond the old . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Chapter 5: Data-driven knowledge-based management By Jonna Vainikainen, business process manager, Castrén&Snellman Attorneys Ltd The evolving role of knowledge management.................... 33 Data quality – good enough and fit for purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ensuring good-quality data – metrics and evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The rising era of data-driven technologies and automatization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Legal industry trends call for good-quality data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Chapter 6: Legal technology and knowledge management By Elisabeth Cappuyns, director of knowledge management, DLA Piper LLP (US) Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Developing trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Overview of legal technology tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Additional considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Chapter 7: Artificial intelligence and automation By James Loft, COO, Rainbird Technologies Artificial intelligence and automation in knowledge-driven industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Unlocking automated decisioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 The combination of human potential and artificial intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Technology ecosystems that support business growth . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter 8: Search By Jon Beaumont, senior manager of knowledge management, Shearman&Sterling LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Previously . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Location and content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Basic approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Knowledge, data, and systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Users and solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Chapter 9: Digital transformation, knowledge management, and cybersecurity in the post-COVID era By Tiffany M. O’Neil, director of KM and technology innovation, and James G. Perkins, chief operating officer and chief compliance officer, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves&Savitch LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Digital mastery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Knowledge management and technology innovation . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Cybersecurity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Protecting against attacks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Chapter 10: KM and innovation in law firms and legal departments: twins separated at birth? By Gordon Vala-Webb, thought leader, speaker/author, and innovation professional Who is doing what? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Long live KM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Inter-connections between KM and innovation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Similarities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Gaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 New order of things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Chapter 11: Hybrid competitive intelligence – gathering intel remotely By Mark Gediman, senior research analyst, Alston&Bird, LLP, and Kevin Miles, manager, research services, Norton Rose Fulbright Transitioning to a hybrid environment – cultural shifts . . . . . . . . . . 93 Strengths and opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Managing expectations in a hybrid environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Use of virtual tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Ethics and CI are not mutually exclusive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Summing up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Chapter 12: Retaining KM talent By Tara Pichardo-Angadi, head of knowledge (EMEA), Norton Rose Fulbright LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Hiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Developing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Moving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Chapter 13: Inclusion and diversity in knowledge: raising awareness and embedding best practice post-COVID By Orla Bingham, service owner, content development, and Katherine Lang, senior knowledge lawyer and London knowledge lead, Baker McKenzie Inclusive training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Inclusive language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Inclusion of all colleagues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Allyship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Bringing your whole self to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Returning to the workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 What next? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Chapter 14: Building and managing a truly global research team post-COVID By Kathy Skinner, director of research, White&Case LLP Changes to research teams post-COVID and their impact on global team-building and alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 What are the biggest long-term challenges and what organizational support do you need to address them? . . . . . . . . . . 124 What new opportunities can your team realize in this changed environment? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Chapter 15: Law firm knowledge management and the metaverse By Anthony J. Rhem, CEO and principal consultant, AJ Rhem&Associates Inc. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Metaverse drivers for law firm knowledge management . . . . . . . . 132 Legal research in the metaverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Law firm collaboration in the metaverse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Legal and ethical issues of law firm KM in the metaverse . . . . . . . 136 The metaverse and knowledge continuity in law firms . . . . . . . . . . 136 Conclusion and key points to consider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 About Globe Law and Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139