Author archives

Ron Friedmann is a lawyer by training and has three decades of experience in the legal market. He helps lawyers and legal business professionals solve their toughest strategy, practice, and operational management challenges. Legal Market Experience includes Chief Knowledge + Information Officer at LAC Group; partner at Fireman & Company; executive at a legal process outsourcing company Integreon; CIO at Mintz Levin; practice support head at Wilmer Cutler (now WilmerHale); consultant to law firms, law departments, and legal vendors; and marketing professional at two legal market software companies (legal expert system software and online digital signing).

Sharing COVID-19 Challenges in Large Law Firms

This past week Ron Friedman convened a group call to discuss and share COVID-19 challenges in large law firms. Ten senior staff leaders of large law firms participated, most US-based but one from the UK and one from Canada. For those in large law firm who have not had an opportunity to connect with peers, perhaps reading about others’ challenges will help. This is about commiserating, not solutions.

Subjects: Disaster Planning, Social Media, Technology Trends

2020 KM + Innovation Survey Results

Ron Friedman’s extensively documented article reports on the survey to support the 2020 Strategic Knowledge + Innovation Legal Leaders’ Summit, which took place in early February 2020. The Summit is a meeting of about 65 senior knowledge management professionals from large US, UK, and Canadian law firms. The depth and breath of actionable information and data shared in this article makes it a critical read for law firm and corporate KM and Innovation professionals.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Case Management, Communication Skills, Communications, Contact Management, Data Mining, Digital Archives, Information Architecture, Information Mapping, KM, Leadership, Legal Marketing, Legal Technology, Management, Presentation Skills, Team Building

How Law Firm Libraries Can Create New Value

Earlier this year Ron Friedmann presented an interactive session on how law firm libraries can create new value, at the Ark conference Best Practices & Management Strategies for Law Firm Library, Research & Information Services (aka Ark Library). In this article he shares some session highlights, the voting results of the interactive portion, his slides and and a link to his live presentation.

Subjects: Business Research, Communications, Competitive Intelligence, Information Management, KM, Law Librarians, Leadership, Legal Research, Legal Technology, Library Marketing, Outsourcing, Reference Services

Will Data Analytics Allow Us to Do Less Law?

Ron Friedmann is an expert on the legal market, where hardly a day goes by without an article or blog post about alternative fee arrangements (AFA) or delivering more value. Yet both clients and law firms struggle to define value and adopt alternatives to the billable hour, so Ron proposes perhaps the time has come to re-think the question.

Subjects: Competitive Intelligence, Features, Information Management, Legal Marketing, Legal Research, Technology Trends

Law Libraries Transformed

Not long ago, the law library was “a place”. It housed printed materials and staff and provided work space for research. Lawyers went there to use books and consult librarians to locate and complete assignments. Today Eleanor Windsor and Ron Friedmann report that the notion of a modern law library is very different, shaped by the skills of specialized researchers and information managers rather than by bookshelves and bound volumes.

Subjects: Business Research, Features, Law Firm Marketing, Law Librarians, Legal Research, Legal Technology, LEXIS, Libraries & Librarians, Library Marketing, Outsourcing