How to use current awareness technology to gain a competitive advantage

Explore how current awareness can inform strategic decisions

Investigate the positive impact of marketing and speaking opportunities

Uncover how the library and information department can deliver services directly to clients

We explore how different aspects of current awareness can help you strengthen your competitive advantage and take a practical view of how technology can help you get there. The five sections - current awareness possibilities, informing strategic decisions, marketing and speaking opportunities, the future of client service delivery, sustainability and its impact on competitive advantage - are key areas of interest to the legal information professional.

It is important for library and information professionals to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in technology and automated processes. Consider how you can use these to improve and enhance your work. As the pace of technology development and adoption accelerates in the legal profession, the multifaceted role of the legal information professional will accelerate along with it.

Librarians are experts in traditional information management skills but you are masters of the increasing range of technologies available to your organizations. And that will put you ahead of the competition.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you don’t think about your next service offering or anticipate what your clients will need in the future, then you are going to miss out on valuable opportunities. You need to pick up on trends, threats, and opportunities. A law firm doesn’t necessarily need or want to employ futurists, but as trusted advisors to their clients, they are expected to have a certain level of foresight - they need to look up once in a while and see what is happening. Clients face an ever-evolving business, socio-economic, and legal landscape, so they need their legal advisors to be prepared for any eventuality. At this point, your end users and clients need you - the library and information professional - to start the process of identifying and acting on emerging innovation. Set up your alerts, go to conferences and talk to vendors.

Technology is the enabling structure for legal professionals to assist their clients. You have a responsibility to work with your organization to identify, assess, and implement new technology. There are many reasons why legal tech/innovation departments sit comfortably within the IM/KM function, for example, tech expertise, trend spotting, and influencing the information strategy.

Clients are exerting pressure on their law firms to cut costs and time wherever possible. Every new technological adaptation, organizational restructuring, and significant process improvements can mean millions of dollars in costs to the top-tier clients.

Clients indicate they want their firms to have competency in legal technologies, including artificial intelligence. Everyone is saying tech competency is essential to win and maintain clients. If a law firm has invested in tech, and they win clients due to their improved processes, then clearly they can demonstrate solid ROI on both information/knowledge management and legal tech.