Tom Baldwin
Tom Baldwin, Chief Information Officer at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, helps assess
technology tools that increase efficiency, streamline processes and improve productivity. As
former CKO at Reed Smith LLP, he was named 2005 Legal IT Innovator of the Year by the Legal
IT Forum and was featured on the cover of the Nov/Dec 2005 issue of Law Firm Inc. magazine.
Tom was a member of the management team that won the CIO 100 Award in 2002 from CIO
magazine, and he serves on the advisory boards of Law Technology News, Law.com, Cal State
Fullerton Knowledge Management and LexisNexis. Contact him at tom.baldwin@cwt.com.
Your Firm's Got Talent
(Now Capitalize on It)
Big law firms and corporate legal departments are stepping up their efforts
to acquire attorney talent, as clearly indicated by the growing number of mergers
and lateral moves fueling the industry. But do these organizations leverage the
depth of talent they've attained? Are they taking full advantage of that talent?
The answer is often a resounding "no" on both counts.
Gone are the days when management had relationships with every associate
and partner, easily identifying their up-to-date skills and expertise. With
headcounts and areas of specialty rapidly expanding, and the churn of laterals
at an all-time high, firms have more attorneys — and their requisite skills — in-
house than ever before. Yet, firms are not maximizing the earning potential of
these investments. The skills, experience and network of their attorneys are an
untapped gold mine for cross-selling and up-selling, particularly when considering
institutional clients. To best capitalize on their talent and boost revenue, firms
need a legal-specific solution that provides real-time, LinkedIn-style profiles — a
tool especially helpful when bringing on lateral hires.
