Aug. 4, 2010 – On March 30, 1981, I gathered with other law students around a television outside the law school cafeteria. John Hinckley had gunned down President Ronald Reagan. The Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, was issuing a status report. “Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State in that order, and should the President decide he wants to transfer the helm to the Vice President, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the Vice President.”

Unfortunately, Mr. Haig’s statement was incorrect. The U.S. Constitution does provide for an effective transfer of power and control at the highest level. However the Speaker of the House and the President pro tem of the Senate both come ahead of the Secretary of State in the line of presidential succession. Those of us who had recently slogged through a semester of Constitutional Law knew this. For most Americans though, Al Haig’s definitive statements were reassuring in a moment of national crisis.

Effective knowledge transfer

Every law firm needs specific strategies to transfer knowledge to its most important assets, the young lawyers who are the future of the firm. In many situations, older lawyers leave a firm without their knowledge being transferred in a usable fashion. Many details about key clients, the core values of the firm’s culture, its practices and important historical details are no longer available for later generations. Increasingly, law firms are recognizing the value of this loss and emphasizing the role senior lawyers must play in creating an effective knowledge transfer to younger lawyers.

Client development and expansion

Lawyers may be reluctant to share information about clients or prospects with the next generation of lawyers for fear they might poach these clients before the senior attorney is ready to step away from active practice. A law firm can create a competitive advantage by proactively encouraging the succession of clients from older to younger lawyers. One way is to service clients with teams and cross-sell between teams according to a strategic plan. With this opportunity to grow, business development opportunities can be magnified. Each young lawyer needs to look at his or her career as a series of structured professional development targets, including dynamic moments of knowledge transfer.

Law in the Information Age

Lawyers create, use, and store vast amounts of information in connection with their work. This information has recognized value because it includes both knowledge and experience. However, the transfer of this knowledge often occurs through one-on-one conversations without sharing among all who may need it. Research is often duplicated, and agreements and other documents are created from scratch when prior models already exist. The missed opportunity is not just improved efficiency but also the advantage of using best practices. Lawyers and law firms need to embrace improved methods of knowledge transfer. Many clients expect such technology to be already in place and are not willing to pay for work product created in an inefficient manner.

Lawyers as ‘knowledge workers’

We often question whether we are really working smarter or simply working harder. Lawyers are swamped with a continuous rising tide of information. Just keeping up with developments in a practice area takes a substantial amount of time. Lawyers currently appear to work many more hours than other knowledge workers. The new generation of young lawyers has high expectations and experience with sophisticated handling of information technology. Law firms now realize that using technology for effective knowledge transfer is an essential part of attracting and retaining the best talent. Young lawyers may be unwilling to stay at firms that do not effectively handle information.

Obstacles to effective knowledge transfer

Many law firms are often described as a collection of individual practices. However exponential success can be created from a culture of willingly sharing information. While financial incentives can help motivate such knowledge transfer, the real goal is to create a culture in which the benefits of sharing information are seen as real and sharing knowledge becomes second nature.

Many times, the senior lawyers who must be involved in the transfer of knowledge to younger lawyers have a reluctance to embrace and use technology. These are often the same lawyers whose whole careers demonstrate an ability to learn completely new areas of knowledge during the preparation of cases or representation of clients. Their issue with learning new technology can result in an unwillingness to be involved in any knowledge transfer techniques that would involve the use of such technology.

Law firms may not be able to measure the immediate financial return of knowledge transfer applications. Until billing structures are changed, the efficiencies obtained through these applications may not benefit a firm financially. For example, while the idea of document assembly may reduce a several-hour drafting job to 10 minutes, this is not financially advantageous if billing continues to be based on a pure hourly basis. Law firms offering fixed fee arrangements based on improved knowledge-transfer applications will have a competitive advantage.

Don’t drop the baton

At the 2008 Summer Olympics, both the American men’s and women’s relay teams were disqualified from their respective races for dropping the baton. Their coach later told the media he was shocked because the runners had practiced baton passes "a million times." In reality though, while they were all experienced world-class relay athletes, they had only limited practice with their actual Olympic teammates. Lawyers and law firms need to be sure they are creating an effective transfer of knowledge to younger lawyers. Whether by enhanced technology, team-based client development, or good old-fashioned mentoring, there is no doubt success in the Information Age will come to those who most effectively manage, enhance, and transfer knowledge.

Michael Moore, Lewis and Clark 1983, is a professional coach for lawyers and the founder of Moore’s Law, Milwaukee. He specializes in marketing, client development, and leadership coaching for attorneys at all levels of experience. Moore also advises law firms on strategic planning and resource optimization. He has more than 25 years’ experience in private practice, as a general counsel, in law firm management, and in legal recruiting. For more information, visit www.moores-law.com.

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