Very few law firms have yet to consider a knowledge management (KM) initiative. Some firms remain sceptical and are holding back resources until greater experience and consistent positive results are available. Many firms have already dipped their toe in the water and have invested, to various degrees, in KM. A few firms have been through a generational evolution of their KM initiatives, with some of these firms quietly reaping the benefits from knowledge programmes with little publicity for fear of losing their current competitive advantage; a number of firms are publicly enthusing about their success.
Those firms gaining a positive return from KM have directed their approach by linking it to their business strategy. How to openly link KM initiatives to business strategy, without being seen as only paying lip-service to the alignment can be difficult and lessons can be learned from those who have benefited from such an exercise.
