Canadian Lawyer

cus of KM was i) getting those who know stuff in one place and then sharing what they know; and ii) connecting those who need to know stuff with curated and docu- mented examples of excellent stuff. So, as Summit leaders, we built Communities of Practice and Knowledge Banks of model and sample precedents. Our priorities were to help lawyers avoid recreating the wheel for each deal or client and to build central- ized digital resources that would replace the shelves of frequently referenced documents that filled our law firm offices. Over the years, we have designed and used a multitude of technologies to create a reli- able, easy-to-use resource that has yielded wildly differing degrees of success in usage. While the technologies are improving all the time, the same human barriers are there: a reluctance to change and a lack of trust in the technology and of true collaborative culture. We still have much work to do outside of the technology bubble. But KM is one of those fields that is con- stantly reinventing itself to remain relevant to today's profession. In my 17 years working in KM, I must have read "KM is dead!" ev- ery few years, leading to shouts of "Long live KM!" in response. The number of us at this year's conference with both KM and inno- vation in our job titles emphasizes the con- tinuing reinvention and growth mentality in our profession. Even the annual conference itself does not escape this reinvention. It has been refreshed and revamped many times under the lead- ership of Oz Benamram, V. Mary Abraham, Ron Friedmann and Lucy Dillon over the 15 or more years for which it's been running. This year, in an effort to pull more exper- tise from each other as well as from vendors, clients and others outside of law firms, a shark tank/TED talk-style afternoon was planned. Shark tank pitches from the pre- senters ranged from chatbot librarians to supersized data solutions that will lead to business, competitive and market intel- ligence and our ability to anticipate legal needs in the future. These new activities are building on our traditional KM systems, pro- cesses and ideas. We in KM are adapting to our innovation-soaked world by figuring out what works, and then building on this tried- and-tested foundation by using innovative technologies, processes and ideas in new and different ways. The speed of technology and innovation in legal has meant that we have been able to distinguish new from traditional in just the past five years, although we're still in the early days of investigating artificial intelli- gence, chatbots, prediction analytics, data visualizations, robotic process automation and smart contracts. Indeed, as Friedmann points out in his blog, "KM remains vibrant and the scope of KM over the last two decades has expanded significantly. Indeed, we believe this evolution shows the power of KM to adapt and seize op- portunities to move the delivery of legal ser- vices forward." This balance of activities between tradi- tional KM and the newer KM and innova- tion activities shows that legal KM contin- ues to adapt to change and remains a vibrant force at our firms. Legal KM is here for the long haul. Kate Simpson is national director of knowledge management at Bennett Jones LLP and is responsible for developing the firm's KM strategy and initiatives. Opinions expressed are her own. es s W R O N G F U L DI S M I S S A L • EM P L O Y M E N T LA W • HU M A N RI G H T S P O S T EM P L O Y M E N T CO M P E T I T I O N • CI V I L LI T I G A T I O N • AP P E L L A T E AD V O C A C Y • DI S A B I L I T Y 82 Scollard Street, Toronto, Canada, M5R 1G2 | Contact Stacey Ball at (416) 921-7997 ext. 225 or srball@82scollard.com www.wrongfuldismissal.ca BALL PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION Excellence in Employment & Labour Law • Counsel in Leading Cases | Author of Leading Treatise • Referrals on behalf of employees and employers respected www.canadianlawyermag.com 13

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