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– Working with leaders hand-on as quasi-internals to help achieve the desired outcomes.
All of that said, a good consulting firm will not seek to push their product or service, and
won’t try to put your problem into their box; instead, the lead partner will seek to deeply
understand the needs of the firm and its management team, and then craft a process by which
their challenges can be overcome.
3) What You Can Expect
A good consulting firm should always distinguish between a.) the subject/content area of
client’s challenge or goal, and b.) the process by which that challenge is overcome or goal is
realized. The last section dealt with the subject/content area; this section explains why the
process is important and the type of process that a law firm should expect of a consulting firm.
The process by which a consulting firm helps firm management overcome a challenge or
realize a goal is critical for several reasons. First, while firms in similar market positions and of
similar sizes may have similar challenges and goals, each firm is different; a pre-packaged
solution often does not work out of the box. Second, it is highly likely that the firm’s
management, with or without partner consultation, has already thought about an issue and is
calling the consulting firm because the firm is stuck and can’t make progress on the issue. Third,
the consultant’s first rule of engagement is that s/he must do no harm, and proper advice can be
given only once the firm and its challenge are understood fully and deeply.
We distinguish between three types of consulting engagements: a consulting project
around a given set of challenges (perceived or real) or goals, retained advice, and ad hoc
advisory work. We consider these in turn, followed by a note regarding implementation and
related services.
4) Projects-Based Consultancy
Consulting takes various forms, depending on the client’s situation and needs. Our
organisation usually takes on discrete assignments that have multiple stages or
overlapping/parallel elements, and can range from two weeks’ duration to 24 months. With such
large assignments, it is essential to have a clearly defined objective and a detailed project plan
agreed upon in advance with the client, and there will usually be a specified outcome. Most
consulting projects — whether it’s a few meetings with experts or a project lasting 12 months or
longer — usually have the following five broad components:
First, definition and diagnostics: This simply asks the following question: “What’s
going on here?” The purpose of this element is to determine the actual underlying challenge, and
whether this challenge is the same or different from the one perceived by firm management.
Second, this element seeks to fully understand this challenge or, depending on the objective, to
understand the goals that the firm needs to achieve relative to its competition. Third, depending
on the project, this element also seeks to validate assumptions, develop and validate hypotheses,
and to uncover insights that help develop options for a solution to the issue in the steps that
follow.
Depending on what needs to be done, this element may simply take the form of a
structured management interview, though additional assessment work is likely (financial, client,
25
All of that said, a good consulting firm will not seek to push their product or service, and
won’t try to put your problem into their box; instead, the lead partner will seek to deeply
understand the needs of the firm and its management team, and then craft a process by which
their challenges can be overcome.
3) What You Can Expect
A good consulting firm should always distinguish between a.) the subject/content area of
client’s challenge or goal, and b.) the process by which that challenge is overcome or goal is
realized. The last section dealt with the subject/content area; this section explains why the
process is important and the type of process that a law firm should expect of a consulting firm.
The process by which a consulting firm helps firm management overcome a challenge or
realize a goal is critical for several reasons. First, while firms in similar market positions and of
similar sizes may have similar challenges and goals, each firm is different; a pre-packaged
solution often does not work out of the box. Second, it is highly likely that the firm’s
management, with or without partner consultation, has already thought about an issue and is
calling the consulting firm because the firm is stuck and can’t make progress on the issue. Third,
the consultant’s first rule of engagement is that s/he must do no harm, and proper advice can be
given only once the firm and its challenge are understood fully and deeply.
We distinguish between three types of consulting engagements: a consulting project
around a given set of challenges (perceived or real) or goals, retained advice, and ad hoc
advisory work. We consider these in turn, followed by a note regarding implementation and
related services.
4) Projects-Based Consultancy
Consulting takes various forms, depending on the client’s situation and needs. Our
organisation usually takes on discrete assignments that have multiple stages or
overlapping/parallel elements, and can range from two weeks’ duration to 24 months. With such
large assignments, it is essential to have a clearly defined objective and a detailed project plan
agreed upon in advance with the client, and there will usually be a specified outcome. Most
consulting projects — whether it’s a few meetings with experts or a project lasting 12 months or
longer — usually have the following five broad components:
First, definition and diagnostics: This simply asks the following question: “What’s
going on here?” The purpose of this element is to determine the actual underlying challenge, and
whether this challenge is the same or different from the one perceived by firm management.
Second, this element seeks to fully understand this challenge or, depending on the objective, to
understand the goals that the firm needs to achieve relative to its competition. Third, depending
on the project, this element also seeks to validate assumptions, develop and validate hypotheses,
and to uncover insights that help develop options for a solution to the issue in the steps that
follow.
Depending on what needs to be done, this element may simply take the form of a
structured management interview, though additional assessment work is likely (financial, client,
25
