MCLE Self-Study Article Bridge the Gap: Knowledge Management Simplified

By Marriott Murdock, Marketing Director, NetDocuments

Nobody has time to read, process, or manage the information contained in 174 newspapers every single day – but that’s what you and I are bombarded within a 24 hour period, according to a study by Dr. Martin Hilbert of the University of Southern California¹ I don’t need to tell you about the incessant stream of data you’re grappling with on a daily basis. However, I can offer a simple definition and approach to getting a grip on what knowledge is, and how managing it better will increase your ability to efficiently and comprehensively do what you do best – practice law.

As an attorney or legal professional, you provide a service: delivering your clients value through your expertise, professionalism, organization, and, of course, your knowledge of the law. As a service provider, you have an underlying product that allows you to deliver a top-notch service to your clients – your firm’s knowledge, and the processes and organization you have in place to manage it.

Knowledge Management (KM) has been around for decades, but there is no shortage of varying definitions, ranging from the academically nebulous, to the business strategists over-analysis, to the philosophically numbing. Let’s try to put the depths of semantics aside, and focus on simplicity and practicality.