It was only a matter of time, and yet, it took so much time. The news that Eversheds is to become arguably the first law firm to move into the legal consulting business is in many ways an obvious move for a law firm. And yet no one, to my knowledge at least, has tried the 'poacher turned gamekeeper' play of using their knowledge as a supplier to tell buyers how to buy better.

The new division, Eversheds Consulting, will primarily aim to advise in-house legal teams on procurement, compliance, processes and record management matters. Areas that the nine-strong launch team is expected to focus on include helping general counsel to structure panel arrangements, outsourcing and managing budgets.

And if any law firm can make it work, Eversheds would look a likely candidate to pull it off. The venture should give the firm the opportunity to build upon its reputation as a progressive partner to in-house legal teams on the back of innovative arrangements with companies such as Dupont and Tyco.

In particular, the data and experience that Eversheds has gathered via its much-touted deal with Tyco must be a valuable proposition to bring to a wider audience. The timing – given the current focus on alternative billing and improved efficiency in the legal industry – also speaks for itself.

Of course, many will argue that a law firm cannot make a go of consulting, even if the record of generalist consultants operating in the legal sector is spotty at best. For one there will be the concern that the venture is merely a Trojan horse to smuggle in Eversheds' legal services. Actually, Eversheds can get away with that as long as it can demonstrate the commercial value of its services; indeed, there is little point bothering with the venture if it tries to pretend it is not drawing on its experience as a law firm.

But it is easy to see how this could create a credibility gap for a consulting division seen to be purely a creature of a law firm. There could also be an issue with the calibre of consultants that join the division, since highflyers in consulting may baulk at joining a business that plays second fiddle to a law firm.

None of which changes the fact that it's worth a try. After all, no one knows the brutal realities of legal services procurement like a large law firm. A law firm will certainly know where the bodies are buried far more than most consultants. In this sense, the venture will probably rise and fall on how frank Eversheds Consulting is willing to be, given that in some cases its advice may have awkward implications for its parent law firm.

The venture also illustrates the extent to which there is an emerging band of law firms looking to imaginatively engage with in-house legal teams and increasingly evolve their businesses specifically towards that role. There is so much talk in the legal market of consolidation and tiers of law firms. What is rarely remarked upon is the increasingly separate evolution of firms that are focused primarily on in-house legal teams and those that cultivate connections among boards and bankers.

Of course, there will be some cross-over between firms in both camps but, at the upper end of the market, it's hard to see how law firms that can't develop a very clear appeal to at least one of those constituencies can remain credible advisers to mid-tier companies, let alone bluechips. Even just on that basis, Eversheds must be on the right track with another attempt to get closer to clients.