Strategies for gathering and harnessing knowledge have existed in law firms for decades. However, knowledge management suddenly found itself in the spotlight as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Enforced remote working reduced opportunities for knowledge sharing between colleagues and this gap was filled with knowledge databases and experienced knowledge lawyers. Now that hybrid and virtual workforces are here to stay, these new working practices have combined with technological developments, enhanced demand, and the transformation of how to access knowledge to drive the advancement of knowledge management into a new era. Knowledge Management in Law Firms: Challenges and Opportunities Post-Pandemic is the essential guide to the evolution of law firm knowledge management. It covers how to revisit your strategy in light of recent and future changes, the expansion of knowledge management to encompass legal tech and innovation, the rise of the importance of data, strategies for overcoming the challenges hybrid and virtual working pose to knowledge management, managing knowledge teams, and much more. Chapters are written by an international group of KM experts from a range of organisations and leading law firms, including DLA Piper, Linklaters, and Dentons. Pandemic experiences and lessons learnt are shared as well as ways to approach the future. Knowledge is at the heart of the legal profession, and this book provides guidance on how to prepare for and thrive in the knowledge management practices of the future, overcoming the obstacles and embracing the opportunities that have arisen from or been accelerated by the pandemic. Through demonstrating how effective knowledge management can help firms exceed client expectations, differentiate themselves in the competitive market, and, ultimately, improve their bottom line, this title will be of interest to knowledge management professionals including professional support lawyers, law firm leaders, partners and fee earners, and, outside of law firms, in-house lawyers and consultants.

The discipline of knowledge management (KM) continues to evolve along with our ability to record larger and more varied kinds of information than ever before. Since its inception in the 1990s, it has passed through several stages, quickly becoming a credible field, and now an integral part of major businesses worldwide. Now, many have started to argue that KM is undergoing resurgence, possibly even transforming into KM 3.0, thanks to developments in artificial intelligence (AI). And, while AI has been around for many years, it has become a buzzword in the industry as questions loom over what it could mean for the labor market of the future. Adoption has been relatively slow in the legal profession, owing in part to its conservative nature, individual-focused training and no real incentive to overhaul the hourly billing model1. When in-house legal teams can exceed 1,000 people, sharing and reusing knowledge can easily become inefficient, with counsel often needlessly paying for the same research twice. Global intelligence software leader Comintelli estimates that $8.5 billion per year is lost between Fortune 500 companies alone on poor KM2, up from $31.5 billion in 20043, suggesting a recent rise in the number of firms embracing the concept. Despite this, there are still challenges posed to the legal world, and sharing insight is more vital than ever, not only within companies but between them. Innovations in Legal KM explores the endeavors of various legal firms - the problems they have faced, and the solutions they have developed - to improve their KM processes, and, ultimately, their bottom line.