Last week Casetext released a brief new report on the future of Knowledge Management. The full report is available at this link. The report is really a “thought piece” based on a question posed to a group of knowledge leaders. The question was basically”what would you do to improve KM if you had $10 million dollars?”  The respondents highlighted a variety of challenges and recommendations.  It appears that no one has the right mix of tools, technology and resources today but there was a consistent refrain – that emerging technologies may soon appear which will help bridge some of the critical gaps between implicit, explicit, internal and external knowledge.

Respondents basically were asked; “If you had $10 Million to spend on KM, What would you do?” While lack of law firm investment in knowledge solutions is part of the problem, it is not only only obstacle to effective knowledge management in law firms.

Key findings:

  • Data Collection will be Automated
  • Data will be automatically structured
  • Legal research and KM tools will be powered by AI.

KM Departments will play an important role in bringing about these changes.

Contributors to the the report include many prominent  law law firm thought leaders including, Patrick Dundas, KM Associate, Schulte, Ross and Zable, Shabeer Kahn, Director of Research Service, Morrison & Foster, Rich McClain, Chief Information Officer, Hunton & Wiliams, Holly RIccio, Knowledge Management Director, Nossaman; Joseph Keslar, Director of Library and Research Services, Blank Rome: Gina Lynch, Director of Knowledge Services, Paul Weiss; Genevieve Nicholson, Manager of Research & Knowledge Services, Lewis Roca.

Thanks to Jake Heller, CEO of Casetext for acknowledging the challenges facing knowledge managers today and  providing them will a platform on which to share some insights into the road ahead