ILTA White Papers

www.iltanet.org AARs focus on performance, not personalities. format can be repeated over and over for any matter in a law firm. An AAR should be used when both good and bad things occur in a matter and, frankly, shouldn't only take place upon the matter debrief. Rather, AARs should be conducted throughout, as they allow the participants to learn immediately from the successes and failures that came to light in the AAR. In addition, AARs are not a critique, an occasion to air dirty laundry or an opportunity to embarrass your teammates. They are an opportunity to systematically and conscientiously dissect a matter so that you can learn from the successes and failures. AARs focus on performance, not personalities. They should involve all the participants in the discussion, if possible, including the administrative staff. If it is not practical to involve all of the participants, then at least the key players must participate. AARs at the firm can even include clients, though I would suggest that instead of including the client in the AAR, have the responsible attorney advise the client of the outcome of the AAR in a client briefing. In addition, the questions asked at the AAR should be open-ended in order to solicit the best knowledge- sharing. The review should be related to specific standards in order to determine strengths and weaknesses. And the AAR should be viewed as a means of ascertaining where the attorneys need extra training and then, working with practice management or professional development, ensure that they get that necessary training. 68 ILTA White Paper How Do You Conduct an AAR? First, decide whether you want to conduct an informal or formal AAR. My suggestion is that when the matter is still ongoing and the matter team is still moving fast and furiously, that the informal format be used. At the end of the matter, for the matter debrief, go through a formal AAR. The difference between an informal and formal AAR is mostly in the logistics. An informal AAR can take place spontaneously, "on the spot," in any setting, and is conducted by the internal members of the matter team. They take less time, use only simple training aids, if any, and are held only when needed. Conversely, a formal AAR is scheduled in advance, takes more time, involves more complex training aids and, most important, is facilitated by an objective outsider — someone not on the matter team. This might be a key area where a knowledge management attorney can contribute to the matter debrief. The primary purpose of this facilitator is to seek maximum participation at the AAR — ask the open-ended questions, maintain focus on the issue, continually review points and ensure that the key points are recorded. The facilitator must draw out and include all of the participants in the AAR, urge honesty and guide the discussion. AARs are not a free-for-all; they have rules — the primary rule being that people are professional and respectful, listening to what others have to say. All comments and criticisms are valuable. The secretary's opinion about the matter intake process is as valuable

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