publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/550988
ILTA WHITE PAPER: JULY 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 11 DEVELOP A VISION AND MANDATE Once you have assessed the environment, start planning. Begin with developing a vision of a future state that both supports your organization's goals and objectives and acknowledges its current reality. Though often difficult, distilling your vision into a statement that describes what a successful KM program would look like is a useful exercise. A statement might read: "KM is seamlessly integrated into the life cycle of all of our matters — from client pitch and matter intake to performing the work and a post-mortem — ensuring that all steps are completed as efficiently as possible and reusable work product is continually captured as a part of the workflow." Even if the vision seems unattainable (as it almost surely will when getting started), articulating your vision will help keep you focused and more likely to succeed. With your carefully crafted vision top of mind, map out a strategy that will define the mandate and scope of the organization's KM program. Will KM target only lawyers and their practice or include firm administration and operations as well? Will it cover all areas of practice or be limited to a few key practice areas or business units that have expressed an interest? After defining the who, define the what. Consider whether the program will be devoted to delivering special, one-off projects or also include ongoing operations. Balance time spent on ongoing activities, such as delivering current awareness and drafting case summaries, with time spent creating processes and systems to help lawyers more effectively manage their matters and share expertise and knowledge. Try to build in scalability; look for projects that make a difference to the entire organization or sizable groups rather than one or two lawyers. By now, you should be able to develop a list of projects that align with the organization's business goals and the vision and mandate you have defined. If your organization has been without formal KM in the past, you might have already received a long wish list. Recognizing that you cannot do everything, you will need to establish priorities, and they must match the organization's priorities. If the organization's primary business goal is to deliver better client service, KM's goal might be to enable lawyers to respond more quickly with more consistent work product. One project might be to develop a precedent and research memorandum database. If the KM goal is to improve matter processes, you could develop process maps for key practice groups. When setting priorities, consider the ease of implementing different projects and the value they are likely to bring to the organization. Take this short list and identify the highest-value projects most easily implemented in the short term; these will be your quick wins. BUILD THE TEAM No matter how brilliant your planning, you will not get far without the right people to do the job. Your next task is to build a solid core team. ILTA's 2014 Knowledge Management Survey (the Survey) revealed that at 52 percent of respondents' firms, KM was a separate department. Whether KM is a separate department, a group of KM professionals embedded in another administrative department or an ad hoc group of lawyers interested in developing some KM resources, consider the following questions: Leadership: Who will lead your KM initiatives? What background, skills and experience should this person have? Given your organization's culture, does this person need to be a lawyer? Returning to the Survey, 47 percent of respondents indicated that practicing or non-practicing lawyers led their organization's KM efforts, while 17 percent had librarians at the helm. Reporting: Will KM report to a senior legal officer (such as the managing partner, general counsel or CEO), a senior administrative officer (e.g., the COO or CAO) or another department (such as IT or professional development)? In the Survey, 34 percent reported to a senior administrative officer, 18 percent reported to a senior legal person, and another 18 percent reported to IT. The reporting relationship requires careful consideration as it can signal and reflect KM's importance within the organization. A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: COOKING UP KM FROM SCRATCH