Straight Talk About Legal Consultants

It also could mean you are looking for Altman Weil, Inc whose tagline is… "The leader in legal consulting." They are in the top 10 free results on Google for the term "legal consultants." (And here again, I reinforce the value of law firm Internet marketing.)

I certainly would not take issue with Altman Weil, Inc.'s claim, as they probably do have more law firm consulting business than any other marketing/management consultants serving the legal profession.

Their law firm consulting deals mostly with large and medium size firms with complex issues - as opposed to working with individuals who are inside a medium or large firm, and may want individual or confidential personalized work.

If you can afford Altman Weil, Inc.'s fees, you probably need their services. I assume you then have a very complex legal business that is probably outside many of my areas of competence, as well as that of most legal consultants currently in the marketplace. Altman Weil, Inc. will take good care of you I am certain.

• If you have 100 or fewer partners or attorneys, you probably don't need Altman Weil, Inc. although you might still use them at least at some point.

• If you have below 20 partners or attorneys, you probably don't need Altman Weil, Inc. However, I would go to their website and review their free articles, which are at least interesting.

• If you are a solo or small firm of fewer than 10 attorneys, you almost certainly do not need Altman Weil, Inc.'s law firm consulting services.

So What Do You Need To Pay Attention To When Selecting Legal Consultants?

Here is my list:

1. Someone who really listens to you as well as listens to you "between the lines" - what you are not saying as well as what you are saying. You know they listen to you because they clearly reflect back to you what you have said. Skilled legal consultants talk much, much less than you do, much of the time.

2. You have reason to believe you will get objective advice from this person, as opposed to him or her having "the" solution that seems to fit for everyone. Legal consultants understand (like a lawyer does) their fiduciary responsibility to you.

3. The person is willing to challenge your thinking and take issue with what you are saying when appropriate. They don't mind telling you what to do, when well-timed and relevant.

4. The legal consultants are teaching you to fish instead of doing the fishing for you, if it is in the law practice management or attorney marketing arenas. They will at least make you a better educated consumer, if they are not teaching you to fish.

5. Someone who does not mind saying "I don't know" when appropriate.

6. Someone whose experience has been across a number of practices so they can give you advice based on what has worked and not worked in a broad range of other settings.

7. Someone who intends to have a long-term relationship with you - not just a "project" relationship.

8. Legal consultants who focus on your goals instead of the consultant's goals, as well as a focus on achieving measurable results. They have metrics that enable you to measure where you are now and the progress to where you want to be.

9. What is their money-back guarantee to you? A law firm consulting group that is confident of their solutions will give you an extremely generous guarantee or they won't take you on as a client.

10. Do they have references you can check with about their competence?

11. Legal consultants' fees need to be clear. It is really wonderful if fees can be contingent on outcomes (and that is hard to do sometimes).

12. Remember that big firms tend to use standardized approaches while smaller firms tend to focus on custom work in the law firm management or law firm marketing consulting world.

13. You probably want your legal consultant to have a minimum of 10 to 15 years experience in their discipline and probably a graduate degree in their discipline.

I am reminded of another quote I like:

"In business for yourself, not by yourself."
-- William James

William James was an American Philosopher and Psychologist in the late 1800s – and what he believed then is true now. You certainly can't master it all yourself these days. So don't be by yourself in your business today. Good legal consultants can benefit your practice, for sure.

Stay with me and read on to learn how the right law firm management practices will make your practice thrive while they reduce your work hours.

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