Combining business and practice: KM and the law
recognize those lawyers who were excellent contributors and to encourage others to contribute.
Like any law firm, AAR faces a number of cultural barriers to KM. The biggest barrier is the time-based billing model. Also, fear of peer judgment and a "knowledge is power" mentality are seen as the other main cultural barriers. AAR has attempted to break down those barriers by involving partners and lawyers in initiatives at every opportunity and by using the support of the KEDS partner and the knowledge management partners.
Technology. The AAR KM system has an intranet as the single user interface into a broad range of systems and applications. In addition to the typical document management system, intranet, databases, e-mail and online research services, AAR includes its business intelligence system, document assembly, extranets, financial/practice management system, conflict management system, client relationship management system and the Internet as part of its KM system. The interface also offers multiple views based on practice group, client and staff level.
Australian law firms tend to lack a firmwide taxonomy, and AAR is no exception. Rather than embark on a wide-scale project to implement a firmwide taxonomy, AAR has deliberately decided to implement taxonomies on an as-needed basis. For example, various taxonomies are used across the firm in the library catalog, the intranet searching facility and the document management system. That approach differs from U.K. firms and the majority of U.S. firms, which have implemented firmwide taxonomies—either by developing them internally or buying an off-the-shelf product.
Knowledge management and AAR's clients. Clients simply expect AAR to be active in this area. "It is a given that we have KM initiatives in place. Clients ask our advice on setting up their own KM functions," says Rachel O'Connor, director of KEDS. The firm promotes its approach to KM in client tenders and develops a broad range of client-tailored KM tools and programs—client-specific work product repositories, methodologies and know-how files, precedents/forms and professional development programs.
Measuring success. AAR measures its return on investment in a number of ways. The firm regularly benchmarks its initiatives against the best-practice firms (particularly in the United Kingdom) and participates in surveys such as the "2006 Global Law Firm Knowledge Management Survey." It also collects usage statistics on the precedent documents, intranet and library resources and reports progress against the KM plans.
The future of knowledge management at AAR. "Our major successes to date have been in getting senior management and partnership support, evidenced by their commitment to the 50-hour policy, as well as in getting practice groups to own their knowledge and contribute regularly to it," says O'Connor. "In 2006, our focus is on improving our professional development program and expanding our internal team debriefing program." Ultimately, what drives KEDS is the firm's KM vision for AAR lawyers to be leading practitioners in their fields and effective teachers and sharers of knowledge.
The look of KM
Law firms have embraced knowledge management as a critical function, although the "2006 Global Law Firm Knowledge Management Survey" highlighted a number of challenges relating to how the knowledge management organization engages the broader firm in the full scope of what KM is and what it can bring to the knowledge-based business.
The KM organization often finds it a challenge to engage the broader firm in implementing initiatives. Everyone is expected to contribute to KM, yet processes are often not adequately in place to support that expectation. That might be because the organization has yet to adequately engage management in understanding the value of KM.
KM in a law firm should look like this:
1. An adequately sized knowledge management organization exists, led by a firmwide head of knowledge management, who typically reports to the managing partner or the COO. All knowledge management staff, regardless of whether they sit at the firm level or in a practice group, report to the head of knowledge management, ensuring that the firm takes a consistent approach to KM.
2. KM projects are initiated by a combination of both practice groups and the central knowledge management organization. This ensures that the needs of individuals and practice groups are met, while projects are implemented in the most efficient way possible.
3. The knowledge management organization has a formal relationship with the partnership, as well as other administrative functions. That is most likely in the form of a KM committee, which ensures that initiatives reflect the needs of the firm and take into account the current environment at the firm. It also likely includes the appointment of a firmwide knowledge management partner and practice group knowledge management partners.
4. Lawyer contribution to KM is recognized by providing fee relief or billable hour credit, and ensuring that contribution to KM is a criterion in both compensation review, as well as performance evaluation.
5. KM is an item in both business plans and reports.
6. There is a formal firmwide KM strategy, aligned with the firm's business strategy.
7. Before implementing any initiative, a project plan and a business case is developed.
8. The value of all initiatives is measured and demonstrated to the firm.
9. The firm broadens the traditional focus on managing knowledge relating to the "practice of law" (e.g. legislation, case law, precedents/forms and best-practice documents) to include knowledge relating to the business of law—the firm's financial information, market information, prospective client information and competitor information. It also means examining opportunities to collaborate with finance and human resources, and including the financial/practice management system, HR information system and business intelligence systems as components of the firm's knowledge management system.
10. The firm promotes its KM efforts to clients, provides client-tailored knowledge management solutions and, where possible, generates revenue from those efforts.