P2P

45 I L T A N E T . O R G How difficult or easy is it for you to find—and share—the cumulative knowledge of your firm? Are the attorneys and staff empowered to also find this knowledge themselves? The ability to leverage knowledge also comes into play when it comes to advertising our own departments within our firms. KM departments sometimes end up seeming like a secret, known only to a few "frequent flyers" who consistently reach out with questions. KM departments should be making sure our colleagues know we have teams here to help them—and that by helping them, we're helping our clients. Creating systems where the firm's knowledge can be efficiently leveraged means being able to access things like prior work product and experience quickly and efficiently—and it means that the firm is able to access us when they need us. How does your department share knowledge so it can be accessed throughout the firm? Keeping up with on-point news If you're like me, you've got daily emails coming in with the latest in news in data science, artificial intelligence, knowledge management, and more. Technology is developing at an astounding rate and the legal profession is still figuring out the best ways to adopt these innovations. When our colleague's questions and requests start coming in, it can be hard to find a moment to breathe, but it is important to make time to read about the developments and stay on top of the trends. KM team members at all levels can benefit from receiving news alerts and being encouraged to read them. We all have different interests, and more eyes monitoring the news means more brains thinking about the newest developments. Keeping up with on-point news means having an open mind about what might help your firm, while always considering your firm's needs. The newest tools for litigators might not be helpful for your corporate attorneys, and finding technological solutions to problems your attorneys and staff don't have isn't the best path to client service. Are you talking to your attorneys and staff about their pain points and keeping their needs in mind as you pursue innovations? How does your department keep up with the latest in legal tech? Collaborate, and keep that client-focused mindset Even in theatre, stagehands are working with the stars onstage to deliver the show to the audience. We may be "backstage" at our law firms, but KM departments must collaborate and keep in mind that at the end of the day, all of us, just like the colleagues that we help, serve the firm clients that trust us to handle their matters to the best of our abilities. ILTA Alia Plasencia-Bishop serves as Knowledge Management Counsel at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, where she supports collaboration and knowledge-sharing across the firm's practice groups and leverages her experience with legal research, innovation, artificial intelligence, automation, adoption, and data analytics to assist her colleagues in providing the best client service possible. Before joining Ogletree Deakins, Alia had roles in the Research & Knowledge departments of other national law firms including DLA Piper and Greenberg Traurig. She has also worked as an Assistant Attorney General at the Texas Attorney General, as a news analyst for federal agencies and Global 500 companies, and as the Legal Research team lead at an Austin-based communications & PR firm. She is active in service to her Austin community and volunteers with a local effort providing groceries to those most hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Cover