Digital law – a law firm perspective on information retrieval
David Eriksson
Information Technology has changed the way lawyers retrieve information. What has been significant in legal IR in the past, what is significant at present and what can we expect in the future?
The corporate world lags many years behind the online consumer industry in terms of using and reusing digital information creatively. However, things are starting to change.
How are law firms affected by trends such as digitalisation of legal information, commodisation, e-matter management, integration of systems, convergence, globalisation and rise of mega firms, traceability of lawer’s legal research and behaviours, social networking, collaboration tools, enterprise search and information layers, categorisation, konceptualistation, a higher overall tempo and client demand?
Large law firms have millions of documents and numerous databases that help to store the intellectual capital of the firms. How does information retrieval work within the firms most important information asset – the firm itself?
What challenges and opportunities are involved for law firms when it comes to their own information and what demands do they place on public and private organisations that provide legal information?
