Peer to Peer Magazine

As a Senior Change Management Consultant with Traveling Coaches, Julia Montgomery advises clients on all aspects of change management related to technology projects. Julia is a Prosci-certified Change Management Practitioner and a member of the Traveling Coaches award-winning user adoption consulting practice. Contact her at jmontgomery@travelingcoaches.com. DRIVING FORCES FOR CHANGE Although knowledge work still accounts for the overwhelming majority of an attorney's role, recent years have seen a notable shift in their day-to-day workload with more attorneys doing their own document work, too. And it doesn't stop there; other tasks once considered administrative — such as email management, scheduling and time entry — are becoming increasingly commonplace in an attorney's day. The reasons for the shift vary widely. In some cases, technology has made it possible for attorneys to perform tasks such as time entry in real time, with little or no interruption to their billable work. In other cases, evolving skill sets have led to attorneys taking on additional work, such as document production. It's also common for lawyers to cite pressures, both internal and external, to respond to questions and produce information immediately as a driver for performing more of these tasks themselves rather than relying on their secretaries. Similarly, an opposite shift is taking place in the secretarial role. A recent ILTA webinar on "The Changing Role of the Legal Secretary" garnered record attendance, giving clear indication these shifts in workloads have led many firms to ask the question, "How can our secretaries best support our attorneys?" There is no blanket answer and no magic support ratio that will work for every firm, practice or attorney. However, one thing seems clear: As traditional knowledge workers take on more administrative tasks, law firms are exploring ways for support staff to contribute and add value in new ways, including knowledge management (KM) efforts. In much the same way we've seen changes in workloads and roles within firms, Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon has suggested the concept of "knowing" has also changed. Simon noted, "The meaning of 'knowing' has shifted from being able to remember and repeat to being able to find and use." This means information alone isn't a firm's differentiator in a knowledge-based market like legal services. Firms need the ability to capture, access and put that information to use. One way to do this is to think beyond the traditional idea of attorneys being the only knowledge workers within a firm's walls. WATCH THE WEBINAR: www.iltanet.org/MainMenuCategory/Recordings/ Webinars/WEB-USS-012413-1523509.html Many firms have a desire to understand what secretaries do to support the firm's attorneys and clients, and how attorneys work with their secretaries. This can illuminate opportunities to capture information critical to the effectiveness of knowledge management efforts and can lead to a greater chance of successful KM systems. In part, this is because secretaries may be more inclined to contribute to knowledge management efforts, as this work doesn't compete with billable requirements. In contrast, many KM Peer to Peer 81

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