Notes on knowledge management in the Legal and Public Affairs Department of Symantec

Symantec, the $6 billion software company, employs in its Legal and Public Affairs (LPA) Department approximately 150 worldwide, about half of which are attorneys. According to the “European Briefings” supplement to ACC Docket, Dec. 2010 at 11, in 2006 the LPA created an intranet site visible only to its members. “The intranet site includes relevant information about training, key contacts, roles and responsibilities, charters, policies, upcoming events, etc.” I wondered about the “charters.”

Also to promote the circulation of knowledge, the LPA “built a library in SharePoint for electronically sharing key articles, presentations, and other information of interest.” The article makes no mention of a document management system.

Finally, the law department at Symantec hosts internal client-facing websites that provide clients with contact information, “descriptions of programs and agreements, FAQs and training materials.” Together, all these components comprise a robust knowledge management program (See my post of June 9, 2009: SharePoint with 6 references.).