Sacramento Legal Consultant Advises To Add Education To Experience

Where do the lawyers go when they need fresh eyes on a perplexing issue? Oftentimes, they'll seek the services of a well-established and tenured professional consulting service. As managing principal of Group Dewey Consulting, located in the heart of Sacramento County, Eric Dewey strives day in and day out to both improve the practices of budding lawyers and provide leadership to his team of professionals. With literally decades of experience and as a life-long learner, Eric Dewey continues to serve the greater northern California community as well as anyone who seeks his team's expertise.

What does your job entail?

"I advise lawyers and large corporate defense law firms on business development, opportunities research, lateral recruiting and strategic planning. I perform one-on-one coaching of typically more senior lawyers as well as advise the law firm's management and administrative staff on practice management and development issues."

What parts of your job do you enjoy?

"What I enjoy most is when I work with attorneys and, after a long arduous process, the light bulb finally goes on and the attorney or management begins to change how they view an issue and their approach to solving it. I also enjoy speaking to large groups of people on marketing and business development."

What was your educational history like?

"I graduated from the University of Maryland and then got my Master's of Business Administration from Ohio while the Vice President of a large regional bank. I have also completed certifications for marketing in the banking and commercial real estate industries. I am a proud life-long learner and have an extraordinarily large business book library. I also write for several publications as well as my own blog."

Do you think that your education has helped in your current profession?

"Yes. But I don't think education is a one-time endeavor. It is something that you must continue to pursue both formally and informally. There's a lot of value I place on 'street smarts' and common sense. But, you need both theory and practical experience. Education enables you to put developments and issues in context and gives you a model through which to understand them better. You can survive on your common sense and experience, but you're more likely to prosper if you add education to practical experience."

Do you have any advice for people wanting to pursue a similar career?

"Get tough skin. Know what you are talking about and be able to defend your position. Don't take anything personally. Many lawyers are trained to understand things by 'litigating' the issue- that is, they will argue the proposition until they have tried to shoot holes in it and, as a result, understand it better. You have to be logical and be able to defend your position. That's not something that everyone can, or would want, to do. But if you're sharp and like matching wits with very smart people, it can be a lot of fun."

Paulo Acoba is a California native raised in the Bay Area and living in the Central Valley. He enjoys distance running, cycling and grassroots motorsports. He holds a degree in management from the University of California Merced. Paulo has been writing for Examiner.com since 2012 and covering the Fresno area.