Casey Flaherty, formerly, the GC of Kia Motors, made headlines in 2013  by developing a basic technology audit which he administered to outside law firms. Taking a page from Casey’s technology audit and AALL’s Principles and Standards for Legal Research Competencies, The Private Law Libraries and Information Professionals SIS of AALL has published a series of research audits which were created by attendees of the 2014 PLL Summit.Summit attendees were invited to collaborate on drafting a practice-focused research audits. These audits were created by seasoned  professionals at top US law firms who work on the “front lines”  and know about legal research in practice. Each team determined the most important skills, resources and techniques  and  then drafted questions to test the competencies for each topic.

 The research audits will provide a new tool to help law firms, associates and other organizations determine whether lawyers are working efficiently and effectively. The research audit support an associate who needs to thrive in a world of AFAs, project management and legal process outsourcing.

Here is a list of the research audits which have been released so far:

• Company Research Audit