KM Legal 2022 returns as an in-person event: 6 key sessions on this year's agenda

    CHICAGO, IL, September 22, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The two-day KM Legal 2022 will take place October 27-28 at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park and will feature four themes:

• Implement change management: People, process, and technology
• Understand the value of data management
• Join the post-pandemic knowledge management conversation
• Review the knowledge management landscape

More than 25 industry experts will speak during the conference, which is co-chaired by Patrick DiDomenico, founder, InspireKM Consulting, and Joshua Fireman, founder, managing director, Fireman & Company. Here's a look at select sessions:

Keynote address with Zach Abramowitz on driving change
Abramowitz, principal, Killer Whale Strategies, and an investor in disruptive legal startups, will address driving change with effective storytelling, better products, and meaningful KPIs. During his presentation, he'll explain how to:

• Use tactical empathy to better understand lawyers' reluctance to change and take away a framework to apply to your organization
• Identify key factors to drive change in a change resistant audience
• Apply storytelling, product, and KPIs as levers to drive change among law firms

In addition to his work with Killer Whale Strategies, Abramowitz writes longform essays for Legal Evolution, publishes webinars twice monthly, and maintains an active newsletter on legal technology startups. He's an NYU Law trained attorney who practices as an M&A associate at Schulte Roth & Zabel before leaving to launch a startup.

Panel discussion: The failure of traditional change management tactics

Join an expert panel for a discussion that explores the top impediments to change in a law firm and how to address them.

Panelists will include Kieron Champion, partner, Fireman & Company; Robin Porter, head of practice innovation & change management, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP; Andrea Alliston, partner, knowledge & practice innovation, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP; and Amanda Gudis Stuart, client value lawyer, special projects, Shearman & Sterling LLP.

The discussion will include:

• Evaluation of a firms' need for a change management office and how to co-exist with professional development and training
• Different strategies and tactics for successfully adopted KM initiatives
• A description of a modern change management playbook
• Evaluation of techniques to increase people's engagement and accelerate adoption

A review of the KM landscape

A four-person panel will look at the current knowledge management landscape. They'll compare KM team structures in different law firms and how innovation, operations, and knowledge management can collaborate instead of compete with one another. They'll also identify initiatives to support diversity, equity, and inclusion and explain how to demonstrate value through metrics, reducing costs, and ensuring growth.

The panelists will include Kate Simpson, chief knowledge officer, Bennett Jones LLP; Hunter Jackson, chief knowledge officer, McDermott Will & Emery; Anne Falvey, chief knowledge officer, Sidley Austin LLP; and Patrick Dundas, knowledge management special counsel, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP.

A fireside chat on client conversations and expectations

Amani Smathers, senior practice innovation specialist, Chapman & Cutler; Brenna DeVaney, chief pro bono office, Skadden , and Caroline Manley, executive director, Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL), will discuss how your KM strategy and tools can support your pro-bono strategy, how clients can use data effectively in access to justice cases, and how KM can support client's expectations about level of service, budgeting, and diversity, equity & inclusion efforts.

A session on how to connect data to boost efficiency and productivity

Learn how APIs connect data from one place to another during this presentation with Tim Fox, director of practice intelligence and analytics, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.;Keli Whitnell, senior experience database manager, Troutman, and Emily Cunningham Rushing, director of competitive intelligence , Haynes and Boone, LLP. They'll discuss third-party data users and what firms do when there is a lack of data. The panel will also examine what is behind dashboards creation to better visualize data.
 
A look at trends and what the future holds

A panel will discuss the latest law firm knowledge management trends and opportunities for growth. Panelists (to be announced) will offer their predictions for what is in the future for knowledge management professionals considering the evolution of the practice and will identify what knowledge, skills, and capabilities a lawyer will need to be prepared for the future. Ken Crutchfield, vice president & general manager of legal markets, Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory, U.S., will moderate the session.
 
KM Legal 2022 will take place October 27-28 at the Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park. Click here to see the full agenda, roster of speakers, and registration information.

ABOUT ARK GROUP
Founded originally as a B2B publishing and events company, ARK Group now focuses solely on consistently delivering top-quality virtual and in-person events. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, ARK Group operates alongside its counterparts, RISE (health care) and FRA (finance and law enforcement) which serve their industries in a similar capacity. All three brands are part of Wilmington plc.

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