Throw Back Thursday: Remember A Function Called "The Law Library"?

Photo: OfficeMuseum.com

"A spirited debate about the value of law-firm librarians in an age when much information is available online. "I'd hire a law librarian … if I could afford one," said one commenter. "My sixteen-year-old daughter maintains my library," wrote another."

Good Morning Folks,

Of course you remember the law library because you still have one (at least for now). 

Legal business is on a journey to being much more information-led than it has ever been. But the libraries of most law firms aren't much different than the one in the above photo that was snapped in 1898 at Buchanan & Lawyer, Albany, NY, a law firm formed in 1897 by  Charles Jay Buchanan and George Lawyer (a lawyer whose last name is lawyer, yes you read that right).

Now more than a century later law firm libraries are just beginning to change face. Perhaps driven by a century's worth of increase in the cost of AAA prime downtown space firms are leasing to house floors of printed archives that are now retrievable online.

As a result, law firms have (re)imagined changes that truly have transformed the way they operate.

There was an interesting question asked on Twitter recently by Patrick DiDomenico (apparently preparing for an ITLA presentation on the topic.) At first blush, it seemed to be phrased a bit on the negative side, but it really is something that those of us in law firm libraries do need to ask from time to time. "Tell me what's wrong with law firm libraries today." 

Greg Lambert at 3 Geeks and a Law blog addressed the question: "This is more about addressing what is wrong, while also addressing what is right in law firm libraries today. After batting the question around with some of my law library and law firm administrative colleagues, we thought that this question could be asked of any of the law firm administrative departments. The Library and the Knowledge Management (KM) groups are probably the most venerable to this issue, but all departments, including IT, Marketing, Accounting, Human Resources, Records, and others are under constant scrutiny from law firm leadership to prove our worth to the firm. If we aren't challenged, we become complacent. If we come complacent, we fail to see those changes we need to make until it is too late." Lambert continues:

We are still debating formats within the library and keeping outdated formats in support of a minority of attorneys (example: formats now include print, e-books, online, databases, and on-demand… each with its own individual cost and demands from individuals within the firm.)

• Law Firms have not decided how to bring the law library into the modern day structure of a 21st Century firm
• The primary demands on librarians are to keep costs low, client costs low, and to watch out for the firm’s best interest
• Librarians are not given the final word on what to buy and what to keep (that causes problems with the previous point)
• Librarians tend to be the first to feel the cuts when times are bad, and last to feel the benefits when times are good

Lambert opines on the bright side of the law library:

• Librarians are constantly looking out for the best interest of the firm
• Librarians have kept very good control on overall costs (most libraries are less than 2% of revenue, some are less than 1%)
• Librarians keep costs down to the client (usually by assisting attorneys that forget about those costs until they see it on the bill and have to write it off.)
• Librarians are constantly looking for less expensive, or better resources that fit the needs of the firm’s practices.
• Librarians are extremely good at risk analysis for the firm and help save the firm from itself (costs, copyright, access, correct resources, etc.)
• Librarians share their experiences with each other. Most librarians do not have to trail blaze into a new product or mission or strategy, as we can stand on the shoulders of others that have tested the waters before and are willing to share those experiences (without exposing anything confidential, of course.)

Law librarians are "information and research professionals in an era when finding essential information is more important than ever," according to a recent ABAJournal.com article written by Patrick Lamb, '82, founder of the Valorem Law Group in Chicago. "Associates, who do most of the research in law firms, are not research or information professionals. … When you live in a value-fee world, someone who finds the right information efficiently is really valuable."

The article prompted a spirited debate about the value of law-firm librarians in an age when much information is available online. "I'd hire a law librarian … if I could afford one," said one commenter. "My sixteen-year-old daughter maintains my library," wrote another.

Joyce Manna Janto, president of the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and deputy director of the University of Richmond School of Law Library, points out that the value of lawfirm librarians shouldn't be in doubt.

As a young associate at Harness, Dickey & Pierce, Jennifer Selby leveraged her understanding of the value of the firm's librarian to get ahead in her job.

"At HDP, which was a medium-sized patent firm then, there was one librarian and no support staff," recalls Selby, now a senior associate librarian at Michigan Law. "What some of the summer associates quickly learned (and I also took advantage of as a young associate) was that the librarian was a treasure trove of helpful information. Many times, she helped me craft effective searches for expensive online databases—like Lexis or Westlaw—saving me from looking bad by racking up too much in online searching costs."

The firm's librarian also helped Selby navigate the paper collection and "pointed me in the direction of a more obscure treatise, journal series, or looseleaf service that helped me find the answer to an obscure legal question."

Selby knows, though, that not all associates, or even partners, at firms are willing to go to the firm librarian for assistance. "I knew that others in my same position were not availing themselves of her expertise, either out of ignorance or really arrogance."

The new norm in law is creating new conditions and trends in law libraries. One is the importance of people – or more specifically, people with the right skills and attitude to add value to the firm. For those employees, law firms are giving new importance to their talent acquisition and retention strategies.

New conditions and trends in library services:

• Reduced budgets and lower cost recovery.
• Significant increase in resources expense.
• Subscription cancellations that once seemed implausible.
• Rebalancing of collection with greater focus on reducing content duplication.
• More centralization of services.
• Continued movement toward virtual libraries.
• Increase in outsourcing.
• New conditions and trends for law librarians—more than legal research:
• Knowledge Management (KM) is becoming increasingly important as firms look to leverage skills and capture learnings that can be applied to other situations.
• Competitive Intelligence (CI) is a hot area as demand for legal services remains relatively flat, increasing competitive pressure on law firms.
• Along with CI, librarians are being asked to conduct market research and provide other support to the firm’s marketing and business development staff.

The trends and traits mentioned above align with the priorities of most law firms today:

• Greater emphasis on marketing, with more effective use of data and insights gleaned from market research and Competitive Intelligence research and analysis.
• Research training and coaching for lawyers to enable them to do their own research as needed, when needed.
• Eliminating more print and moving more information online, in the cloud, to enable virtual access and availability.
• Expanding Knowledge Management throughout the firm, rather than isolated within offices or practice areas.

So, what's wrong with today's law firm libraries? It's a question you have to answer and supplement with what's right. If you don't, someone else will come in and answer it for you, and they will not be nearly as aggressive on defending what the law firm libraries are doing well.

Thanks to Patrick for asking the question; to Greg Lambert for answering it, as well as to Lac-Group, Patrick Lamb (ABA Journal), and to the University of Michigan Law School for their help in preparing this post— and most importantly to you, for listening.

These are sure to be a hot topics next week at the Association of Legal Administrator's (ALA) annual Conference and Expo, (May 19th - 22nd Toronto). To learn more about how FSO (re)imagines the ways Legal Services are delivered, visit booths 631 & 633 on the ALA Expo Floor.

Have a GREAT Day and Love Life!

 

Mitchell D. Weiner
Chief Happiness Officer

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