Frequently Asked
Questions

Alejandro Hernandez III is a former trial lawyer who practiced for 24 years, trying over 500 cases and representing more than 5,000 clients across litigation, real estate, probate, trust administration, and business matters. In 2025, he retired from active practice to found ARH Consulting LLC — bringing the full depth of his legal and business expertise to consulting engagements for individuals, companies, and law firms nationally.

No. ARH Consulting LLC is a business and legal consulting firm — not a law firm. Our services are advisory and consulting in nature. Engaging ARH Consulting does not create an attorney-client relationship, and our work is not a substitute for legal representation. Clients who need active legal counsel are referred to licensed attorneys appropriate for their matter.

Our primary office is in Los Angeles, California (1875 Century Park East, Los Angeles, CA 90067). We also maintain an East Coast office in New York City (12 E 49th Street, New York, NY 10017). We serve clients nationally and virtually across all 50 states, with a particular focus on markets in California, New York, and Texas.

We work with a broad range of clients including: law firms seeking AI integration and operational consulting; small and mid-size businesses needing fractional GC services, contract advisory, or growth strategy; startups and founders navigating early-stage legal and business decisions; real estate investors, developers, and brokers in California, New York, and Texas; and high-net-worth individuals and families seeking private wealth and estate consulting.

Our consulting practice spans eleven areas: AI & Legal Consulting, AI Process Integration for Law Firms & Businesses, Business Consulting, Business Development & Online Revenue Growth, Fractional General Counsel, Legal Consulting & Services, Private Wealth Consulting, Real Estate Advisory, CLE & Corporate Training, Contract Drafting & Review Advisory, and Startup & Entrepreneur Legal Consulting. Each engagement is scoped and customized to your specific needs.

A Fractional General Counsel (GC) is an experienced legal advisor who serves your business on a part-time or retainer basis — providing the strategic legal oversight of an in-house GC without the full-time cost. If your business regularly signs contracts, manages vendor relationships, faces employment issues, or navigates compliance questions, you likely need consistent legal guidance but may not yet need a full-time hire. A fractional GC fills that gap at a fraction of the cost.

Yes. While we maintain offices in Los Angeles and New York and have deep familiarity with those markets, we serve clients nationally. We work with businesses, law firms, and individuals across Texas, Florida, Nevada, Illinois, and all other states — in-person at our offices or virtually via video consultation.

No. ARH Consulting provides advisory consulting services, not legal representation. We do not appear in court on your behalf, file legal documents as your counsel, or establish an attorney-client relationship. For active legal representation, we can help refer you to qualified attorneys in the appropriate jurisdiction and practice area.

We help law firms identify where AI creates the most value in their practice, then guide implementation. This includes assessing current workflows, recommending specific tools (research platforms, intake automation, document drafting, case management), creating AI governance and ethics policies, training staff, and ensuring compliance with bar rules and client confidentiality obligations. We work with firms of all sizes — from solo practitioners to multi-office operations.

AI can absolutely be used safely in legal practice — but it requires the right policies and tool selection. Not all AI platforms handle client data the same way; some retain and train on user inputs, which creates serious confidentiality risks. We help firms evaluate vendor data practices, create firm-specific confidentiality protocols, review engagement letters, and establish ethical guardrails that align with your state bar’s evolving guidance on AI use.

Absolutely — in fact, smaller businesses often see the fastest return on AI adoption because the efficiency gains are immediately felt. Customer communication automation, document templates, intake workflows, social media scheduling, invoice processing — these are all areas where AI creates meaningful time and cost savings for small businesses without requiring large IT budgets. We specialize in practical, affordable AI implementation for businesses of all sizes.

Legal consulting provides advisory insight, strategic guidance, and expertise — drawing on legal knowledge to help you make better decisions, review documents, understand risks, and navigate legal environments. Legal representation means an attorney formally advocates for you in a legal proceeding or transaction, creates an attorney-client relationship, and owes you duties of loyalty and confidentiality as their client. ARH Consulting provides the former. For the latter, we refer you to licensed counsel.

Yes — contract review and advisory is one of our core services. Drawing on 24 years of legal experience, Alejandro can review your agreements, identify risk provisions, flag problematic language, and provide strategic recommendations. This service is advisory in nature. For contracts requiring formal legal representation or court filing, we refer you to appropriate licensed counsel.

Our CLE & Corporate Training programs are designed for CLE credit and can be structured for bar association approval depending on jurisdiction. We work with law firms, bar associations, and corporate legal departments to customize seminar content and coordinate accreditation. Topics include AI in law, litigation strategy, compliance, and legal technology adoption. Contact us to discuss your organization’s training needs.

We serve clients in California (Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Orange County, San Diego, Bay Area), New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Westchester), and Texas (Austin, Dallas, Houston). We also advise clients on transactions in other markets nationally, drawing on our legal background and network of real estate professionals across the country.

Alejandro Hernandez III is a licensed real estate professional and Certified Probate & Trust Specialist. Our real estate advisory work focuses on strategic counsel, transaction review, investor advisory, and dispute resolution consulting. For transactions that require licensed brokerage services, we work closely with affiliated brokers and agents across our target markets.

Yes — this is an area of deep expertise. As a Certified Probate & Trust Specialist with an extensive background representing executors, trustees, and beneficiaries, Alejandro provides consulting on estate-owned and trust-held real property. This includes valuation strategy, sale process advisory, fiduciary guidance, and coordination with probate counsel and real estate professionals.

The first step is submitting an inquiry through our Contact page. We review every submission before our first conversation so we can be well-prepared. From there, we schedule an initial consultation — typically 30–60 minutes — to understand your situation and goals. Following the consultation, we provide a tailored engagement proposal with scope, timeline, and fee structure.

Yes. The majority of our consulting work is available virtually via video call. In-person consultations are available at our Los Angeles and New York offices by appointment. For clients in Texas and other national markets, virtual engagement is the standard format.

We respond to all inquiries within one business day. For urgent matters, we recommend calling our Los Angeles office directly at 310-598-6462 or our New York office at 646-290-7380.

We offer flexible engagement structures tailored to the scope of each project. Options include monthly retainers (best for ongoing advisory relationships like fractional GC), project-based fees (for defined deliverables such as AI implementation or contract review), and hourly consulting for focused engagements. Fee structures are presented in writing in our engagement proposal following the initial consultation.

Please contact us directly to discuss consultation arrangements. Fees, if any, for initial consultations are disclosed upfront before we meet. There is no obligation following an initial consultation.

We work with businesses of all sizes. Our fractional GC, startup consulting, contract advisory, and AI integration services are specifically designed to deliver enterprise-level expertise to small and mid-size businesses that can’t afford large firm rates. Many of our most impactful engagements have been with growing businesses navigating their first major contracts, compliance requirements, or technology transitions.