Law Consultancy Network

I am a founding member of the Law Consultancy Network - a grouping that brings together a number of highly experienced law firm consultants. Where appropriate colleagues from the Network are also involved as part of a project team, bringing together an extensive set of skills, all very much tailored to the legal sector.

Members

Vicky Ling

A founder member of the Civil Justice Council chaired by the Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, advises firms on quality standard compliance, in particular the LSC Quality Mark and Lexcel. She assists firms in meeting LSC contract requirements and making legal aid profitable. She edited "The Carter Survival Handbook" in 2007.

Margaret Peasegood

An expert in professional practice management and presentation skills, having provided consulting, facilitation, training and coaching services since 1994 to a wide variety of prominent firms in the service professions. She was managing partner of a law firm for 15 years.

Heather Stewart

Advises firms on strategy, strategic marketing, and planning services to deliver both profitability and to meet client needs. She provides management skills training for leaders in firms and has given in-house training to many firms on compliance with the new Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007. Her book, "Excellent Client Service" is published by the Law Society.

Fiona Westwood

Provides both consultancy and coaching to a wide range of professional firms. She is a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s Standards Working Party. The updated version of her book,"Accelerated Best Practice" was published in 2008. Her specialities are strategic development and leadership coaching. Her main focus in both is helping her clients achieve strategic change, as implementation of change is especially difficult for professional service organisations with their complicated ownership structures.

Lis Hughes

Has worked in professional services for over eighteen years during which she has been a Director of Business Development, Marketing and Client Relationship Management for law firms and Chief Executive of Surrey Law Society and South West London Chartered Accountants. With coaching and mentoring skills and a natural ability to engage and enrol people, she has a proven track record of taking strategy into reality and impacting the bottom line. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Law Management Section of The Law Society.

Colin Fitzpatrick

A Chartered Accountant and partner in Grant Thornton for 10 years where he was on the National Legal Business Panel and Business Valuation Panel. Colin is also an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has extensive Forensic Accounting experience.
Since 1998 Colin has been a Partner in FitzPatrickRoyle, through which he services Legal Business clients and undertakes Legal Business consultancy assignments, mainly covering Partnership structures, Mergers and Dissolutions.

Associates

Ian Dodd

An experienced business manager who has worked in a number of industries and professions in the this country and abroad. From agribusiness, transportation and logistics & leisure manufacturing in the UK and Europe to telecommunications in the UK, USA and North Africa Ian's background is in general management and sales & marketing. Six years running a major Chartered Surveying business was an introduction to professional services and the last ten years being a CEO in barristers' chambers and forming a start-up Alternative Business Structure has given Ian a thorough understanding of the legal profession. Latterly Ian has been involved, on a consultancy basis, with a number of barristers' chambers exploring the challenges and opportunities of the LSA and setting up ProcureCos.

Ruth Webber

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, she has provided strategic and operational marketing advice to law firms since the mid nineties when she developed and ran the Marketing Advisory Service for the Law Society of Scotland. She has devised a number of interactive marketing workshops for solicitors, encompassing strategic planning, research, communication skills, networking and branding. More recently Ruth has worked on a joint Law Society of Scotland/Scottish Government initiative in relation to establishing a Scottish centre of Dispute Resolution.

Chris Denington

The Managing Director of Zinc Resourcing, a recruitment and human resources management consultancy based in Chancery Lane, London established in 1999. Zinc works closely with private companies and professional practices across all areas of recruitment and human resources management. Prior to this he had a career in line HR, most recently at Grant Thornton, where he ran the Human Resources division of the Management Consultancy with offices based in London, Manchester and Leeds. At Grant Thornton his role was focussed on implementing HR solutions into clients and potential clients of the firm. Chris has carried out a large number of HR consulting assignments for a wide range of privately owned companies and professional practices, including law firms and barristers chambers.