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CCCA_V2No3_Knowledge-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 9/18/08 1:54 PM Page 24 Feature Robert Bell Assistant General Counsel and Legal Knowledge Officer Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto What do you edge within a corporation can know? Knowledge management isn’t just for law firms. Harnessing the vast amounts of knowl- save the legal department time and money — if you do it right. By Ann Macaulay anaging knowledge within a large company is a mas- organization know, in order to store it and—more importantly— sive, complex undertaking, requiring a combination access it as needed. Converting the subjective knowledge that peo- Mof technology, organizational skills, and the ability to ple have in their heads to objective knowledge that can be shared engage a workforce — no small task in any organization. But by everyone requires upfront work for employees to input and man- those who head internal KM initiatives say in-house lawyers are age the information, but it can save time and money in the long run. often ideally placed to lead a knowledge management initiative within their own legal department, and potentially throughout Sharing and collaborating the entire organization. While in private practice at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Dominic The legal world has followed the KM trend for some time, but Jaar read a great deal about knowledge management practices and outside law firms have been at the forefront — while some corpo- applied them within his firm. When he joined Bell Canada as in- rations have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon, many are still fig- house counsel more than three years ago, he found everyone there uring out the best ways to leverage KM’s potential, and others are managing their own information and no one sharing documents. just beginning to realize what it could do if they actually tried it. “I told them I couldn’t work with the way they were working, KM focuses on identifying and capturing what people within an and they tasked me with putting in place a document management 24 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association FALL 2008