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 & M A R K E T I N G T E C H N O L O G Y 18 Similarly, what do your checklists, precedents, and model documents (in other words, your Knowledge Management ("KM") Library) look like? Are they fit for purpose? Do they reflect current market trends? These documents typically serve as the foundation upon which many legal technology projects are built. A firm's investment in a robust KM Library ensures the success of legal technology projects focused on enhancing practice efficiency or generating new revenue with clients. Accordingly, never start a new project without first looking at your firm's model documents relevant to the project. Ensure that these documents are current and ready for consumption. Use the project as an opportunity to unearth and fill any gaps in the KM Library's content. Doing so will help both the project and the overall practice. Getting caught up in the new technology's functionality is easy, but take care not to lose sight of what it is your clients pay you for – your legal advice as reflected by the documents in your KM library, which will be a cornerstone of your technology project. Finally, in most projects you will need to understand where your matter information is located and maintained 1 . Does the firm maintain a single source of truth for all information about its matters? Is this single source a designated repository through which information flows in a structured manner, based on a clear and adhered to governance policy? Does the firm regularly review and adapt the governance policy as needed? Are changes appropriately documented, with the reasons for and new procedures associated with, the adaptations? Examine the repository, policy, and related processes to tighten up and fix any broken components before you begin your project. There are now many avenues which matter information will travel (Outlook, SharePoint, HighQ, Merrill, Intralinks, MS Teams, etc.), before it reaches a firm's electronic matter file in the DMS. Ensure that all of those paths are accounted for, query the necessity of each, and ensure that none are rival repositories to the DMS. Adding new technology to an already crowded space will be much smoother, if the information flow is already well governed and ordered. What Does a Win Look Like? It is incredibly important that you determine, and document, what a successful implementation looks like in the weeks, months, and years following the project's completion. Document clear and measurable goals for the solution. The metrics of success will differ based on the project itself, but ensure that you have them from the start. As mentioned above, vendors may be of some help with this, but question those metrics and if possible get first hand feedback from other users of the technology. As important to documenting the goals is socialising and agreeing on them with the firm's leadership, who are footing the bill for the project. Go through the solution's goals in detail, explaining how the goals were set, why they can be achieved, what pitfalls could impede success, and just how much success can be expected. Agree on a time to revisit the goals post-implementation. An agreed definition of success with leadership from the 1. For the purposes of this article we will use matter information as the example, but the commentary applies to most data a law firm might process.

• Cover