Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/74024
www.iltanet.org A law firm's KM initiatives have enormous potential to improve a lawyer's access to historical information and practice-relevant documentation, which can increase both the efficiency and the quality of legal representation outcomes. A lawyer in a trial who can remotely canvass the firm's knowledge data from the courtroom might be able to locate a prior legal memorandum to support an unanticipated objection to evidence or cut short an adversary's tactic, which might not be supported by the laws of evidence. A transactional lawyer with access to a large repository of contracts negotiated over time can eliminate wasted time and improve the quality of the legal advice to a client by locating just the right language to support a contract clause previously approved by the opposing party in a negotiation similar to that of the present. As a result, KM capacities will only continue to grow as technology provides greater utility and power in support of a firm's ability to mine its intellectual property acquired over many years of serving clients. Firms allowing this invaluable resource to remain untapped and fallow will be unable to compete with those that are able to dig deep and rapidly unearth the treasures of knowledge acquired in the past. Legal Project Management: the outset with a clear certainty as to projected price, scheduled performance of tasks and achievement of both budget and profitability goals. LPM is focused on the processes inherent in the practice of law, whereas KM is focused on access to the subject-matter expertise that informs the practice of law. LPM might be considered the choreographed dance routine showing which steps occur in what order by each dancer. KM is the access to expertise and resources that allow the dancers to perform their routine most effectively. The dance is the resulting artistry and professionalism each legal specialist brings to the floor. The audience appreciates the artistry without ever seeing the breakdown of the steps that make up the dance routine or knowing how the dancers have used expertise to create a masterpiece. Obviously, both LPM and KM can improve efficiencies The Choreography Component Project management (PM) methodologies have been under development for decades, and its practices predate the more recent capacity to mine a firm's intellectual property. PM does not focus on the subject matter of any industry to which its principles are applied. Instead, PM aids in the planning, budgeting and efficient allocation of the resources to which project tasks are assigned. PM is not about how to perform a task more efficiently (although it might have that effect). Instead, PM makes the sequence of tasks to be performed and the assignment of responsibilities in any project clear and readily accessible. PM makes the assignment of resources more efficient. PM allows projects to be managed from 48 ILTA White Paper and quality. However, they contribute to valued outcomes in very different ways. LPM brings the highly developed practices of Six Sigma, Lean, quality management and all the other iterations of statistical process control to any industry, improving its processes. LPM can improve efficiency and quality in the delivery of legal services even in the absence of KM capacities. By managing the assignment of discrete tasks to the various resources needed to perform them, LPM is indifferent to the KM capabilities of the firm or the lawyers using it. Likewise, KM can deliver value without regard to the process efficiencies of LPM. Working together, LPM and KM can significantly enhance quality, efficiency and predictability. However, each does so in different domains and uses different methodologies. Because neither discipline is dependent on the other, and both rely on completely different principles and protocols to achieve their intended outcomes, LPM and KM are not subsets of each other. LPM doesn't grow from the roots of KM any more than KM grows out of LPM. They are entirely different methodologies arising from different needs and serving different purposes. KM efficiency is derived through the efficient access to and use of the firm's IP capital. LPM efficiency is derived through the efficient use of the firm's human capital.