If you’re ever asked for a church key, don’t assume that the person making the request wants access to a house of worship. They may, in fact, be looking for spiritual assistance of a completely different sort. Are you puzzled? Well, that’s perfectly understandable if you aren’t familiar with this particular idiom.
Idioms of all sorts abound in the work of lawyers, as they do in the work of their IT colleagues. Unfortunately, remarkably few lawyers understand IT idioms and it sometimes appears that fewer IT folks understand lawyers. It’s aggravating that the legal profession, which prizes clear communication, can’t consistently communicate clearly with this other profession — especially given the fact that understanding between these groups is critical to the smooth and profitable running of a law firm.
Both groups need to spend a little time thinking about why communication has proven to be so difficult. I suspect it’s partially due to some insularity and arrogance on the part of both professions. However, there may also be some fundamentally different ways of approaching problems (and life). Law firm knowledge management often finds itself in the DMZ between the two groups. While this is not an unreasonable temporary position, it really doesn’t make sense for this to be a long-term one. Law firm knowledge managers shouldn’t merely be translators. Perhaps we need to be the mediators who promote the long overdue frank conversation between the two groups.
[Photo Credit: Moirabot]
Above and Beyond KM 
As an IT professional for 16 years, a polyglot, and a newly minted lawyer, I agree that the language barrier is problem. The problem is compounded by the silos in both professions. A network specialist, a database administrator, and a web developer will often find it as difficult to talk to each other as to talk to an attorney. An attorney specializing in family law, personal injury, or environmental law will have similar difficulties.Better communication should remain our goal, but there will always be a place for people who can speak to both camps. I still recall a training session I was giving where an AGC at my company did not understand why he should even use the new application. It was not until I used an analogy to relate Wickard v. Filburn to the situation. His activity, viewed in the aggregate, had a substantial impact on the process as a whole. Great article!
Thanks so much, Jeff. You're very fortunate that you've had “immersion” in both languages so that you can speak to both camps. Unfortunately, folks like you are rare. So, the challenge remains for enterprises that don't have similar bilingual staff, how do we improve the communication between IT and lawyers? Is there a way to help each group walk a mile in the other's shoes so that they develop greater empathy? Is there focused training we should provide? There's lots to chew on here.- Mary
Thanks so much, Jeff. You're very fortunate that you've had “immersion” in both languages so that you can speak to both camps. Unfortunately, folks like you are rare. So, the challenge remains for enterprises that don't have similar bilingual staff, how do we improve the communication between IT and lawyers? Is there a way to help each group walk a mile in the other's shoes so that they develop greater empathy? Is there focused training we should provide? There's lots to chew on here.- Mary
It's wonderful to read about a female poet coming of age in this era, especially with Anne Sexton as a mentor for a short while, but so many other poetic luminaries as well. I'm also finding it encouraging to know, being 38 myself, that one can jumpstart her career at this age. Thank you for this inspiring interview, Julie Kane. http://Like-Acer.com write's unique point.It is useful and benefit to your daily life.You can go thosehttp://www.chaneloutletstores.com