``PwC & LRC KM Study'' to Be Most Comprehensive Study Ever Conducted Regarding Knowledge Management in the Legal Profession.

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2003

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and Legal Research Center, Inc. (LRC) have commissioned the most comprehensive study ever regarding knowledge management (KM) trends in the worldwide legal profession.

The PwC & LRC KM Study will be conducted by the Legal Technology Institute (LTI) at the University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law. The study was launched this week with the mailing of surveys to a random sampling of more than 30,000 legal professionals around the world, in both corporate and private practice. The results of the study will be released in the second quarter of 2003.

"A common concern among KM professionals is that knowledge management efforts are too focused on technology and not focused enough on people and processes," said Andrew Z. Adkins III, director of the Legal Technology Institute and project director of the PwC & LRC KM Study. "For example, KM professionals in the U.K. have attributed the success of their initiatives to a broader understanding of knowledge management. For the first time, this study will delve into getting hard data about people, roles and responsibilities, and organizational processes."

"We routinely hear from our clients that they fear a failure to develop a knowledge management initiative competitively disadvantages them in the marketplace, but they are not sure whether that fear is based on an accurate perception of what the competition is doing," said Jonathan Bellis, global practice leader for the Law Firm and Law Department Services Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "The PwC & LRC Study will be the definitive benchmarking resource for law firms and law departments in developing strategic and business technology plans. Even if you have no current program, the questions in this study will help guide you to the issues you need to consider in planning a KM initiative."

"Buried deep within the legal workproduct produced by inside and outside counsel -- within the pages of every trial and appellate brief, memorandum, pleading, deposition, letter, e-mail, and spreadsheet residing in computer networks -- a treasure-trove of legal knowledge assets lie hidden," said James Seidl, president of Legal Research Center. "The most significant emerging challenge for legal professionals is how to securely retrieve, share, reuse and manage those legal knowledge assets. The PwC & LRC KM Study will define the state-of-the-art in legal knowledge management today."

Additional sponsors of the PwC & LRC KM Study include CaseSoft, iManage, Inmagic, Merrill Corporation, Tikit and West Group.

For more information about the study, including how you can reserve a copy of the study results, or to obtain a copy of the survey, please go to www.law.ufl.edu/research/KM.

The Law Firm and Law Department Services Group is part of the Global Risk Management Solutions Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers and provides services such as management and technology assistance, and survey and benchmarking data to leading law firms and law departments around the globe. PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwcglobal.com) is the world's largest professional services organization. Drawing on the knowledge and skills of more than 125,000 people in 142 countries, PwC builds relationships by providing services based on quality and integrity. ("PricewaterhouseCoopers" refers to the member firms of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.)

Legal Research Center (www.lrci.com) has been helping corporate law departments and their outside counsel reduce their research costs and efficiently manage their legal knowledge for nearly 25 years. The corporate vision of LRC is to remain the nation's premier provider of outsourced legal research, knowledge management, and compliance e-training services, culturally committed to operational excellence, customer intimacy and product/service innovation. AskFirst(TM), LRC's knowledge management solution, is a Web-based software suite that enables corporate law departments and law firms to securely retrieve, share and reuse their workproduct, regardless of who created it or where it resides.

The Legal Technology Institute was established in 1997 with a mission to provide an innovative forum for improving technology in the legal profession. Andrew Z. Adkins III, director of the Institute, is the author of "The ASP Study: Application Service Providers: An In-Depth Look at the Use of ASPs in the Legal Profession," published in 2001. Adkins is also the co-chair of the LegalTech Conferences and past chair of the ABA Techshow in 2000 and 2001.