Dan DiPietro, a nearly 30-year fixture within Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group where he advised the nation's largest law firms on their financial outlook, has retired from his role as chair of that advisory arm to start his own consulting shop and lend his expertise part time to McKinsey & Co.

DiPietro said his transition from Citi began about a year ago when he informed the company he wanted to advise firms on more than just their financial status and how that measured up with their goals.

“Instead of just ending the conversation with 'here are your gaps,' I can follow and say, 'Here are best practices for what others are doing,'” DiPietro said of what his new consulting firm will allow him to offer.

About five years ago, DiPietro had pushed for the idea of Citi getting into the consulting space beyond just financial advice. They started a pilot program and received a few engagements but they quickly ran into conflicts and confidentiality issues and DiPietro said he was the first to admit it wasn't the right fit for the bank.

In his new consulting business, Dan DiPietro Consulting, DiPietro will focus on growth strategies for practices, locations or merger negotiations; governance and leadership succession; and generally advising on how firms can improve their financial outlook based on their strategy. He also said he would be available to help his former colleagues at Citi if the occasion arises.

Gretta Rusanow, who has served as head of advisory services at Citi for the last two years and has taken a lead role in Citi's public-facing commentary on the legal industry, will continue in that role, Citi said in a letter to the law firm group team when they announced DiPietro's pending retirement in August.

“During his period as LFG head, Dan oversaw significant geographic expansion in the U.S., including the creation of LFG teams in Palo Alto, Boston, Philadelphia, Orange County and Texas and the business's first office outside the U.S. in London. He also created Leaders Council, LFG's signature client event, which today attracts more than 50 law firm leaders each year,” according to the August letter from Naz Vahid, who has served as head of the law firm group since 2009.

Aside from his own consulting shop, DiPietro will serve as a senior external adviser to management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., partner Alexander D'Amico, a Harvard Law School graduate, confirmed.

McKinsey, historically tight-lipped about its engagements, wouldn't comment on DiPietro's expected role other than to confirm his relationship to the firm. The legal industry is not one mentioned in the list of industries McKinsey serves.

But the company said McKinsey serves law firms as well as in-house legal departments (as a corporate function) and has consistently done so throughout its history. McKinsey's practice in that area has grown significantly over the past decade, with many of its practitioners holding law degrees, the firm noted.