Ashurst picks up thread of knowledge with IT system

City firm Ashurst Morris Crisp is spinning out easy access to information for its solicitors with a new knowledge management IT system.The set-up - dubbed 'Arachne' after the mythological figure who was turned into a spider by the goddess Athena - was created by legal information specialist company Granite & Comfrey.

It claims it is the first system of its kind in the country.Ashursts introduced the IT regime to speed up access to information, combining its existing know-how system with the latest information management techniques.

Derek Sturdy, managing director of Granite & Comfrey, said it worked with Ashursts to create a system which would 'unlock the value the firm already had in its documents, procedures and processes' by linking existing information with specific tasks undertaken by lawyers when they are working on cases.The firm's solicitors can now instantly call up on screen an index of information related to their cases, including statutory materials, judicial decisions, background information and supporting documentation.The system features a sophisticated range of hyperlinks to relevant documents on the firm's word processing system, and to other materials on the Arachne database.Jeremy Thomas, Ashurst's legal development partner, said the new system has become a key element of the smooth running of the firm's deals.

It is particularly useful for transactions operating in the 'increasingly demanding' European and wider international market.

'We've sought to tie knowledge management to the day-to-day work of our lawyers,' Mr Thomas explained.

'As a result, when an instruction occurs, Ashurst's lawyers have immediate access on their desktops to the relevant legal materials.

With the Arachne system, we're witnessing the weaving together of an increasing firm-wide knowledge stock with external resources, instantly applicable to the work of any lawyer at any time.'Paula Rohan