Just before a new business proposal is due, every firm must chase down questions about their own attorneys' expertise, client contact information and firm experience. The questions usually arise in a fire-drill atmosphere.
Lawyers blast out e-mail queries and dial the phones with questions.
The answers are important and are worth money to the law firms that have them. Nowadays, more law firms than ever are finding these answers in a process known as Knowledge Management. Large accounting firms, for example, have deployed entire KM staffs to collect information about businesses and poach on law firm clients. By tapping into profiles of clients and industries, lawyers can understand their clients' needs better. A KM system can record all contacts with a client, the nature of the work done, and who knows what client.