Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/30285
BRINGING IT AND KM VALUE TO AFAS a budget, the need for analyst and project manager involvement will also increase. Capturing AFA Knowledge The final aspect of AFA monitoring is capturing AFA knowledge as it is created and then making it available for future AFA deals. KM teams can provide significant value here. A challenge I have identified is that traditional law firm billing knowledge is not well- structured for serving AFAs. More specifically, time entries are designed to be included in invoices. They are not structured to be analyzed by type of matter, type of work and specific task. Having analyzed hundreds of past matters, I have found little value in the data. One product designed to address this challenge is the Matter Experience module for Lexis Search Advantage. This product is designed to analyze time entries and programmatically tag them with task codes. Even if the tagging is not always 100 percent accurate, it will offer more consistency than a manual process where lawyers code time entries. Analysis tools like the Matter Experience module will go a long way to bringing KM value to AFAs, and I hope to see more of them emerge in the market. AFAs appear to be here to stay and most likely will continue to grow in the legal market. AFAs are evolving within firms and processes are emerging to manage the review, approval and monitoring of these engagements. IT and KM are positioned to bring high value to these processes as they evolve. The ability for a firm to successfully respond to the changes brought on by AFAs is dependent on doing well with these systems. ILTA cessful AFAs more associates? How can the attorney give the client an extra discount on top of the special rates they already have? Would there be any major difference if we assigned more fourth-year associates and less fifth-year associates? Some alternative fee arrangements will be based on individual amounts for various tasks and activities and not a total amount for the entire engagement. The analysis for each portion of the project would be the same, but on a smaller scale. Many firms have been coding time entries for years with task and activity codes. For firms that have not yet done this universally, a plan to implement AFAs may be another reason to get your timekeepers into the habit. As anyone who has had to go back and code time entries after the fact knows, it’s much easier to do this the first time around! Once the firm creates a model for new matters, it will be able to project the profitability of new work. Of course there may be situations where the firm takes on work that is not profitable for some reason, but at the very least, management should know that at the start. Without a business intelligence system in place, entering into an AFA can be a risky proposition. ILTA www.iltanet.org Financial Management 35