Last fall I wrote about an effort to form a new national knowledge management group. The group now exists as the KM peer network of the International Legal Technology Association (ITLA). 

Here is the ILTA announcement circulated late last week:

“We are happy to announce our new KM Peer Group, a topical peer group established to focus specifically on legal knowledge management. Though informal regional groups meet in major metropolitan areas such as DC, NYC, LA and Toronto, no other formally organized group exists to support legal KM professionals.

Many colleagues, particularly those in areas with no regional legal KM groups, felt there was a need to connect with other like-minded professionals in order to learn from, and network with, each other. For those firms that have not yet established a full-time KM role, a “national” KM group could also provide a forum to learn more about legal KM and how to apply it within their firms.

Goals & Benefits
So what is the KM Peer Group’s mission and what are our goals this year? One of our first goals is to create an understanding of KM as it relates to the legal environment. KM encompasses all aspects of knowledge within organizations through the analysis of business processes including: knowledge creation, documentation, codification, sharing, and how these activities promote innovation, learning, effectiveness, and profitability. Examples of knowledge repositories in law firms include: libraries of model and sample documents and information about the expertise and experience of attorneys and practice groups; and profiles of matters, clients and industries. These repositories typically require a strong cultural, business process, and technological support infrastructures.

With this in mind we hope to offer:

  • Educational programs – to provide learning and training opportunities throughout the year including case studies and vendor demos
  • Networking opportunities – to allow members to learn from each other, whether they are seasoned KM professionals or just getting started
  • Meeting at ILTA&’s Annual Conference – to facilitate an understanding of KM information resources and how to incorporate information resources into work processes
  • Directory of members and a listserv with archives – to allow members to participate in discussions and stay in touch between webinars and the annual meeting
  • Articles in ILTA’s publications – to provide information to a wide audience on an array of KM topics, ranging from primers to more in-depth themes.

As we are getting underway, the steering committee would appreciate feedback from all members and disciplines. I encourage you to contact me or anyone on the committee with ideas and questions. Subscribe (or have the KM specialists in your firm subscribe) to our listserv from http://lists.iltanet.org/read/all_forums/subscribe?name=ilta-km

Stay tuned for more details in the coming months – we look forward to an exciting year!

/s/ [The Steering Committee – see below]”

To the best of my knowledge, the the listserv is available only to ILTA members. Here are the steering committee members:
-Catherine Monte, Peer Group VP, Fox Rothschild (contact: cmonte at foxrothschild com)
-Nina Platt, Faegre & Benson
-Nola Van Huy, Alston & Bird
-Chris Boyd, Wilson Sonsini
-Lisa Kellar, Hunton & Williams
-Janis Croft, Nixon Peabody
-Dave Hambourger, Winston & Strawn
-John Szekeres, Cleary Gottlieb

Update (2/21/06): 1. FAQ about peer group now available. 2. The KM listserv is for ILTA members only.