Knowledge maturity helps you scale to new heights
Laura Wenzel, global marketing and insights director at iManage, shines a light on how knowledge work maturity shapes AI returns — and shares steps for cultivating collective intelligence that drives business outcomes
As the legal sector undergoes a digital transformation spearheaded by fast-evolving AI technologies, the knowledge function has shifted from being a supporting act to key player, says Laura Wenzel, global marketing and insights director at iManage. According to the company’s 2026 Knowledge Work Benchmarking Report — which surveyed 3,000 decision makers in professional service firms, including legal, across 26 countries — knowledge work maturity correlates with better business outcomes and stronger AI returns.
Although larger law firms are more likely to have a dedicated knowledge management function, firms of all sizes can unlock information capital that drives such long-term success, believes Wenzel. It’s less about the size of an organisation, and more about a firm’s ability to blend technology, culture, process and people together in a way that democratises knowledge.
What’s more is that, notwithstanding size or expertise, the research found that AI is amplifying gaps that firms may not have been aware of before using the technology: “It’s the low-hanging fruit — barriers to adoption like how well end users are able to communicate and collaborate, and if they have an approach to managing and governing their collective intelligence.”
Regardless of size or skillset, the research also unearthed the fact that firms that invest in organising their knowledge are exhibiting better business outcomes and a wider breadth of use cases they can leverage when it comes to AI. It makes clear that knowledge maturity creates competitive differentiation and AI is levelling the playing field by bringing SME firms capabilities that will allow them to compete with large firms.
But, for all the strategic advantages of well-managed intelligence, Wenzel says that the knowledge function has traditionally been less of a priority. In many cases, it still is, she adds: “Lifecycle governance can be a particular pinch point. Having end users be responsible for filling out metadata fields, manually dispose of information and decide on the retention policy can be a challenge — it’s just not part of their expertise.”
However, failing to do so results in data duplication and fragmentation which AI magnifies — when end users prompt, AI gets lost in the mountain of redundant or irrelevant information, which exposes an organisation to the risks of sharing the wrong information and hallucinations.
Plus, Wenzel adds that: “Without solid knowledge management, organisations have conducted various pilots with AI, and they’re not able to show an ROI. This goes beyond quantitative ROI — it’s about asking key questions like: am I really getting the business outcomes I’m expecting? Are my end users happy? Are they getting the outcomes they’re expecting? More often than not, the answer is no.”
The report’s data reinforces this, she says — adding that organisations that build a single repository of information, embedded with security and governance, see greater gains when using transformative technologies.
Journey to smarter knowledge management
The time for law firms to embrace knowledge maturity is now, says Wenzel. This starts with creating a single bank of information, embedding versioning control and getting the governance piece right — systematically applying access control and secure collaboration. “Having that foundation in place means firms are better placed to insulate themselves from the risk, especially as AI evolves rapidly.
She explains that the journey to knowledge maturity is fundamentally data-driven, and requires firms to remove data silos and fragmentation, and enhance collaboration — including using technology, like document management systems to enable this both internally, as well as support better communication with external stakeholders.
The governance piece is also paramount to knowledge maturity, emphasises Wenzel: “Before investing in advanced technologies, like shared portals with your clients, you need to make sure you’ve got good practices across the firm — including clarity around who can access certain documents and where the latest version is stored. Otherwise, there’s a risk that a client or stakeholder could have access to information they shouldn’t, which could be catastrophic.”
This knowledge foundation will quickly pay dividends, particularly when law firms begin pursuing more transformative technologies like AI, something SME firms have already set their sights on — according to the latest Briefing Frontiers report.
“This will help your firm access and reuse your organisation’s best work — which is built on a culture where collaboration is rewarded and knowledge sharing is encouraged. The most mature organisations have made the investment in technologies and tools that make that collaboration and information accessibility easy,” says Wenzel — perks that will likely result in greater profitability and stronger service delivery and customer retention.
Looking ahead, Wenzel adds that knowledge maturity will become the key differentiator between successful and struggling firms — particularly as firms begin to look at implementing AI in the practice and business of law. “As we exit 2026, the focus will be on how to operationalise AI — and that will subsequently highlight the need to invest in knowledge management. Firms that focus on building that knowledge maturity will also create a competitive advantage for themselves because it’ll enable them to access and reuse their best work — in a sense, they’re creating their own IP,” says Wenzel. “This may seem like a huge project, but you don’t have to boil the ocean in one go, you can take things gradually — but you have to start this now.”
To read the full Knowledge Work Benchmarking Report, visit imanage.com
