VALA KM Subsection - First Meeting Success
On November 23rd I attended the first meeting of the VALA KM Subsection, and I have to say I'm excited for the next meeting to take place on January 25th/05. Things started out pretty slow, but once some of the issues got put on the table, I think everyone got to make their contribution.
My first impression was 'uh oh'- small group (11 people showed up). That turned out to be a big advantage. For a small group, it was incredibly diverse. While the expected contingent of Librarians showed up, we also had an Administrator, some of the Technology folks, and that new KM guy at Faskens. :-) The issues were also wide spread - for example, once you have multiple offices like the National firms, how does the perspective change? (yes, things get harder - but what else?). How to create incentives for KM contribution? How to get political buy in? Do we really have a handle on the types of information Lawyers need for their daily operation?
The next meeting will again work in a roundtable format... with more issues, and further defining of where each firm's program is at. If there's one thing that was solidified for me at that first meeting, it was that each firm's KM solution was going to unique, and that we could really help each other. Also, we are not going to be competing with each other as much as I first thought. While there's always a competitive advantage to be had, the number of 'open topics' are going to make this an incredibly useful dialogue.
There is a huge area to explore with KM and Law firms. Congratulations to Gillian Crabtree of EKB for hosting a great meeting!
My first impression was 'uh oh'- small group (11 people showed up). That turned out to be a big advantage. For a small group, it was incredibly diverse. While the expected contingent of Librarians showed up, we also had an Administrator, some of the Technology folks, and that new KM guy at Faskens. :-) The issues were also wide spread - for example, once you have multiple offices like the National firms, how does the perspective change? (yes, things get harder - but what else?). How to create incentives for KM contribution? How to get political buy in? Do we really have a handle on the types of information Lawyers need for their daily operation?
The next meeting will again work in a roundtable format... with more issues, and further defining of where each firm's program is at. If there's one thing that was solidified for me at that first meeting, it was that each firm's KM solution was going to unique, and that we could really help each other. Also, we are not going to be competing with each other as much as I first thought. While there's always a competitive advantage to be had, the number of 'open topics' are going to make this an incredibly useful dialogue.
There is a huge area to explore with KM and Law firms. Congratulations to Gillian Crabtree of EKB for hosting a great meeting!
posted by Steve Matthews at 11/30/2004
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