3 Geeks and a Law Blog

With apologies to Thomas Friedman, I can't help but marvel at how connected the world is by technology. As I ponder KM and its applications to the practice of law, I keep stumbling upon incredible people with intriguing ideas. One example is the Green Chameleon blog on KM. I'm not sure how I first found this blog (information overload), but have truly enjoyed a number of posts there. I think law firms need to spend more time exploring ideas outside the legal market, and this blog gives great KM ideas well outside what law firms are doing or even thinking about. So in addition to being our first blog review, the Green Chameleon demonstrates how the world is only a few key strokes away. A Brit living in Singapore presents ideas a recovering Utardian with Texan Citizenship applies to a global law firm who then shares them here. Which leads to ...? I should already appreciate this connectedness. But one of the wonders of life for me is the great surprise of learning what I already know. I know ... sounds like another definition for KM. Whatever ... In any event, I suggest you check out the blog.

I continue to hold out hope that alternative billing methods will gain a true foot-hold in the legal profession. Thus far, my hopes have been dashed. Yet the possibility of this type of change continues to intrigue me. From all that I hear, more sophisticated clients will have alternative billing as a key question on their list of questions. The recent economic troubles have even driven this question to be one of cost savings. As in 'what sort of alternative billing methods can you employ to lower our legal spend?' So what does KM have to do with Alternative Billing (AB)? Everything. The reason law firms always site for why AB won't work, is their inability to pre-determine the costs associated with a matter. "There are too many variables." "Clients will abuse this." "We don't know how to deliver under that kind of budget pressure." KM is the tool that will answer these questions. As I ponder where KM may have its best chances at a firm, mastering alternative billing is an enticing option.