Law firms are currently experiencing a dramatic shift in working environments. A shift to remote work has been necessary for many organizations. Attorneys act as trusted advisors for their clients and have the experience and expertise to add value to client relationships. Many law firms and businesses have embraced technology and are well positioned to meet client needs while operating in a remote environment. Promoting a knowledge-sharing culture is crucial to providing a better client experience.
With remote work, valuable information can remain unstructured and compartmentalized. Through their broad experience in information and library management, information professionals are well positioned to contribute to a knowledge-sharing culture by remaining involved in the process of setting up and maintaining systems to share this information. Firms should consider the following issues:
- Capturing attorney expertise and experience and transforming this information presents unique challenges.
- Promoting access to information and improving workflows involves fostering communication and active engagement.
- Converting information into knowledge as a collective asset requires active knowledge management.
Knowledge gathering and data management are necessary for law firms to function efficiently. The information professional can focus on the following priorities:
- Evaluating technology and working with information technology departments to develop collaboration platforms to leverage collective experience
- Eliminating information silos and locating internal knowledge and data by partnering with practice groups
- Contributing to the transformation of data and information into collective knowledge
- Promoting tools to share knowledge such as taxonomies, document management and wikis
Collaborating and sharing information allows firms to immediately respond to client needs. Access to data and information is a key component to working flexibly and efficiently. Knowledgeable information professionals and law librarians with expertise in technology, data management, and resource-sharing can contribute to the needs of the rapidly-changing workplace.
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