Case Study - Global Management Consulting Firm

The Client

Global Management Consulting Firm

Executive Summary

Our client, a major Consulting firm, was supporting one of their large Financial Services clients on a crucial two-year mediation project to avoid mass litigation. This was a highly unusual type of project and as such, very few (if any) legal staffing providers had a track-record of managing something like this. Major, Lindsey & Africa was able to identify a sophisticated panel of 25 high-calibre litigators to nimbly man the project. We have also exclusively managed the legal panel for our client and have effectively been acting as in-house project-management support for them.

The Challenge

Our client was in need of 25 very high-calibre, experienced litigators with Financial Services experience to assist with a major mediation project for one of their biggest clients. They did not have the capacity to interview, hire and on-board this panel of lawyers within their 1 month timeline. They also wanted the flexibility to on-board/off-board these lawyers at short notice based on the ebbs, flows and changing demands of the project.

The Approach

The client reached out to Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Interim Legal team before they had fully begun the project, but after they had most of the basic infrastructure in place. They had also spoken to some Barristers’ Chambers as an alternative option, but realized that no Chambers or even law firm would have 25 experienced litigators to spare for the long duration of this project.

Initially in our conversations, the Interim Legal Consultants approached our client’s challenge from a substance perspective, as opposed to a talent perspective – and figured out what needed to be done in the project (as opposed to how many people were required). We then calculated how many man-hours they would need per week to finish this project within the expected 18-24 months.

After assessing what needed to be done, we assessed the non-negotiables skill-sets they needed candidates to have in order to do the work (e.g., Financial Services experience, top law firm training). We used our knowledge of the market to identify and create a typical profile (or a couple of typical profiles) of candidate with these non-negotiables who would also fall within the client’s price point.

The Solution

With an understanding of the client’s needs, Interim Legal started to identity candidates. After vetting, interviewing and referencing, we sent a select list of candidates to the client. Our client chose a mix of candidates including some who could work part-time (minimum three days per week) and some who would be full-time.

Interim Legal is now monitoring the panel of 25 lawyers to keep track of man-hours and to avoid unexpected gaps in coverage or over-staffing. We’re regularly communicating with our client to receive feedback and make sure quality is never compromised.

The Results

As a result of speaking to the client from an early stage, Interim Legal has been able to shape their whole project from a legal panel perspective and almost integrate into their internal project management team. This has allowed for the most seamless and most efficient experience for the client and candidates.

Our client was able to move quicker on this major project by employing Interim Legal Talent rather than relying on secondees. They were also able to pass over half of the project management of the legal panel to Interim Legal. As such, they have been able to focus on the rest of the project and ensure a timely and high-calibre service to their end client.