Ben Schmidt, JD, has over 5 years of business strategy and support services consulting experience and 8 years in legal practice. His recent engagements include: Frost Brown Todd, Schulte Roth & Zabel, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Thompson Coburn and most recently, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, headquartered in Houston. We asked Ben a few questions, including his favorite quote:
“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.” –Thomas Edison
Q: What do clients like best about working with you?
A: Being knowledgeable, of course, is the foundation but at the end of the day, I think clients find me relatable and that makes the relationship work.
Q: What is unique and valuable about your expertise that you bring to your client engagements?
A: With my background as an attorney, I’ve worked inside law firms and have first-hand experience of a firms’ workflow and also first-hand experience as a consumer of the services that I now consult with law firms on. This is a perspective that many do not have and lends a great deal of value to the relationship.
Q: Desert island book?
A: Probably anything by Patrick Rothfuss or Brandon Sanderson.
Q: What are some successes here at Mattern for which you are most proud of and why?
A: I consistently negotiate good deals for my clients. I am proud of them all.
Q: Tell us about the recent success at Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry
A: The leadership team at Chamberlain was facing multiple challenges that a lot of firms are facing: storage was spread out between multiple vendors and they were not necessarily happy with the relationships. They were faced with a significant buyout (especially in light of the total cubic footage ratio to the cost) to get out from underneath current agreements which was making their ambitious offsite storage reduction goals unattainable in a financially feasible way.
I was very proud of the result we were able to help them achieve and delighted that the firm was happy with the result.
