Abstract
Knowledge is one of the most important assets of a law firm; yet, traditionally, many have taken an ad hoc approach to managing this asset, resulting in work duplication, inconsistent work practices and loss of important organizational knowledge when lawyers leave or retire. This article focuses on what the concept of information and knowledge management (KM) in a law firm entails and what the current information and KM trends in South African law firms are. It also reports the results of an empirical, explorative study identifying the extent as well as some barriers and concerns with regard to the utilization of KM systems and related IT applications in South African law firms.
Highlights
Conducting legal research traditionally implies the use of printed legal information in the form of statutes and cases that, in the legal environment, serve as the primary authorities; and the use of secondary or complementary sources (Garratt 2001:8–11)
Pacifici and Skalbeck (1999) and Kennedy (2001) are of the opinion that in legal research the focus will increasingly be on the collaborative elements of research through the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), together with a sound information and knowledge management (IKM) strategy as foundation (Curran and Higgins 2000)
The aim of this research was to examine the degree of impact the changing legal information environment has on the legal research process and to find out what benefit legal research will gain from IKM
Summary
Conducting legal research traditionally implies the use of printed legal information in the form of statutes and cases that, in the legal environment, serve as the primary authorities; and the use of secondary or complementary sources (Garratt 2001:8–11). In addition to the primary and secondary sources of law, lawyers need organized access to the information generated in the course of their relationships with clients. Case information is mainly found in the documents that lawyers generate and should be locatable at all times, since it could be used again in other cases, or required in future claims relating to the same case. Information on previous client work may provide useful precedents for faster and more efficient handling of related future work. This type of information is typically tacit knowledge, for example, tips at drafting pleadings or documents; or leads from experts; or hints at arguing motions and applications that have been acquired over time. In the practice of law, this type of knowledge is sometimes guarded over by individuals and not readily shared with others
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