Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer [Paperback]

Gretta Rusanow Esq. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2003

Outlining key components of successful legal knowledge management, this book includes suggestions to help law firms manage their most important asset-the staff's collective knowledge. Included are strategies specifically designed for law firms to identify, capture, disseminate, and use the knowledge that differentiates them in the marketplace in order to manage their current business and future growth more effectively. Tips are included on building and implementing a knowledge management organization and creating a corporate culture that supports it.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gretta Rusanow, Esq. advises U. S., Australian, and European law firms and corporations on knowledge management, e-business, legal management, and technology strategies. She lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 484 pages
• Publisher: Incisive Media, LLC (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1588521168
• ISBN-13: 978-1588521163
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,335,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer, January 25, 2004

By 

J. Buckley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer (Paperback)

The first book on KM expressly written for lawyers came out this year. It is Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer by Gretta Rusanow. The publisher is American Lawyer Media, the leading legal news publisher in the U.S. This book is a guide for implementing KM programs in law firms. It paints a rosy picture about how KM can help a law business. "If knowledge management is done well, leveraging the knowledge that differentiates you from your competitors will lead to reduced costs, increased revenue, increased profitability, a more satisfying work environment - and the best lawyers, the best clients and the best work." (p. 31)

Rusanow provides this definition for KM: "[K]nowledge management is the leveraging of your firm's collective wisdom by creating systems and processes to support and facilitate the identification, capture, dissemination and use of your firm's knowledge to meet your business objectives." (p. 7) She says that firms need to develop KM strategies. Such strategies may mean starting small with a pilot project in a practice group. Rusanow acknowledges that larger KM initiatives require management support.

Rusanow sets the record straight that KM is not simply a technology solution. She suggests that attorneys should spend time creating a knowledge base of precedent documents as part of a KM program. Precedent documents are form documents that would be commonly used by other attorneys. The idea is these documents will improve efficiency so lawyers will spend less time "reinventing the wheel". The trouble is, in law, wheels come in so many shapes and sizes. Rusanow recommends that senior attorneys should be creating the precedent documents while associates would alter them to fit circumstances according to their clients' needs. This way of doing things would change the way firms conduct their business. Senior attorneys may not want to lose time that they could be billing to their clients.

Rusanow identifies the time-based billing model as "probably the single greatest barrier to knowledge management." (p. 194) She says hourly billing promotes inefficiency because it rewards slow work, but KM is about efficiency. She advocates alternative billing methods such as billing by transaction. The American Bar Association's Commission on Billable Hours has explored such options, but it seems that the ubiquitous practice of hourly billing is firmly entrenched in the legal community. For reasons not related to knowledge management, many attorneys would like to do away with billable hours. These reasons have to do with quality of life issues. There is great pressure on attorneys to meet billing quotas, frequently more than 2,000 hours a year. Regardless, hourly billing looks like it is here to stay.

All in all, Rusanow's book seems to offer more cheerleading than evidence that her version of knowledge management will work. The 484-page book includes only two references to other sources. One is a Nonaka article, The Knowledge Creating Company, and the other is a report produced by her own consulting agency, Curve Consulting. Rusanow should have included references to the works of other KM theorists, including Working Knowledge by Davenport and Prusak.

It will be interesting to see how well this book is accepted by the legal community. It is unlikely that its concepts will be implemented wholesale because of its position on time-based billing. One thing it will do is open up the idea that KM is more than a technology solution.

Another book on KM for attorneys, Effective Knowledge Management for Law Firms by Matthew Parsons will hit the presses in 2004. Oxford University Press will publish it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read, January 26, 2004

By 

"edaaron" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer (Paperback)

This book is a must read for every managing partner. The author makes a compelling case for why, as a knowledge based business, knowledge management is fundamental to the successful operation of a law firm or law department. Rusanow's book is the only book on the application of knowledge management theory to the legal profession. Her approach is easy to read, practical and business oriented. Through her examples of knowledge management in law firms, her mastery of this topic and its application to the legal profession is clearly evident.

Rusanow's approach is much broader than the typical technology centric approach to knowledge management - recognizing that while technology is the enabler, lawyers must also look at scope, organization and culture to be successful at knowledge management. Chapters are also dedicated to the relationship between knowledge management and clients, and how to measure the value of knowledge management. The author also devotes a chapter each to knowledge management for law departments and solo practitioners.

I highly recommend it!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The smarter lawyer will read this book, January 26, 2004

By 

"lawbookreviewer" (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knowledge Management and the Smarter Lawyer (Paperback)

A well written, comprehensive, practical guide to knowledge management in the law office. The author has taken the theory of knowledge management and explained why it is so critical to the "business of law" - ie why, since lawyers only sell knowledge, they must have a knowledge management program in place. She then describes how any law office can apply the theory to their practice - giving helpful hints on developing the knowledge management strategy, and implementing specific initiatives. I have read a lot on this topic, but nothing comes close to this book.