Page 46 - Legal Leaders 2018 Master Copy - 9
P. 46
A Final Word on Consultancy
A statement of the blindingly obvious is that no law firm should seek to spend money
unnecessarily on engaging outside consultants. Some larger firms have dedicated internal
resources in order to help them find most answers for themselves. On the other hand, many firms
labour on, making unnecessary mistakes and missing opportunities because the MP or some of
the senior partners have a jaundiced view of consultants. When clients have had poor
experiences with consultants, this is so often for one fundamental reason: usually it turns out that
the client and consultancy didn’t work hard enough to clearly spell out expectations, outcomes,
and value-add the work was to achieve at the outset of the engagement. Sometimes, of course,
insufficient expertise by the consultancy of the subject matter, knowledge of the legal sector, or
an understanding of how professional partnerships work is also to blame.
Faced with a real problem impacting competitive capability that is beyond the ability,
experience, and resources of the firm to resolve in-house, the timely involvement of a properly
selected consultancy can produce huge value, open up possibilities that were closed, and increase
the satisfaction and sense of purpose of the partnership. Not to overstate the case, but having the
right people on your side can even help ensure survival in the most intensely competitive
markets we have ever experienced.
32
A statement of the blindingly obvious is that no law firm should seek to spend money
unnecessarily on engaging outside consultants. Some larger firms have dedicated internal
resources in order to help them find most answers for themselves. On the other hand, many firms
labour on, making unnecessary mistakes and missing opportunities because the MP or some of
the senior partners have a jaundiced view of consultants. When clients have had poor
experiences with consultants, this is so often for one fundamental reason: usually it turns out that
the client and consultancy didn’t work hard enough to clearly spell out expectations, outcomes,
and value-add the work was to achieve at the outset of the engagement. Sometimes, of course,
insufficient expertise by the consultancy of the subject matter, knowledge of the legal sector, or
an understanding of how professional partnerships work is also to blame.
Faced with a real problem impacting competitive capability that is beyond the ability,
experience, and resources of the firm to resolve in-house, the timely involvement of a properly
selected consultancy can produce huge value, open up possibilities that were closed, and increase
the satisfaction and sense of purpose of the partnership. Not to overstate the case, but having the
right people on your side can even help ensure survival in the most intensely competitive
markets we have ever experienced.
32
