Andrew Otterburn

A chartered accountant and management consultant with twenty years experience advising solicitors, Andrew has advised around 250 firms in the UK and Ireland.

He specialises in:
• Strategy, management and business development
• Profitability
• Skills training for partners and other lawyers
• Away day and partner retreat facilitation
• Lexcel accreditation

For many years he was Grant Thornton’s senior legal management consultant, working latterly as part of the David Andrews team. In 1996 he left to set up his own consultancy and has worked with his colleague, Dr Heather Stewart, ever since. His most recent book, “Profitability and Law Firm Management” was published by the Law Society in 2002, with the second edition published in 2007.

His first book, “Profitability and financial management of legal practices”, was published by the Law Society in 1997, followed by “Cashflow and improved Financial Management” in 1998. He is joint author of the annual survey of law firms in Scotland, published by the Law Society of Scotland.

Andrew has chaired or spoken at many conferences on behalf of the Law Society, the Law Society of Scotland, the Law Society of Ireland, and other organisations.

In 2003 he was appointed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs to undertake a major survey of legal aid practices as part of the review of legal aid undertaken by Frontier Economics. In 2006 he was an advisor to Lord Carter’s review of legal aid procurement in England and Wales. He was subsequently asked to advise the Legal Services Commission on the possible impact on firms of implementing Lord Carter’s recommendations (the Otterburn report).

Married with two children, he lives in Yorkshire and Oxfordshire. He is chairman of Holmfirth Art & Music.