So, what tasks lend themselves well to the application of AI and how should they think about and analyse their work in terms of figuring out what tasks might be appropriate to use AI for.”
Mark’s advice is framed around a Read – Think – Write model, which he describes as a “very high-level model for the way lawyers work”. In simple terms, they read a new statute or case or set of client facts; they then think about their clients’ inter- ests, or the implications of new legislation; and they create some written output.
Dynamics
The knowledge position of lawyers in a firm shifts depending on what they are doing – yes, they are consumers, but it’s also important to recognise they are creators. This can change the dynamics of the relationship between the KM team and their clients – the lawyers within the firm. Knowledge managers must understand this dichotomy to ensure they are provid- ing the right solutions at the right time. Mark says: “It’s quite a complex rela- tionship because there are two different aspects to it. The most obvious one is that the fee earners, the lawyers at the firm, are the clients of KM and the customers. So, you have to create tools that they can use and that they want to use. “There’s a second aspect to the relation- ship between the knowledge team and the fee earners as well. And that is that the fee-earners are really the source of a lot of the content. They’re the subject matter experts who are generating work; they’re generating documents which the knowledge team have to capture and harness and share – the explicit knowledge. Then there is the tacit knowledge – things that are in people’s heads. And that’s often the most useful knowledge, but obviously the most difficult
Mark Ford.
[to harness] because when it’s only in some- one’s head, it’s no use to anybody else.”
First steps
Taking measures to integrate Generative AI into traditional KM techniques doesn’t require big steps. KM has always embraced technology when it can make tasks more efficient and improve user experience – AI, in all its forms, should be no different. For knowledge managers the key is to assess needs and deliver tech solutions that meet those needs and deliver tangible benefits for users.
Friction and dissatisfaction with a technological solution can kill a project before it has begun. Mark says: “Hype is a challenge because with things that are very high-profile, lawyers expect to have it and to have this sort of magic solution because they’ve read about something. Ultimately, the goal is to improve the client experience – that’s really what this is all about. It’s about delivering better service to clients. But we have to be realistic, and you ignore the lawyer experience at your peril.” He goes on to point out: “We’ve all seen examples of ‘The Field of Dreams’ mental- ity – If you build it, they will come – that have not worked. People have got very excited about the technology and assumed that users will embrace it willingly and then they found that’s not the case. It is really important with any tech implemen- tation to bear in mind the principles of change management – to think about the ‘what’s in it for me’ question.” That initial thinking should focus on
28 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
making new technology easy to use; deliv- ering something that fits with existing pro- cesses; not forcing people on to different platforms wherever possible; and making sure that people do not have to radically alter the way they work.
“The goal really is to make all of this as simple and straightforward for the lawyers to use and for the lawyers to share that knowledge,” says Mark. “The tech helps with that, but it doesn’t solve all of the problems, especially on the question of ‘how do I share content?’. It helps with some aspects, but not all of it. “The evolution of the relationship is really from one of support, which is what we traditionally think of KM teams as being. It’s evolving much more into more of a collaborative partnership.”
Starting points
For the move into Generative AI, Mark insists that there is no right or wrong way to apply it. Instead, knowledge managers will need to assess use-cases as they arise.
‘‘
People often judge technology, not just AI, against the mis- taken assumption that humans get it right 100 per cent of the time. – Mark Ford
August-September 2026
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
