Law Firm Knowledge Management, An Introduction

An Introduction to Knowledge Management for Law FirmsLawTech Camp 2012May 12, 2012Connie Crosby, Crosby Group ConsultingStephanie Barnes, Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting

Connie Crosby • Consultant in KM, IM, library management and social media • Law Librarian with MLS from University of Toronto • Information Management certificate from U of T • 10 years as Library Manager & webmaster at prominent Toronto law firm • Instructor at iSchool Institute, Faculty of Information, U of T • Core contributor to Slaw.ca

Stephanie Barnes • Accountant and IT Management by education • KM consultant by choice • Chief Chaos Organizer at Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, Knoco franchisee • 4 yrs KM at HP • 8+ yrs as consultant to a variety of companies including BMO, HSFO, Kodak, HP, Zenon Environmental, OSC, CIBC, ENEC • Based in Toronto

What is Knowledge Management? Connecting people to the knowledge they need to do their jobs, whether that knowledge is tacit (in people’s heads) or explicit (documented).

Some Benefits of KM• Better organization Helping partners, associates and assistants get their hands on the right documents and information when they are needed.

Some Benefits of KM• Better organization• Better use of knowledge assets Make better use of internally developed knowledge assets such as precedents, letters, research memoranda, and filings.

Some Benefits of KM• Better organization• Better use of knowledge assets• Knowledge sharing Be prepared for a partner or associate leaving the firm. Help lawyers share what will be needed to continue the firm’s business.

Some Benefits of KM• Better organization• Better use of knowledge assets• Knowledge sharing• Improved learning Use “Lessons Learned” techniques as you work; make assessments and continually improve processes for better client service.

Explicit Knowledge (documented knowledge)• Business plans• Client lists• Work product (letters, factums, agr eements)• Forms and Precedents• Meeting minutes• Blogs/wikis Based on a slide by Steven Lastres

Tacit Knowledge (knowledge in individuals’ heads)• Social networks• In-house training• Mentoring• Communities of Practice / Practice groups• Matter summaries Based on a slide by Steven Lastres

Knowledge Flow People to Knowledge Repository •Sharing, e.g. Communities of •Knowledge artefact Practice, mentoring, expertise creation, e.g. location documentation, lessons learnedPeople Communicating Collecting from Accessing OrganizingKnowledge •Learning, e.g. on-the-job •Systematizing concepts, e.g.Repository training, lessons learned, peer assists, searching meta-data, taxonomies Based on Nonaka and Takeuchi, “The Knowledge Creating Company,” p62

Approach PeopleTechnology Process © Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, 2012 12

Change Management (People)• Communication Plan• Training and Education Plan• Stakeholder managementAll three will need to be updated/evolved as the program progresses © Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, 2012 13

Knowledge Management Technology Organization/ Business Intelligence/ Data Warehouse Enterprise eDiscovery Communities of CRM, Contact Centre, IncidentContext Practice, Expertis Management/Helpdesk e location Group/team Records Social Management Media ECM Document Capture Component Content Management Portal Collaboration Individual Search Learning Management/eLearning Scan, Capture, Package, Share, Transform, Map Create Store Apply Innovate Adapted from: Knowledge Managements by Despres and Chuvel, Journal of KM, vol 3, no. 2 1999, p119. © Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, 2012 14

Knowledge Management FrameworkGovernancePurpose, Vision, Goals, Objectives Oversight Enabling Activities Policies and Procedures Change Management Lifecycle Processes Staffing Component Activities Metadata and Taxonomies Technology Documented Sharing and Professional Development Document Handling Supporting Innovation Knowledge Collaboration Version Control Metrics and Measurement Privacy

Framework - Component Activities

Documented Knowledge• Portal/Intranet• Document Management• E-mail Management• Enterprise Content Management (ECM)

Documented Handling• Document Assembly• Component Content Management• Records Management

Sharing and Collaboration• Lessons Learned• Communities of Practice / Practice groups• Social Media• Collaboration• Expertise Location

Supporting• IT Management• Workflow• Search

Innovation• Idea Management• Business Intelligence

Documented Knowledge Lifecycle Process•Collaboration Storage •Distribution Manage •Removing documents and•Workflow •Collaboration related metadata from the•Authentication/Approval •Location •Retrieval •Review active repository •Filing •Re-use •Report •Stored in a separate area in •taxonomy a future readable format •metadata •Access control Create/Capture Use/Retrieve Archive/Delete

Knowledge Management Roadmap Evolve Use •Change Mgmt Implement •Change Mgmt Design/ •Change Mgmt Develop/ Test Select •Processes technology •Change •Metrics Resolve: Mgmt •Change Analyze: •Policies Mgmt •Knowledge &Collect: •Human, Socia process flows l, and•Business •Metrics Intellectual Processes Capital Best •Strategic•Information Practices Goals Flows •Change •Governance•Organization Mgmt •Change Strategy and Mgmt Plan•IT Strategy and Plan•Change Mgmt © Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, 2012 23

Case Study: Osler, Hoskin & HarcourtKM Technology KM Results,if known ImplementationPortal Successful User acceptance of the platform because they were involved at each step of the process and a technology was selected that met their requirements.Description:Focused on choosing the right knowledge management technology platform, which includedgathering the right people to build, promote and champion the platform. The team had to befamiliar with the iterative nature of the implementation and most importantly they had tosupport and believe in the vision for the new Intranet and be in a position to evangelize it to theirpeers.Since the launch of Oslernet, a number of these key groups were included on a steeringcommittee to continuously advise on the ongoing evaluation and evolution of the Intranet. TheIntranet team created a detailed Help Protocol to identify and redirect any issues that users werehaving to the appropriate experts for quick resolution regardless of the channel through whichthe request came. Substantive legal questions, for example, may come into the IS Service Deskbut are re-directed to the appropriate knowledge management lawyer. © Missing Puzzle Piece Consulting, 2012 24

Case Study: Hicks MorleyKM Technology KM Results, if known ImplementationWiki-based Successful User acceptance of the platform because they ran a pilotCMS with a simple wiki in a small early adopter group to gatherThoughtFarmer requirements, and had a senior partner champion.Description:Under-utlized HTML-based intranet was replaced with a wiki-based content management system.A pilot with some inexpensive wiki software with a small practice group produced good earlyresults and allowed for requirements gathering. ThoughtFarmer met the requirements. NewIntranet was launched firm-wide within 6 months from start of pilot to full implementation.Since the launch of ThoughtFarmer, a social enterprise layer including profiles and tagging hasbeen implemented. Early success came in the form of a senior partner who, previously sceptical,found immediate value in the new system and went on to promote use of the new platformwithin the firm. Documents and content are being added by members of the firm from all levels.The Knowledge Management team review content to ensure metadata is correctly in place. Newfeatures are being added as more needs are being identified. 25

Learn moreAligning People, Process and Technology in Knowledge ManagementBy Stephanie BarnesArk Group report, 2011

Learn moreKnowledge Workers Toronto monthly meetup group1. - Methods:http://toronto.methods.knowledgeworkers.org/2. - Technology:http://toronto.technology.knowledgeworkers.org/

Learn More• Ted Tjaden - http://www.slaw.ca/author/tjaden/• Heather Colman- http://www.llrx.com/authors/1155• Patrick DiDomenico - http://lawyerkm.com/• Mary Abraham - http://aboveandbeyondkm.com/• Tom Baldwin - http://kmpipeline.blogspot.ca/• David Hobbie - http://caselines.blogspot.ca/• Nick Milton (Knoco) - http://www.nickmilton.com/• ILTA KM - http://km.iltanet.org/• 3 Geeks and a Law Blog - http://www.geeklawblog.com/search/label/KM

Thank you Law Firm KM LawFirmKM.com Connie Crosby connie@lawfirmkm.com 416-919-6719 Stephanie Barnesstephanie@lawfirmkm.com 416-522-5126

http://www.slaw.ca	919
http://lawfirmkm.com	83
http://slaw.practicesource.com	37
http://erroladamsjdmls.wordpress.com	16
http://feeds.feedburner.com	16
http://us-w1.rockmelt.com	5
https://twitter.com	2
http://slaw.formerhasbeen.com	1
http://slaw.ca.	1
https://deed.osgoode.yorku.ca	1
http://www.twylah.com	1

Law Firm Knowledge Management, An Introduction

by Connie Crosby on Jun 04, 2012

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

11 Embeds 1,082

Statistics

Law Firm Knowledge Management, An Introduction Presentation Transcript