One of the major challenges facing large and increasingly diversified law firms of the future is how to achieve consistent and high quality client service by addressing differences in culture and geographical location. Training and knowledge management systems are key to meeting this challenge.
Traditional methods of learning, in the form of either formal instruction or on-the-job experience, are increasingly inadequate and ineffective in developing lawyers in large international law firms. Dispersed locations, even within a single jurisdiction, increase these problems. They make the delivery of firm-wide training impossible, impractical or too costly. As a result, much of the training or learning will continue to be local and likely, therefore, to reinforce a diversity of cultures.
A conjunction of three developments,
- the development of knowledge management systems;
- computer-based training; and
- delivery through an intranet
provides a means of overcoming these problems.
1. Knowledge management systems
Knowledge management systems make it possible to retrieve and use the accumulated experience and expertise held in client files and the heads of lawyers, both past and present. Fee-earners can draw on this storehouse of knowledge in handling client work to
- improve the quality and consistency of the work being done; and
- embed the culture of the firm in client service wherever and whoever delivers it.
If successful, these systems soon lead to changes in the way in which client work is handled – from craft to process. This standardisation of the way in which client work is undertaken helps to ensure the delivery of work of a consistently high quality. It means that more rewarding work can be given to less experienced lawyers in the firm and they can handle it at lower cost and with greater confidence and job satisfaction. In addition, these systems lend themselves to the delivery of just-in-time computer-based training on the job.
2. Computer-based training
Computer-based training in the form of computer assisted learning (CAL) exercises mimics the individual tutorial. Participants prepare by working through relevant material. They then test their knowledge, understanding and ability to apply the knowledge they have gained by completing a series of questions or exercises. They get instant feedback that either confirms the progress they have made or indicates they need to do more. In effect, they are “sitting with Nellie” (see box).
This form of learning, although not a panacea, has a number of distinct advantages. It makes the best use of those lawyers who provide the training. It takes place when the work is being done and is further reinforced by doing the work. Its relevance is obvious and the motivation to learn is high. It can be undertaken at any time, does not require the presence of the teacher and overcomes the problems of dispersed locations and differences in time zones.
3. Delivery through an intranet
The Intranet browser provides a common interface for delivery of both the knowledge management systems and computer-assisted learning. It allows the two to be linked so that knowledge, understanding and practical application can be integrated into the completion of the work.
Use of the Intranet browser to access these systems does result in some limitations in functionality but these are outweighed by ease of use, familiarity and the common access.
Benefits
These systems make it possible for large firms to provide the kind of intensive individualised training that is much easier to provide in smaller firms. Their appropriateness depends on a variety of factors such as the nature of the practice, its maturity, the number and experience of those engaged in it, etc. Smaller practices will not need these systems – good matter management and encouragement for lawyers to share and record their experience will be enough. This will be true even of smaller practice areas in the largest firms. For the largest firms, these systems offer the chance of providing really effective learning to deliver client work of consistently high quality.
| “Sitting with Nellie” – a case study
Isabel, a recently qualified assistant in the Corporate Department has become involved in a due diligence exercise. Apart from some very basic trainee solicitor training and her post-admission Departmental training, she has no previous experience of this work. As this training was all some time ago, she decides to refresh her memory by calling up on her workstation a training video (this and other words in bold are the elements of the knowledge management and training systems). It includes a general introduction to share issues by one of the partners in the Department and a more detailed talk on due diligence by another partner. These talks form part of the Department’s face-to-face training programme and are automatically video-recorded. The result is that they are always relatively up-to-date. Isabel records her notes of these presentations in her electronic notebook (see below). The videos give her a general feel for the purpose of due diligence, what she will need to do to achieve that purpose and some understanding of the underlying law and practice. Getting down to the work, Isabel’s first port of call is the firm’s virtual manuals. These are not manuals in the hard copy sense of the word. They are a structured on-screen guide to the materials that an inexperienced assistant is likely to find most useful. The manuals include not only brief outlines, longer notes, precedents and internal know-how but also published textbooks, statutes, law reports and journal articles. A virtual manual is like an electronic table of contents that:
For example, it could contain links between a discussion of the relevant Accounting Standards on the valuation of fixed property, the text of those standards and useful commentaries on them. This enables Isabel to get at what she needs – even if she did not know of its existence – and dig down as deeply as she needs to go.The real value of the company which Isabel is investigating lies in its fixed assets. Some of them have been re-valued. A number of claims are made about their value in the share offer document. The virtual manual points her to a discussion of these issues. Integrated in it are a series of computer-assisted learning (CAL) exercises. They test her understanding of the materials she has read. They require her to go through a series of questions based on the materials and provide her with feedback to show whether or not she has understood what she has read. Included in these exercises are typical statements for which she is required to prepare due diligence questions. Isabel completes the exercises and the feedback shows that she is on the right track. She runs into one area that she simply cannot understand. She sends an e-mail to one of the senior assistants asking for help. He is out of the office when her query arrives but is able to answer it later in the same day. If she had needed some guidance more urgently, she could have asked someone else or her tutor – one of the Department’s professional support lawyers (PSLs). The PSLs are solicitors with experience of the practice who are now wholly devoted to maintaining the Department’s knowledge management systems. They do little or no direct client work. Isabel’s question and the response are also automatically circulated to a virtual class – an electronic discussion group of other recently qualified solicitors involved in similar work. This enables all of them to benefit from each other’s experience. They are encouraged to contribute their own comments to the “discussion” of each other’s work. Her tutor monitors discussion in the virtual class. This enables him to keep a check on the work being handled by its members, support the work they are doing and, if necessary, alert those responsible for that work of any potential problems. In doing this, the tutor is assisted by an electronic monitor that tracks Isabel’s progress. This tracking enables the tutor to focus on issues causing the assistants real difficulty at the regular face-to-face meetings of the group. As Isabel has worked through the materials, she has been able to
The result is an electronic notebook structured in the same way as the virtual manual. She will use this as the source of her own personal know-how when she has to deal with the same problem again. The electronic notebook will, however, give her access not only to her personal know-how but also the virtual manual. The virtual manual is regularly updated by the PSLs. The result is that she has quick access to up-to-date know-how through her personal know-how system. The PSLs in turn have access to Isabel’s electronic notebook. This gives them an idea of the sort of issues that are important to assistants of her level of experience. It also means that they can draw on it for materials to go into the Department’s knowledge management system as Isabel gains experience. |
For further information please contact Barry Dean, Julian Boardman-Weston or Sally Woodward
