HR Consultant or Employment Attorney? Knowing Who to Call
Updated: Aug 22
I get this question more often than you might think.
A business owner has an employee issue and asks:
"Should I call my attorney?"
Sometimes the answer is yes.
Other times, what they really need is practical HR guidance.
Knowing the difference can help you get the right kind of support for the situation you're dealing with.
When an HR Consultant Can Help
A lot of employee issues are management and HR questions rather than requests for legal advice.
For example:
How should I handle this performance issue?
Can you help me think through this documentation?
How should I approach this conversation?
Do we have a policy that addresses this?
How should we respond to an employee complaint?
These are the kinds of situations where an experienced HR consultant can help you think through what is happening, determine next steps, prepare for conversations, improve documentation, and make sure you're handling the situation consistently.
Sometimes that HR conversation also identifies a legal question that needs to go to an attorney.
That's okay.
Knowing when to bring someone else in is part of good HR support.
When an Employment Attorney May Need to Be Involved
Employment attorneys provide legal advice and representation.
There are situations where legal counsel may need to take the lead or be involved alongside HR.
That can include litigation or threatened litigation, government agency complaints, settlement negotiations, questions requiring a legal interpretation, or situations where formal legal representation is needed.
There can also be complicated employee situations where it makes sense to involve an attorney before taking action.
If I'm working with a client and believe a question requires legal advice, I'll tell them.
I don't try to be their attorney.
HR and Employment Attorneys Can Work Together
This doesn't have to be an either-or decision.
HR consultants and employment attorneys do different work, and there are situations where having both involved makes sense.
An attorney may advise on the legal considerations while HR helps the business think through communication, documentation, implementation, manager support, and what happens next.
The goal is to make sure the business has the right expertise for the issue.
Earlier Is Usually Easier
One thing I've noticed over the years is that business owners sometimes wait to ask for help because they hope an employee situation will work itself out.
Sometimes it does.
Sometimes it gets more complicated.
By the time someone reaches out, several conversations may have happened, documentation may be incomplete, and everyone involved may already be frustrated.
You don't need to call an attorney every time an employee is struggling.
You also don't need to wait until a situation becomes serious before asking someone for guidance.
Sometimes a short conversation early on can help you figure out what you're dealing with and what kind of help you actually need.
So, Who Should You Call?
Instead of starting with:
"Should I call HR or an attorney?"
Try asking:
"What kind of help does this situation need?"
Sometimes the answer is HR.
Sometimes it's legal counsel.
Sometimes it's both.
And sometimes you simply need someone experienced to help you figure out which direction to go.
Working Through an Employee Situation?
If you're dealing with a performance concern, documentation question, employee complaint, or another workplace issue and aren't sure what to do next, you can start here:
Or, if you'd rather talk through the situation:
