Page 42 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (q)
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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, process,
culture, talent, etc.). Even our best-structured assessment tools need to be tailored to each law firm
in order to accommodate its unique features, and often to accommodate the lack of sound
management information that goes beyond basic financial data.
27
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, process,
culture, talent, etc.). Even our best-structured assessment tools need to be tailored to each law firm
in order to accommodate its unique features, and often to accommodate the lack of sound
management information that goes beyond basic financial data.
27
