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Consultants to the Legal Michael Roch1
Profession
Extended Enterprise and
Professional Services Advisor,
Internal Consulting Group
Hiring a Consultant or Advisor
“Who cannot give good counsel? ’T is cheap, it costs them nothing.” (Robert Burton, Anatomy
of Melancholy, 1621)
Law firm leaders get input, information, ideas, suggestions, and advice from myriad
external sources, including conferences, universities, colleagues of managing partner, information
distribution lists — and the list goes on. Internally, the leaders of the most successful firms often
have good systems in place, good people to run them, and good partners who provide constructive
input regarding how the business should best be run.
With all of this knowledge, expertise, and experience around, why would you wish to
engage with management consultants? It’s a fair question, given the amount of scrutiny (and
sometimes worse) you may expect from colleagues anytime you suggest that your law firm may
need assistance from the outside. This chapter addresses:
1) Why law firms hire consulting firms or consultants in the first place;
2) Subject matter areas for consulting that add value;
3) What to expect from each of the three broad approaches to consulting;
4) What a typical consulting process looks like; and
5) How to hire a consulting firm or consultant (and how not to).
1) Why Law Firms Hire Consulting Firms
Even the largest firms with significant internal resources in finance, human resources,
marketing, business development, knowledge management, and operational management
1 Michael Roch is the Extended Enterprise and Professional Services Advisor at Internal Consulting Group. ICG is an ecosystem of more than
4,500 consultants worldwide. He also serves as Managing Director of allianceboard and as a Partnerships Advisor for Performance Leader. Michael
advises on all aspects of domestic and international strategy, organizational structure and governance, and international mergers and alliances. He
also advises law firms and other professional partnerships on all aspects of their partnership organization, in particular partner remuneration and
profit sharing. Michael’s clients include boards, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, primarily in the professional services, financial services,
energy, and technology sectors, across more than 40 countries in Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. He is a member of the
Academy of Management, the Association of Strategic Alliance Practitioners, and the Managing Partners Forum in London. Qualified as a certified
public accountant and New York attorney, Michael holds a J.D. and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Denver. He started his
consulting career with KPMG in the U.S., followed by 10 years as an international corporate lawyer, most recently with Norton Rose Fulbright
between London and Frankfurt, before returning to the management consulting profession. Michael is fluent in English and German.
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Profession
Extended Enterprise and
Professional Services Advisor,
Internal Consulting Group
Hiring a Consultant or Advisor
“Who cannot give good counsel? ’T is cheap, it costs them nothing.” (Robert Burton, Anatomy
of Melancholy, 1621)
Law firm leaders get input, information, ideas, suggestions, and advice from myriad
external sources, including conferences, universities, colleagues of managing partner, information
distribution lists — and the list goes on. Internally, the leaders of the most successful firms often
have good systems in place, good people to run them, and good partners who provide constructive
input regarding how the business should best be run.
With all of this knowledge, expertise, and experience around, why would you wish to
engage with management consultants? It’s a fair question, given the amount of scrutiny (and
sometimes worse) you may expect from colleagues anytime you suggest that your law firm may
need assistance from the outside. This chapter addresses:
1) Why law firms hire consulting firms or consultants in the first place;
2) Subject matter areas for consulting that add value;
3) What to expect from each of the three broad approaches to consulting;
4) What a typical consulting process looks like; and
5) How to hire a consulting firm or consultant (and how not to).
1) Why Law Firms Hire Consulting Firms
Even the largest firms with significant internal resources in finance, human resources,
marketing, business development, knowledge management, and operational management
1 Michael Roch is the Extended Enterprise and Professional Services Advisor at Internal Consulting Group. ICG is an ecosystem of more than
4,500 consultants worldwide. He also serves as Managing Director of allianceboard and as a Partnerships Advisor for Performance Leader. Michael
advises on all aspects of domestic and international strategy, organizational structure and governance, and international mergers and alliances. He
also advises law firms and other professional partnerships on all aspects of their partnership organization, in particular partner remuneration and
profit sharing. Michael’s clients include boards, joint ventures, and strategic alliances, primarily in the professional services, financial services,
energy, and technology sectors, across more than 40 countries in Europe, North America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. He is a member of the
Academy of Management, the Association of Strategic Alliance Practitioners, and the Managing Partners Forum in London. Qualified as a certified
public accountant and New York attorney, Michael holds a J.D. and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Denver. He started his
consulting career with KPMG in the U.S., followed by 10 years as an international corporate lawyer, most recently with Norton Rose Fulbright
between London and Frankfurt, before returning to the management consulting profession. Michael is fluent in English and German.
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