“What’s in it for me?” and the uphill fight to get unidirectional information reporting

In-house lawyers dislike one-way information flows. That is the reason why timely data entry into matter management systems often goes AWOL; lawyers charged with plugging in data perceive that the data only goes one way, up, and returns no benefit to that lawyer. They already know their own information.

The effort to push up data feels bureaucratic, unappreciated, encrusted with traditions long forgotten, without feedback or any personal return (See my post of March 5, 2005: altruistic information sharing.). True, the discipline of gathering data may help a bit, but that weak defense is at least patronizing, if not completely trumped up.

At bottom, the top lawyers need compiled data so the frontline lawyers need to shovel it in – one way.