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FFW Embraces Crowdsourcing With Launch of Legal Wiki

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FFW embraces crowdsourcing with launch of legal wiki
31 March 2011 | By Caroline Butcher

City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has launched its own legal wiki to allow all lawyers within the firm to access and share legal knowhow. Partner Simon Briskman and senior associate Huw Beverley-Smith have developed the internal reference site to embrace the increasingly popular phenomenon of crowdsourcing, which relies on the theory that a group of people will answer a question more comprehensively than an individual. Dubbed internally as „the wiki‟, the result is a shared legal online reference to which all the firm‟s legal professionals, from newly qualified solicitors to senior partners, can contribute legal know-how, commentary and client-specific information. “A number of firms have been exploring wiki technology, but I think we‟re quite unique in using this not just as a blog but also as a collaboration among all of our lawyers,” Briskman said. “We need to move away from the model where no one speaks until they have 20 years‟ experience to a more democratic sharing of information.” FFW launched the wiki site earlier this year and so far it is mainly centred around technology law issues, although Briskman expects it to encompass other areas of the practice over time. “With issues like limitation of liability or the use of indemnities, we can now go beyond textbook definitions,” he said.

Briskman is also aware of the risks of inaccuracies creeping into any wiki-style collaborative reference, and said he was confident lawyers would use their judgement in contributing and using information on the site. “We view all our legal professionals as grown ups,” he said. “We know that if someone is going to make a contribution they‟ll think carefully about what they‟re contributing, and they‟re also grown ups in how they use it. They‟ll know that it‟s very different from going to case law.” The shared site already holds information on 54 subject areas, of which about 50 are related to technology law and the remainder are client details.

Summary City firm Field Fisher Waterhouse (FFW) has launched its own legal wiki to allow all lawyers within the firm to access and share legal know-how.

Description Partner Simon Briskman and senior associate Huw Beverley-Smith have developed the internal reference site to embrace the increasingly popular phenomenon of crowdsourcing, which relies on the theory that a group of people will answer a question more comprehensively than an individual.

Dubbed internally as ‘the wiki’, the result is a shared legal online reference to which all the firm’s legal professionals, from newly qualified solicitors to senior partners, can contribute legal know-how, commentary and client-specific information.

Tags: city firm, Crowdsourcing, FFM, Field Fisher Waterhouse, Huw Beverley-Smith, legal online conference, legal wiki, Simon Briskman

Posted by Adam Frazer

Apr 01, 2011 01:09 am GMT Viewed 1379 times

Author: Caroline Butcher Source

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