Legal Technology Journal

David Jabbari, global head of know-how and training at Allen & Overy and pioneer of social networking software in law firms, explains how sophisticated enterprise search is the logical way to cut through the multiplicity of data generated by Web 2.0 applications.

For over two years now blogs, wikis and social networking software have been used to share know-how and facilitate discussion and collaboration at Allen & Overy (A&O). In 2004, inspired by the work of Euan Semple, then at the BBC, David Jabbari, global head of know-how and training and Ruth Ward, head of knowledge systems and development, introduced three pilot sites that combined blog and wiki functionality. Along with the rest of the business community, the legal services market is catching on to the benefits of Web 2.0 applications which are now an established part of A&O’s information infrastructure, benefiting more than one-quarter of its user community.

Building on the success of its early experiment, A&O now has more than 50 sites in operation: some support particular practice groups or projects, while others focus on a subject area, such as a new piece of legislation. Jabbari explains that this is an effective way of building and disseminating know-how resources, underpinning his commitment to a people-centric approach to knowledge management. ‘It’s about giving people the tools to build up the resources they need without central editorial control,’ he says. ‘We remain very committed to the Web 2.0 ethos, just as we remain committed to traditional editorial processes for certain knowledge projects. User-generated content is no longer an experiment; it’s become an integral part of what we do. In fact, we’re currently working on the next generation of sites in terms of their look, feel and functionality.’ This involves getting feedback – via a wiki – from site owners and users and using their ideas to develop the system to meet their requirements more closely.

Search capability is the cornerstone of Web 2.0 Jabbari acknowledges that simplicity and ease of use are critical success factors and this philosophy has encouraged a significant percentage of all the firm’s stakeholders – including lawyers, clients and know-how professionals – to get talking online. As a result, the popularity of Web 2.0 technology has generated some significant user-generated knowledge resources for the firm, alongside the firm’s very strong collections of edited know-how. It follows, therefore, that Jabbari’s current challenge is to provide users with clear channels of information and communication across a range of different media through sophisticated enterprise search, which Jabbari describes as the cornerstone of Web 2.0 functionality. ‘There’s an enormous risk of overload in terms of giving fee-earners too many points of information,’ he says. ‘The big driver is the need to simplify lawyers’ access to knowledge and expertise. Search technology could enable us to enjoy the best of both worlds. There is very little you can do to stem the proliferation of content. Every year adds new content sources such as webcasts, podcasts, blog and wiki sites. It does not make sense to create a new portal every time new forms of content come along. What matters is to create a quick-and-easy way to cut through the multiplicity of content types and find precisely what you need.’ He adds that functionality is critical: people using the system simply want quick access to the knowledge, information, advice or discussion that supports their work.

A&O is currently working on developing a sophisticated search capability designed to provide just that. The new system has been branded Source. ‘As the name suggests, wherever you are in the system – including e-mail, wikis, group blogs and online forums, it enables you to search the entire system for relevant information,’ says Jabbari.

Source is still in its early stages. Having selected Autonomy to provide the enterprise search platform, a pilot has been established with a large practice group in London. The major technical issues revolve around the relevancy of results, giving special weighting to authorised knowledge and know-how and enabling users to see immediately where particular items have originated. Jabbari emphasises that this is especially important in terms of differentiating between standard and non-standard documentation. ‘The danger with enterprise-wide search is that it can pull up an enormous number of documents, not all of which should be treated as authorised deal precedents,’ he says. ‘In the short term it will be necessary to supplement search by continuing to maintain strong practice group collections of approved know-how on our intranet and by ensuring that search results show clearly whether a particular document is an “authorised” deal precedent.’

Combining user and document profiling As well as highlighting the latest versions of key documents, Source is able to incorporate an element of personality profiling, looking at a user’s history and patterns of search. This information may be combined with the search history attached to individual documents – when they were posted, updated and accessed – to guide and rank the results. Although these features are not part of the initial pilot, they are being tested and may well form part of the firm-wide launch.

Source could ultimately include expertise locators and link to customer relationship management (CRM) systems and billing records, but these features are not part of the current pilot. ‘Our priority is to find new ways of cutting through the multiplicity of data. We’re developing one clear, simple Google-style point of access not just to our formal know-how, but to the tacit knowledge that lies within our documents and our e-mail system,’ says Jabbari, adding that this is an extremely ambitious project as it extends across A&O’s extensive document collection, so needs to take account of security and confidentiality issues.

Three key priorities

Jabbari highlights three key design priorities for Source in terms of know-how potential, providing:

• Faster access to formal know-how.
• Access to knowledge embedded in transactional documentation and e-mails and eventually, social networking sites.
• It will also help people find their own documents. Jabbari explains that this is a very real practical advantage since the search functionality on many document management systems leaves lawyers struggling through high volumes of documentation to locate documents that they themselves have created or worked on previously when a similar matter arises.

Jabbari’s willingness to be a first mover in terms of deploying the very latest technology is combined with a down-to-earth practical approach that takes into account the sheer quantity of information resources that law firms have to deal with. ‘We have an Omnia virtual filing system, which remains very much ahead of the market, so the state of our virtual filing system is very good, but even with everything filed in its correct place, it’s important to be able to locate a particular item in a sub-second search,’ he says. The business benefits are obvious in terms of time-based billing, efficiency gains and business development. Sub-second search capability designed to enable the firm’s entire knowledge resources to be leveraged across its global business will also enhance the speed of response that can be a key factor in winning a business pitch.

Harnessing tacit knowledge resources

As it covers all the firm’s knowledge resources, Source will provide access to the tacit knowledge and know-how contained in online discussions via networking forums, blogs, wikis and email. ‘What Web 2.0 technologies have in common is the sense of unearthing hidden reservoirs of knowledge and know-how,’ says Jabbari. ‘Asking people to input into a know-how system often produces mixed results simply because they are often too busy and rightly focused on doing their work. But they could well contribute ideas via a networking site as part of a discussion. In this way we’re building up our knowledge base organically. Essentially, it’s the intelligent extraction of material from normal business processes and day-to-day communication.’

Combining search and RSS

Jabbari highlights the benefits of combining sophisticated search with the ability to disseminate up-to-date specialised knowledge and information. ‘Most of our social-software sites have really simple syndication (RSS), so that people can be alerted to relevant discussions that are taking place around the firm. RSS is complementary to search as it personalises information to people’s requirements and alerts them to new material that is pertinent to their work. The best-possible system is one that enables people to find what they need to respond quickly to issues as they arise,’ he says, emphasising the advantages in terms of response time and business efficiency.

Some firms have been reluctant to embark on social-media projects due to negative press coverage of internet blogs and forums. Jabbari emphasises that A&O’s social-software sites are developed within the firm’s intranet, limited to its stakeholders and designed to support specific communities of practice by providing quick and easy access to relevant and upto- date knowledge, information and advice from reliable sources. He adds that there is a general preference among busy community members for short discussions rather than long conversations. Blogs too are issue focused; they have multiple contributors and clearly defined business objectives. Therefore, rather than being time-consuming, ‘social’ interaction, they have a clear business purpose: they avoid information overload and enable people to share knowledge and insight that has client and deal significance.

Connecting personalities

Although Jabbari underlines the business relevance and strategic purpose of all A&O’s social software applications, he also acknowledges the significant benefits to the organisation and everyone working within it of developing a more personalised system and facilitating connectivity between people throughout A&O’s global network. He predicts that the corporate intranet of the future will look a lot more like Facebook. ‘Far-sighted organisations are already working with Web 2.0 technologies because they realise that these represent powerful and intuitive ways to connect people. Firms have to accept that their people no longer want static centralised intranet sites; instead they want presence and participation. Web 2.0 applications are moving swiftly to the enterprise level and, as they begin to offer novel solutions to problems such as cross-border matter collaboration, will change the way lawyers work.’

Jabbari refers to personality as a key factor. ‘Like many big firms, A&O runs offsite events to get partners and associates together and establish good working relationships. In a sense, social networking sites use technology to fulfil the same purpose remotely,’ he says.

A key advantage of online networking is that it enables wider sharing of implicit knowledge or know-how. ‘Before Web 2.0, informal networking would have taken the form of a conversation in a bar or café,’ explains Jabbari. ‘The use of social software transforms this type of interaction, which often involves exchanging tacit knowledge, into searchable content which a firm can retain and build on as part of its collective knowledge resources,’ he adds. Recording this information makes the firm’s collective know-how less reliant on individuals, given another feature of the 21st century legal services environment: the fact that people move between firms more frequently than they did in the past. Client-centric knowledge and know-how that is generated and updated via online connectivity and underpinned by enterprise-wide search capability – brings together knowledge management, business development and IT functions.

According to Jabbari, rather than worrying about ‘treading on each others toes’, each function needs to be able to articulate clearly its core role and purpose. ‘For example, as head of know-how, I need to be interested in technology, but I need to be more interested in the latest legal and market developments that affect the firm’s key practice areas,’ he says. ‘In order to react to commoditisation and other developments in the marketplace, we need to put talent at the centre of how we use our knowledge resources to differentiate ourselves as a firm.’ In Jabbari’s view, this is the key driver that is leading firms to focus their investment on those systems that encourage creativity and intelligence from their lawyers, not turn them into an adjunct to mechanised systems. The starting point is a recognition that law at the top of the market will always be an irreducibly human exercise that resists wholesale commoditisation but that parts of that exercise can of course be transformed by a smarter interaction between humans and technology. It follows, therefore that A&O’s exploration of cutting-edge technology continues apace. In addition to updating and enhancing the firm’s social networking sites and rolling out sophisticated enterprise search capability, Jabbari mysteriously refers to ‘planning another experiment in this area,’ so watch this space.