In a contentious situation in a workplace, one might normally seek help from a trade union, solicitor or Human (without an 'e') Resources consultant. I am none of these, so why would anyone want to engage me instead?
Most trade unions have a rule that they cannot assist a person until they've been a paid up member for at least six months, so if you're and employee whose problem begins when you're not in a union, you cannot expect any help. 7 out of 10 people who contact me are long term union members who are dissatisfied with the level of service they get from their union. It is difficult to know for certain why this is the case, but it seems to me that standing up for an individual member's employment rights often conflicts with de facto political aims of the union.
Representation funded by a third party such as a union or insurance company has the obvious benefit of not needing any financial outlay. The representative however has a duty to the funding body, as well as to the client being represented. Where the representative believes the client has less than a 50% chance of succeeding, they have to inform the funder who will usually withdraw funding on hearing such news. Obviously, anyone with a less than 50% chance of succeeding should carefully consider whether to invest in the proceedings, but it has been known for representatives to be wrong with their assessments.
Directly engaged and funded solicitors are trained and qualified for the job, and should act independent of any politics. From my position I have been able to observe several solicitors who specialize in employment law in action, and the vast majority has been very professional. I have observed a minority whose actions appeared designed to generate (fee-earning) work for themselves, without regard for their clients' interests. Solicitors' fees are relatively very high compared to Humane Resources' fees. Using Humane Resources will cost you somewhere between 50% and 83% less than a solicitor. Even where a potential claim has a good prospect of success, it might not be financially viable to engage a solicitor. If you're an employer responding to a claim, your representation costs are not recoverable (in the way that claimant's costs can be reimbursed through compensation obtained).
Employers may turn to an internal Human Resources department, or an external consultant, to look into allegations of bullying. From my observations, such people tend to see the issue from an HR perspective, which hasn't always been in the long term interests of the business or people concerned. Humane Resources is more interested in identifying and solving tough problems. If that's what you want to do, get in touch, but if you want a consultant to focus on the symptoms, I might not be able to assist.
There is more to choosing a consultant than mere cost savings, but you need to look at the testimonials section for that...