Page 113 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (n)
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As for change, take as an example a trend that started around 2010. The legal market began
embracing alternative fee arrangements (AFA), legal project management (LPM), and
professionals to support both. The legal market is still at the early stages of fully integrating and
adopting these disciplines. In many law firms, KM professionals lead or contribute significantly
to AFA (and other pricing issues) and LPM. But as those disciplines mature, law firms often hire
dedicated professionals to focus on them. That in turn causes further shifts in KM.
Another survey, one that I conducted for a private group of large law firm KM professionals
that meets annually, shows how priorities of KM professionals shift over time. This survey,
conducted in January 2017, had about 80 respondents from large firms in the U.S., U.K., and
Canada. The details may be hard to read, but two points stand out: First, KM professionals focus
on many activities, and second, priorities have, in many instances, shifted significantly over time:
98
embracing alternative fee arrangements (AFA), legal project management (LPM), and
professionals to support both. The legal market is still at the early stages of fully integrating and
adopting these disciplines. In many law firms, KM professionals lead or contribute significantly
to AFA (and other pricing issues) and LPM. But as those disciplines mature, law firms often hire
dedicated professionals to focus on them. That in turn causes further shifts in KM.
Another survey, one that I conducted for a private group of large law firm KM professionals
that meets annually, shows how priorities of KM professionals shift over time. This survey,
conducted in January 2017, had about 80 respondents from large firms in the U.S., U.K., and
Canada. The details may be hard to read, but two points stand out: First, KM professionals focus
on many activities, and second, priorities have, in many instances, shifted significantly over time:
98
