Tim McKey — From CPA to Law Firm Consultant; Fixing the Leaks Costing You Millions and Adding Value to your Firm

Tim McKey is not a lawyer, but he’s been inside over 300 plaintiff firms, and he sees where lapses in operations mean lost dollars. A CPA by training, Tim and a colleague formed Vista Consulting to help law firms “de-bottleneck.” In this conversation with host Dan Ambrose, Tim describes the journey that led to Vista and how it achieves its mission of helping law firms. Tune in as he reveals the operational mistakes – including intake methods – that could be quietly draining your firm's revenue.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ Tim McKey | LinkedIn

☑️ Vista Consulting | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

2026 Programming

☑️ Training Witnesses to Transport Themselves and the Jury, April 17-18, Hermos Beach, CA

☑️ TLU Trial Skills Training, April 21- 25, Hermosa Beach, CA

☑️ Witness Preparation & Direct Examination, May 8 - 9, Hermosa Beach, CA

☑️ Dark Arts Trial Craft Bootcamp, May 27 - June 2, Huntington Beach, CA

☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA

Episode Snapshot

1. Tim McKey spent 18 years with Deloitte before converting his CPA firm into a business consultancy around 1999 when he realized he was "keeping score" but not "affecting the score."
2. Vista Consulting has worked with over 300 plaintiff law firms, getting referrals entirely through word of mouth.
3. Tim outlines key areas that Vista evaluates at every firm: vision, people in the right seats, intake, case management, HR and training, technology, financial reporting, and physical plant — now including AI and tech stack analysis.
4. On Alternative Business Structures (ABS), Tim explains that only Arizona, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C., currently allow non-lawyer ownership in law firms, and he believes that model is going by the wayside in favor of the MSO (Managed Service Organization) structure.
5. The MSO model — where a law firm spins out all non-legal personnel and assets into a separate entity that then contracts services back to the firm — allows private equity investment without violating bar ethics rules on non-lawyer ownership.
6. At TLU Beach, Tim will deliver a one-hour lecture about what the top-performing firms in the country do operationally and financially to get more clients and increase case values.

Produced and Powered by LawPods