OpenSource Sanitize Can Speed Up KM
Two years ago, we set out on a comprehensive KM strategy that would ultimately improve how we manage firm information. Identifying and implementing the tools and processes needed to best manage electronic client, matter and expertise files took some time. Some of the tools were readily available, but others, including Sanitize by OpenSource, took significant time to either find or develop.
Computer Security: The No. One Priority For Law Firms!
Just as the old real estate axiom: "Location, Location, Location" keeps the buyers on their toes, so goes it in the legal profession with: "Security, Security, Security" keeping the firms tightly geared to making their computers as secure as possible in these heightened threat days.
Practice Tip: Using Cross-references In Word
Cross-references are a feature in Microsoft Word that allows you to create references to other items in the same document. This is particularly helpful with longer, more complex documents, the likes of which are often encountered in the legal document-production process.
Building Enterprise Search From The Ground Up
Technology leaders at law firms are under increasing pressure to provide information ubiquity ' not an easy task given the challenge of actually connecting heterogeneous data structures and file types across multiple information sources to the people who need them.
Teamwork Makes A Big Production 'Easywork'
What if we told you that Microsoft Excel was part of a litigation technology strategy used in a case that involved complex document management? At Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP, we traditionally use aggressive case management, including early case assessment, client connectivity, and the use of cost-saving discovery and litigation technology. This was the first time we used technology that exists on almost everyone's computer to manage discovery and facilitate document review. Our litigation team was so impressed by the utility of Excel that they requested we use it in every large-scale document production.
Producing Benefits Through Firm Culture
What tools can be used by an executive committee to take a fresh look at its firm, sustain a successful culture and make strategic decisions? Remember: No decision is a decision! Let's ask some questions about your executive committee.
Clients: To Whom Do They Belong?
The answer is: nobody. <br>When a partner leaves a law firm, the parties have to allocate various partnership rights, assets and other interests. They may allocate most of these interests in any way that they choose. They may not, however, allocate clients - perhaps the most valuable of partnership "assets." The client alone decides whether to remain a client of the firm, to leave with the departing partner or to choose another attorney. Law firms and departing partners have an ethical obligation to handle these situations in a way that is consistent with the principle of client choice.
