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CCCA_V2No3_Knowledge-FIN.qxd:CCCA_V1No1_DriversSeat-FIN.qxd 9/18/08 1:54 PM Page 25 Feature Jolie Lin Vale Inco Limited, Toronto We don’t need more Googles; what we need is a way to prioritize and analyze and make sense of the information we have at our fingertips. And maybe those kinds of solutions aren't technological at all. I’m quite prepared for the possibility that the next revolution is not going to come from a machine; it’s going to come from creating a more thoughtful work force and giving people the opportunity to be thoughtful. — Malcolm Gladwell, quoted in Globe and Mail Report on Business, October 1, 2007 Photography by Alena Gedeonova system and a matter management system,” he says. Engagement principles During his time at Bell, Jaar who is currently a Montreal-based “A lot of people fall into the trap of thinking that KM is just legal technology consultant, implemented a case management about having a better database and a repository for documents,” system in his legal department to share the knowledge within each says Robert Bell, assistant general counsel and legal knowledge file, link files with each other, and gain speedy access to critical officer at the Royal Bank of Canada. information from any case they’ve handled. As well, all internal But he says it’s really “about how we engage each other, net- documents were saved on the network and given an identifiable working, communities of practice — how we as lawyers relate to matter number, and the document management system automat- each other’s practice areas and share information amongst our- ically collected metadata about the document when it was saved. selves. Some of it can be as simple as having team meetings. It’s The corporate benefits are clear: sharing knowledge and collab- not always about technology.” orating with others reduces redundancy and helps everyone to Bell, who led a two-year “client-first” initiative at Royal Bank, work more efficiently. As well, at a time when many senior saw an opportunity to create a full-time role for himself to main- employees are getting closer to retirement, preserving their accu- tain and expand on the role of KM within the bank, a move that mulated knowledge is becoming a more urgent issue. was supported by his general counsel. Such backup from senior AUTOMNE 2008 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 25