Digital White Papers

I L T A W H I T E P A P E R | K N O W L E D G E M A N A G E M E N T 15 In a rapidly evolving, highly competitive legal industry that's being turned upside down in many respects, KM professionals are too skilled, too important to restrict their purview. And a firm's knowledge is too pervasive, too valuable to allow it to be squandered. Not to sound too hyperbolic, but firms must expand their KM practices and approach to succeed in this new era of changing client expectations and shifting business models. While technolo is not always the answer, in this case, combining a prescriptive KM solution with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities could dramatically improve a firm's competitive advantage, marketing pitch and value proposition. It's an unconventional pairing, to be sure. But it's one that's well worth exploring. Knowledge is everything A colleague of mine recently shared his experience from a panel discussion about KM and technolo that he attended. As a former lawyer, he went into the session with a fairly conventional view of what KM is and does for a firm. What became immediately apparent was that every information asset in a firm should be considered knowledge—email, documents, presentations, spreadsheets, statements, contracts and on and on. One knowledge manager drove home the point succinctly: "Yes, it is everything." So in this digital age where knowledge is literally and figuratively everywhere, it's imperative that established processes are in place to effectively capture it all. That's the point the panelists were making. In order to unleash the potential of a firm's KM program, it first must all be managed in a structured way, illuminated. Gartner even has a term for wasted knowledge, dark data, which they define as "the information assets organizations collect, process and store during regular business activities, but generally fail to use for other purposes." This is the starting point, where the KM repository earns its keep and the KM professional establishes a highly organized technolo and process framework that makes all other efficiencies possible. Every information asset is managed in a single, secure, structured place and people can quickly pinpoint the knowledge they need when they need it. Again, the modern firm that wants to prosper must build this strong KM foundation, but then be ready and able to expand on it. Because of this necessity, it's important to make sure that your core KM solution is capable of extending beyond a primary, albeit critical, scope. Differentiation is essential Every firm knows that competition is fierce and expectations are higher than ever—many clients are ready and willing to shift work (even large portfolios) to new providers if they're not satisfied. Billing models also are changing direction to more fixed-fee arrangements, making it more difficult for firms to maximize margins or estimate legal H E R E ' S T H E P I T C H : T E A M K M W I T H A I T O D I F F E R E N T I A T E Y O U R F I R M In this digital age where knowledge is literally and figuratively everywhere, it's imperative that established processes are in place to effectively capture it all.

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