In this roundup: money as wiki motivator, Thomson into EDD biz, LexisNexis acquires another software company, and first Canadian-based legal outsourcer.
Wikis and Motivating Lawyers with Money
Jordan Furlong has a great blog post, Money talks, about a law firm that used cash prizes to motivate lawyers and staff a non-Amlaw-200 firm to participate in a wiki. I suspect many a large law KM manager would love to have a sufficient budget to motivate lawyers. It might not take as much as you think. I’ve been surprised what highly compensated lawyers will do for a Starbucks card, dinner gift certificate, or even free lunch.
Thomson Forms Litigation Consulting Unit
Thomson, owner of West, formed an e-discovery consulting business in 2007. Thomson Litigation Consulting will, according to a 4 Feb 2008 press release, add a variety of new capabilities, including technology from Inference Data and Clearwell. “Thomson Litigation Consulting has also integrated the esteemed litigation consulting team from Baker Robbins & Company.”
LexisNexis has already made several EDD acquisitions. It will be interesting to see if West too bulks up.
LexisNexis Continues its Acquisitive Streak
On 5 Feb 2008: LexisNexis acquired Axxia, “a leading provider of back-office and integrated solutions in the mid-law segment in the UK…. The Axxia acquisition is a further step towards LexisNexis’ goal to be a comprehensive solutions business by combining local and global strategic acquisitions with existing content products.”
Legal Services Outsourcing in Canada
Legalwise is a new legal process outsourcing (LPO) company in Canada. Press release on 13 Feb 2008: “Legalwise Outsourcing Inc. today introduced offshore legal outsourcing services to the Canadian market” and indicates it is the first Canadian firm to do so. Joy London and I maintain an LPO list and have not previously come across this (we will add it in the next update). [Note, however, that a a company press release suggests it has been offering services since at least May 2007.]