Lawyers and Consultants

The lawyer will show you the lines that must never be crossed lest you violate the law. The consultant will show you the heights that must be attained if you are to manage effectively.

The lawyer will help you to avoid litigation. The consultant will help you to avoid inefficiency, ineffectiveness, and personnel pitfalls.

The lawyer may ignore poor management if it is unlikely to spark legal problems. The consultant will argue that poor management is a cancer that may eventually cause both management and legal problems.

In general, lawyers and consultants work well together. Both groups are risk-adverse. They hate being brought in late to clean up messes that could have been easily prevented had a simple phone call been made.

The organizations that need them the least, use them the most. [That's one reason why they need them the least.] The organizations that need them the most, scoff at the need for their services until a major problem arises.

At that point, they may be wanted not just for advice, but for miracles.