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Advanced Document Management Systems in Law Firms: Challenges and Solutions

Explore the complexities, advantages, and limitations of cutting-edge document management systems and brief banks used in law firms. Learn key strategies to enhance the efficiency of knowledge management initiatives.

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Advanced Document Management Systems in Law Firms: Challenges and Solutions

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  1. A-2: Delivering Documents to Mumbai (Part II) AALL Annual Meeting July 11, 2004 By Steve Anderson

  2. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II) • In this section, we’ll finish looking at KM initiatives currently in place at law firms by examining: • 1. Document Management Systems in general, and • 2. Brief Banks and Memo Files

  3. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • Document Management Systems (DMS) In General • Often considered by law firms to be a (“the”?) key ingredient in the KM mix • Vendors include Interwoven (iManage); Hummingbird (PCDocs); Worldox; Microsoft SharePoint • DM Systems CAN be effective KM tools if the knowledge is IN the docs and can be accessed by users

  4. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • DMS have several ADVANTAGES • All docs SHOULD be in one place • Docs CAN be searchable • Docs CAN be “cataloged” by field: • Folder (Client/Matter) • Document type • Author • Easy to find “related” docs • Works in word processing app AND in web

  5. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • So, what’s not to like? How do you FIND the “knowledge?” • 1. “Authority” issues • What is the “final” version? • What is a “quality” document? • Who is the author? • 1. SOLUTION: vetting, recommending or approving in order to make a “published” copy

  6. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • 2. “Searching” issues • Can a DMS search like Westlaw or Lexis? • Can a DMS search like Google? • Can IT department maintain current index? • 2. SOLUTIONS: train on searching techniques; use field restrictions effectively; make sure IT makes indexing a priority

  7. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • 3. “Cataloging” issues • There’s usually no taxonomy/ controlled vocabulary (such as Key Numbers) • Are there “too many” document types? • What about the lunch meeting memo announcing a CLE program--try cataloging THAT? • 3. SOLUTIONS: add taxonomy/ controlled vocabulary ($); improve doc types

  8. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 1. DM Systems • DMS recap: • “Detailed catalog of a junkyard” • Matthew Parsons, Law Technology News • Contains both valuable and irrelevant information • “Publication” (authority), searching & categorization are problematic in DM systems

  9. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • Narrowing the scope of knowledge: Brief Banks and Memo Files • What they are: independent systems for finding fully vetted “precedent” • Solves some DMS issues, but raises other problems

  10. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • ADVANTAGES of Brief Banks • Attorneys know where the “good” documents are • Easier to apply taxonomies/controlled vocabularies because scale is smaller • Searching also may be easier because scale is smaller

  11. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • So, what’s not to like? How do you FIND the “knowledge?” • 1. Brief Banks miss many docs • Letters (i.e. “other” doc types) • Docs in progress • Related docs • 1. SOLUTION: don’t make Brief Banks the ONLY source of info; include “other” doc types

  12. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • 2. How do you “feed” the system? • Voluntary contribution? • Incentives? • 2. SOLUTIONS: Invest in a routinized vetting process handled by KM manager; reward contributors

  13. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • 3. How do you overcome a Brief Bank’s implicit limitation of NOT having access to other firm-based “knowledge?” • Related docs • Billing info one click away • 3. SOLUTIONS: Don’t make the Brief Bank the ONLY place for “knowledge”

  14. KM Initiatives in Law Firms (Part II): 2. Brief Banks • Brief Bank recap: • Helpful because search is narrowed to “best” documents • Problematic because contributions and document types may vary widely • Some knowledge may be missed • Probably should not be the entire KM initiative

  15. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • In this section, we’ll examine several KM-related problems: • “Tacit knowledge” • Culture issues • Incentives • Project Priorities • Cost • Remember: The devil’s in the details!

  16. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 1. “Tacit Knowledge” • How is “hidden” knowledge transmitted to other attorneys? • Writing has limits • SOLUTIONS: personal communications, mentoring (upwards & downwards), storytelling, CLE programs

  17. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 2. How do you create a general pro-KM environment? Do you need a culture shift? • Attorneys like to re-create documents (billable hour) • Attorneys view documents as their own, rather than as shared assets • Law firms are sometimes managed as “law firms,” rather than as rational, market-driven businesses

  18. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 2. How do you create a general pro-KM environment? • SOLUTION #1: Other information sharing demonstrates that KM is both easy and a core value (use newsletters, department meetings & CLE’s, collaborative discussion boards, MS Outlook “Tasks”); tread slowly when changing culture

  19. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 2. How do you create a general pro-KM environment? • SOLUTION #2: Make attorneys understand that billing for re-created work is not always a competitive advantage--as other firms begin re-using more work product they will have a competitive advantage

  20. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 2. How do you create a general pro-KM environment? • SOLUTION #3: Take lessons from “Information Ecology”(Nardi & O’Day)--distribute key knowledge advocates by department; find allies who share passion for promoting information--paralegals, legal secretaries, “techie” attorneys

  21. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 3. How do law firms “incentivize” attorneys to contribute to KM endeavors? • Why don’t attorneys contribute to systems even when they might have enough time to do so?

  22. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 3. How do law firms “incentivize” attorneys to contribute to KM endeavors? • SOLUTION #1: Use the “Lockdown” approach (commandment from the top down) • SOLUTION # 2: Use the “Pessimistic” approach (knowledge manager culls, vets and categorizes all; attorneys do nothing)

  23. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 3. How do law firms “incentivize” attorneys to contribute to KM endeavors? • SOLUTION #3: “Organic” approach (let the departmental information advocates formalize an advisory committee structure) • SOLUTION #4: Combine elements of all three

  24. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 4. How do you prioritize KM initiatives? • Do you focus on research documents or “enterprise-wide” issues? • Do you stick with current search tools, explore “intelligent” search engines (such as Recommind), or wait for better taxonomy tools? • How much do you train?

  25. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 4. How do you prioritize KM initiatives? • SOLUTION #1: Listen to what attorneys (and clients) want to do • SOLUTION #2: Use a “change management” approach--the ONLY certainty is that software, hardware and business processes will change quickly over time; plan for the near term, but with long-term principles

  26. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 5. How do you pay for KM? • Most KM software tends to be fairly expensive • KM initiatives require non- billable attorney time • Law firms need to hire KM support staff (knowledge managers, practice support lawyers (PSL’s) and IT professional)

  27. General Law Firm Knowledge Management Issues • 5. How do you pay for KM? • SOLUTION #1: Approach KM incrementally and subtly with cost-effective, “easy” successes • SOLUTION #2: Purchase tools and hire staff because of business needs (competitive advantage, client demands), NOT because vendor will tell you the ROI is incredible (too many hidden costs?)

  28. CONCLUSION • I. There is no “killer app”--current processes and software are partial solutions at best • II. View software and processes as TOOLS used to access “knowledge”--some tools are better than others (especially because law firms differ) • III. Software isn’t the only tool--look at firm culture and establish subtle information sharing

  29. CONCLUSION • IV. Be prepared to make a significant investment in “physical” tools AND in YOUR TIME as a knowledge manager • V. Remember that even partial solutions are better than no solutions at all • VI. Enjoy Boston!

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