When to Bring in Outside Help: The Value of Consultants in Your GenAI Journey

Before asking when to bring in help, you have to understand why so many legal innovation projects fall short,” Floor pointed out.

Mark laid out four common failure modes:

1. Projects that never should have started – FOMO-fueled GenAI experiments with no business case, unclear ownership, or strategic value
2. Projects that stall mid-flight – Victims of shifting priorities, poor resourcing, or lack of decision-making power
3. Projects that launch but don't land – Tools nobody uses, built for problems no one truly felt
4. Projects that succeed, but at excessive cost – Where the ROI is questionable because of delays and inefficiencies

Recognizing which failure mode you're most at risk for is the first step. Because the value of an external partner depends on where you're likely to stumble.

Mark observed, “The people building solutions are often the same ones identifying the problem—which creates blind spots.”

This is where external help shines. Objectivity is a real asset in discovery.

At Jackson Lewis, Neota led initial discovery sessions. Their outside perspective helped surface pain points and process variations that internal teams had missed—because they were too close to the work.

But objectivity doesn’t mean parachuting in cold. As Adam explained, “We spent time studying the firm’s structure and documents before a single interview. That prep meant our conversations revealed useful insights—not surface-level observations.”

Takeaway: Look for consultants who invest in understanding your world before trying to fix it.

Legal’s perfectionism often slows innovation.

“Lawyers are trained to avoid risk and deliver polished work,” Floor said. “But innovation thrives on iteration. That creates cultural friction.”

Consultants can help bridge that gap - by guiding teams toward:

• A clear definition of “minimum viable” that still meets legal expectations
• Iterative approaches that build trust and reduce risk
• Success metrics that reflect value, even when traditional benchmarks aren’t available

Sometimes that means using proxy metrics, like:

• Frequency of tool use
• Newly captured billable hours
• Subjective feedback from timekeepers

It’s not always about hard numbers—it’s about learning and adapting.

“The sponsor for our project was voluntold,” Mark admitted, to knowing nods from the audience. “But we still succeeded because the value was clear - and because we had outside help keeping us on track.”

That’s another place where consultants create value: keeping momentum alive when internal teams are pulled in too many directions.

Floor described it this way: “We move quickly not just because we’re paid to, but because we know that early momentum is the key to long-term success.”

Consultants can bring:

• A general–lieutenant model: where a senior sponsor sets direction, and a more available proxy manages day-to-day
• Accountability structures that keep things moving
• Participation strategies that reward involvement and avoid burnout

From the panel discussion, three patterns emerged where external partners truly shine:

1. When You're Ready to Embrace Smart Failure

Mark summed it up: “There’s failure you learn from, and failure you regret. Good consultants help you fail fast - when it helps you learn - and avoid wasteful mistakes.”

That means:

• Testing assumptions early
• Building in retrospectives
• Rewarding learning, not punishing imperfection

2. When Projects Need to Move Fast

“Deadlines and check-ins matter,” Floor noted. “They create urgency - essential for GenAI, where importance doesn’t always translate into urgency. That urgency is what drives results.”

3. When Clarity Is Mission-Critical

“Slowing down at the start gives you a straight shot to the finish,” Adam explained. He added, “Know the questions you must answer before a line of code is written. That experience is hard to replicate in-house.”