Digital White Papers

20 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT One Size Does Not Fit All: Practice Group KM Though draed in a vacuum, they should work in different situations, making them time-consuming to prepare They require input from multiple stakeholders and specialists, and building consensus can be challenging They require diligence to be kept current, unlike content types that are point-in-time All of us have stories of failed precedent development initiatives, yet they continue to be the preferred practice tool of transactional lawyers. It takes creativity, investment and perseverance to deliver this content. The ongoing cost-benefit tension around precedent initiatives means they are a perennial topic for KM practitioners. 1 2 3 » Closing Books: Second to precedents is access to past work product, usually in closing books. While model precedents serve as the best baseline starting point, agreements and documents from past files provide access to nuances that can be critical. What have we negotiated for this client before? What are typical representations and warranties for this industry? What are common indemnity clauses between a strategic buyer and a financial seller? It is surprising that providing access to electronic closing books is not always easy. From the process of creating the books (should we outsource, centralize or decentralize?) to the way the books are tagged with metadata, to the technology system used to access them, several hurdles must be crossed that vary from firm to firm, with the only consistency being that it is more difficult than we think it should be. » Checklists/Playbooks: Transactional lawyers are also driven by process. Traditionally, they live and die by their closing agendas, which are lists of deliverables identifying responsible party and status. However, closing agendas rarely outline the steps and tasks required to generate or obtain those deliverables. As firms and lawyers look for increased efficiencies and implement more formal project management, new content tools focused on process are becoming popular. These tools move lawyers beyond the closing agenda to detailed checklists and playbooks addressing underlying tasks, steps and responsibilities. Take, for example, the work by the Legal Project Management Task Force of the M&A Commiee of the Business Law Section of TRANSACTIONAL LITIGATION REGULATORY/ADVISORY Top Content • Precedents • Closing Books • Checklists/Playbooks • Knowledge About Key Players • Research Resources • Case Alerts • New Developments • Past Advice • Research Resources Top Tools • Search • Browse • Third-Party Publishers • Document Automation • E-Discovery • Forms • Case Management • Collaboration Tools • News/Content Aggregators • Search • Wikis/Discussion Threads • Automated Legal Advice Top Content and Tools by Practice Area

• Cover