Huron Consulting (HURN) 10-Q 7 Nov 13 2013 Q3 Quarterly report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 30, 2013
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]	'	'
Document Type	'10-Q	'
Amendment Flag	'false	'
Document Period End Date	30-Sep-13	'
Document Fiscal Year Focus	'2013	'
Document Fiscal Period Focus	'Q3	'
Trading Symbol	'HURN	'
Entity Registrant Name	'Huron Consulting Group Inc.	'
Entity Central Index Key	'0001289848	'
Current Fiscal Year End Date	'--12-31	'
Entity Filer Category	'Large Accelerated Filer	'
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	'	23,243,551

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Un

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Current assets:	'	'
Cash and cash equivalents	$30,781	$25,162
Receivables from clients, net	82,007	97,510
Unbilled services, net	82,381	47,232
Income tax receivable	2,765	192
Deferred income taxes, net	13,290	14,751
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	21,877	15,525
Total current assets	233,101	200,372
Property and equipment, net	35,968	33,805
Other non-current assets	16,614	15,322
Intangible assets, net	14,815	18,879
Goodwill	519,514	519,522
Total assets	820,012	787,900
Current liabilities:	'	'
Accounts payable	8,620	8,461
Accrued expenses	16,447	17,692
Accrued payroll and related benefits	61,956	61,672
Bank borrowings, current portion	25,000	'
Accrued consideration for business acquisitions, current portion	5,103	5,640
Income tax payable	221	7,872
Deferred revenues	13,114	15,388
Total current liabilities	130,461	116,725
Non-current liabilities:	'	'
Deferred compensation and other liabilities	4,892	6,973
Bank borrowings, net of current portion	150,000	192,500
Deferred lease incentives	10,163	6,936
Deferred income taxes, net	20,613	14,560
Accrued consideration for business acquisitions, net of current portion	'	4,885
Total non-current liabilities	185,668	225,854
Commitments and Contingencies	'	'
Stockholders' equity	'	'
Common stock; $0.01 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 25,224,317 and 24,793,327 shares issued at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	244	240
Treasury stock, at cost, 1,980,776 and 1,880,809 shares at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	-87,338	-83,715
Additional paid-in capital	438,135	420,825
Retained earnings	153,643	109,330
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	-801	-1,359
Total stockholders' equity	503,883	445,321
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$820,012	$787,900

Consolidated_Balance_Sheets_Un1

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited) (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Statement Of Financial Position [Abstract]	'	'
Common stock, par value	$0.01	$0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	500,000,000	500,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	25,224,317	24,793,327
Treasury stock, shares	1,980,776	1,880,809

Consolidated_Statements_of_Ear

Consolidated Statements of Earnings and Other Comprehensive Income (Unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Revenues and reimbursable expenses:	'	'	'	'
Revenues	$174,735	$161,888	$509,178	$445,196
Reimbursable expenses	17,542	13,470	51,001	41,820
Total revenues and reimbursable expenses	192,277	175,358	560,179	487,016
Direct costs and reimbursable expenses (exclusive of depreciation and amortization shown in operating expenses):	'	'	'	'
Direct costs	106,087	89,283	315,084	277,942
Amortization of intangible assets and software development costs	675	787	2,007	3,071
Reimbursable expenses	17,531	13,405	51,000	41,808
Total direct costs and reimbursable expenses	124,293	103,475	368,091	322,821
Operating expenses and other operating gains:	'	'	'	'
Selling, general and administrative expenses	37,197	31,095	100,307	92,437
Restructuring charges	'	2,194	596	3,253
Restatement related expenses	'	68	'	1,785
Litigation settlement (gain) loss	-5,300	'	-6,450	1,150
Depreciation and amortization	4,968	4,879	14,624	13,585
Goodwill impairment charge	'	13,083	'	13,083
Total operating expenses and other operating gains	36,865	51,319	109,077	125,293
Operating income	31,119	20,564	83,011	38,902
Other income (expense), net:	'	'	'	'
Interest expense, net of interest income	-1,531	-2,312	-5,100	-6,193
Other income (expense), net	104	136	-35	306
Total other expense, net	-1,427	-2,176	-5,135	-5,887
Income from continuing operations before income tax expense	29,692	18,388	77,876	33,015
Income tax expense	12,531	7,972	33,532	15,707
Net income from continuing operations	17,161	10,416	44,344	17,308
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	10	47	-31	518
Net income	17,171	10,463	44,313	17,826
Net earnings per basic share:	'	'	'	'
Net income from continuing operations	$0.77	$0.47	$1.99	$0.79
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	'	$0.01	'	$0.02
Net income	$0.77	$0.48	$1.99	$0.81
Net earnings per diluted share:	'	'	'	'
Net income from continuing operations	$0.75	$0.47	$1.95	$0.78
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	'	'	'	$0.02
Net income	$0.75	$0.47	$1.95	$0.80
Weighted average shares used in calculating earnings per share:	'	'	'	'
Basic	22,386	21,950	22,293	21,881
Diluted	22,873	22,326	22,712	22,247
Comprehensive income:	'	'	'	'
Net income	17,171	10,463	44,313	17,826
Foreign currency translation gain, net of tax	1,025	496	119	358
Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedging instruments, net of tax	-245	-144	439	-336
Other comprehensive income	780	352	558	22
Comprehensive income	$17,951	$10,815	$44,871	$17,848

Consolidated_Statement_of_Stoc

Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity (Unaudited) (USD $)	Total	Common Stock [Member]	Treasury Stock [Member]	Additional paid-in capital [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) [Member]
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Beginning Balance at Dec. 31, 2012	$445,321	$240	($83,715)	$420,825	$109,330	($1,359)
Beginning Balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2012	'	23,904,125	-1,889,465	'	'	'
Comprehensive income	44,871	'	'	'	44,313	558
Issuance of common stock in connection with:	'	'	'	'	'	'
Restricted stock awards, net of cancellations	'	4	-2,863	2,859	'	'
Restricted stock awards, net of cancellations, shares	'	447,988	-80,569	'	'	'
Exercise of stock options	39	'	'	39	'	'
Exercise of stock options, shares	'	26,294	'	'	'	'
Share-based compensation	13,280	'	'	13,280	'	'
Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings	-760	'	-760	'	'	'
Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings, shares	'	'	-20,426	'	'	'
Income tax benefit on share-based compensation	1,132	'	'	1,132	'	'
Ending Balance at Sep. 30, 2013	$503,883	$244	($87,338)	$438,135	$153,643	($801)
Ending Balance, shares at Sep. 30, 2013	'	24,378,407	-1,990,460	'	'	'

Consolidated_Statements_of_Cas

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Cash flows from operating activities:	'	'
Net income	$44,313	$17,826
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:	'	'
Depreciation and amortization	16,631	18,994
Share-based compensation	12,692	11,183
Allowances for doubtful accounts and unbilled services	3,153	1,723
Deferred income taxes	7,062	2,458
Goodwill impairment charge	'	13,083
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of businesses acquired:	'	'
(Increase) decrease in receivables from clients	13,200	9,532
(Increase) decrease in unbilled services	-36,083	-10,698
(Increase) decrease in current income tax receivable / payable, net	-10,218	19,502
(Increase) decrease in other assets	-1,304	2,738
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities	-2,018	-4,783
Increase (decrease) in accrued payroll and related benefits	891	-24,092
Increase (decrease) in deferred revenues	-3,028	-14,616
Net cash provided by operating activities	45,291	42,850
Cash flows from investing activities:	'	'
Purchases of property and equipment, net	-14,383	-14,344
Net investment in life insurance policies	-842	-569
Purchases of businesses, net of cash acquired	-297	-53,832
Capitalization of internally developed software	-1,207	'
Proceeds from note receivable	438	'
Net cash used in investing activities	-16,291	-68,745
Cash flows from financing activities:	'	'
Proceeds from exercise of stock options	39	30
Shares redeemed for employee tax withholdings	-760	-3,874
Tax benefit from share-based compensation	1,374	1,325
Proceeds from borrowings under credit facility	83,500	244,000
Repayments on credit facility	-101,000	-215,000
Payments for debt issue costs	-1,155	-2,482
Payments of capital lease obligations	'	-8
Deferred acquisition payment	-5,356	'
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities	-23,358	23,991
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	-23	36
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	5,619	-1,868
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period	25,162	5,080
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period	30,781	3,212
Non-cash financing activities:	'	'
Deferred payments related to business acquisitions	'	$10,272

Description_of_Business

Description of Business	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Description of Business	'
	1	Description of Business
	Huron Consulting Group is a leading provider of operational and financial consulting services. We help clients in diverse industries improve performance, reduce costs, leverage technology, process and review large amounts of complex data, address regulatory changes, recover from distress and stimulate growth. Our professionals employ their expertise in administration, management, finance, operations, strategy and technology to provide our clients with specialized analyses and customized advice and solutions that are tailored to address each client’s particular challenges and opportunities to deliver sustainable and measurable results. We provide consulting services to a wide variety of both financially sound and distressed organizations, including healthcare organizations, leading academic institutions, Fortune 500 companies, governmental entities and law firms.

Basis_of_Presentation

Basis of Presentation	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]	'
Basis of Presentation	'
	2	Basis of Presentation
	The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements reflect the financial position, results of operations and cash flows as of and for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature necessary for the fair statement of our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented in conformity with GAAP. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2012 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013.
	Certain amounts reported in the previous year have been reclassified to conform to the 2013 presentation. Our results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year or any other interim period.
	In the second quarter of 2013, we identified a $1.1 million error in stock-based compensation expense resulting from the use of the straight-line attribution method for performance awards with graded vesting features granted in prior periods. The $1.1 million pretax adjustment, which resulted in a $0.9 million increase in Direct costs and a $0.2 million increase in Selling, general and administrative expense, with a corresponding $1.1 million increase in Additional paid-in capital, represents the cumulative error related to all prior period financial statements beginning with the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2013. After consideration of both quantitative and qualitative factors, we concluded that our previously issued annual and quarterly financial statements for the years 2010, 2011, 2012 and the first quarter of 2013 were not materially misstated, and the effect of recognizing this adjustment during the second quarter of 2013 was not material for the period then ended and is not expected to be material for full year 2013 results.

New_Accounting_Pronouncements

New Accounting Pronouncements	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Changes And Error Corrections [Abstract]	'
New Accounting Pronouncements	'
	3	New Accounting Pronouncements
	In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-11, Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists. This guidance requires that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, be presented in the financial statements as either a reduction to a deferred tax asset or separately as a liability depending on the existence, availability and/or use of an operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. This guidance will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2014. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-11 to impact our consolidated financial statements.
	In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-05, Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment Upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets Within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity, which amends current accounting guidance on foreign currency matters. This guidance requires that the entire amount of a cumulative translation adjustment related to an entity’s investment in a foreign entity should be released when there has been a: (i) sale of a subsidiary or group of net assets within a foreign entity and the sale represents the substantially complete liquidation of the investment in the foreign entity, (ii) loss of a controlling financial interest in an investment in a foreign entity, and (iii) step acquisition for a foreign entity. This guidance will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2014. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-05 to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
	In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02, Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which amends current accounting guidance on comprehensive income. The guidance requires an entity to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income if the amount is reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts not required to be reclassified in their entirety to net income in the same reporting period, a cross reference to other disclosures that provide additional detail about the reclassification amounts is required. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. The guidance required a change in disclosure only and did not have any effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Discontinued_Operations

Discontinued Operations	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Discontinued Operations And Disposal Groups [Abstract]	'
Discontinued Operations	'
	4	Discontinued Operations
	In recent years, we have undertaken several separate initiatives to divest certain practices within the Huron Financial segment in order to enable us to devote more of our energy and financial resources to the remaining businesses of the Company where we have a more substantial market presence. Most recently, on December 30, 2011, we sold the Accounting Advisory (“AA”) practice to a group of investors including the managing director of the practice at the time and recognized a loss of $1.9 million in connection with the sale.
	The operating results of AA are reported as “discontinued operations.” All other operations of the business are considered “continuing operations.” Summarized operating results of discontinued operations are presented in the following table:
			Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
			September 30,				September 30,
			2013		2012		2013		2012
			$	24	$	—	$	57	$	683
	Revenues
	Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income tax expense		$	18	$	78	$	(51)	$	836
	Net income (loss) from discontinued operations		$	10	$	47	$	(31)	$	518
	There were no significant assets or liabilities related to discontinued operations in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2013 or December 31, 2012.

Goodwill_and_Intangible_Assets

Goodwill and Intangible Assets	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Goodwill and Intangible Assets	'
	5	Goodwill and Intangible Assets
	The table below sets forth the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the nine months ended September 30, 2013.
			Current Segments
	Former Segments		Huron		Huron		Huron		Huron		Total
			Healthcare		Legal		Education		Financial
							and Life
							Sciences
	Health and Education Consulting			$       355,880	$	—	$	94,601		$             —	$	450,481
	Legal Consulting			—		52,947		—		—		52,947
	Financial Consulting			—		—		—		159,077		159,077
	Total new alignment as of December 31, 2012			355,880		52,947		94,601		159,077		662,505
	Accumulated impairment			—		—		—		(142,983)		(142,983)
	Goodwill, net as of December 31, 2012			355,880		52,947		94,601		16,094		519,522
	Foreign currency translation			—		(8)		—		—		(8)
	Goodwill, net as of September 30, 2013			$     355,880	$	52,939	$	94,601		$     16,094	$	519,514
	First Quarter 2013 Goodwill Reassignment
	During the first quarter of 2013, we changed our internal financial reporting structure. Under the new structure, our former Health and Education Consulting segment became two separate segments: Huron Healthcare and Huron Education and Life Sciences. In addition, certain immaterial practices which were historically part of our Health and Education Consulting segment were combined and disclosed in our All Other segment. The Legal Consulting segment is now referred to as Huron Legal and the Financial Consulting segment is now referred to as Huron Financial. The structure of the Legal Consulting and Financial Consulting segments did not change. As a result of these changes, we now have five reporting segments, which are the same as our operating segments and reporting units.
	In accordance with ASC 350, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other,” we reassigned the goodwill balance of the Health and Education Consulting segment using the relative fair value approach based on an evaluation of expected future discounted cash flows. Based on this relative fair value analysis, we reassigned $355.9 million of goodwill to Huron Healthcare and $94.6 million of goodwill to Huron Education and Life Sciences.
	In conjunction with the goodwill reassignment, we performed the first step of the goodwill impairment test for the goodwill balances within our Huron Healthcare and Huron Education and Life Sciences reporting units as of January 2, 2013. Based on the result of the first step of the goodwill impairment test, we determined that the fair values of our Huron Healthcare and Huron Education and Life Sciences reporting units exceeded their carrying values. Since the fair values of both reporting units exceeded their carrying values, the second step of the goodwill impairment test was not necessary.
	Third Quarter 2012 Goodwill Impairment Charge
	In the second quarter of 2012, our Huron Financial segment leadership undertook several initiatives intended to improve the reporting unit’s financial performance. While the reporting unit’s third quarter financial results improved over the second quarter results, the progress of the financial, operational, and business development improvements was not in line with our expectations, causing us to believe that the likely time frame to improve the reporting unit’s performance would be longer than originally anticipated. Therefore, we concluded that the carrying value of the reporting unit likely exceeded its fair value and, in connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the quarter ended September 30, 2012, we performed an interim impairment test.
	Our goodwill impairment test was performed using a quantitative two-step process. In the first step, we compared the fair value of the Huron Financial segment with its net book value (or carrying amount), including goodwill. In estimating the fair value of the Huron Financial segment, we relied on a combination of the income approach and the market approach, utilizing the guideline company method, with a fifty-fifty weighting. Based on the result of the first step, we determined that the fair value of our Huron Financial segment was less than its carrying value as of September 30, 2012 and, as such, we applied the second step of the goodwill impairment test to this reporting unit. The second step compared the implied fair value of the Huron Financial segment’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined in the same manner as the amount of goodwill recognized in a business combination. That is, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the assets and liabilities of that unit (including any unrecognized intangible assets) as if the reporting unit had been acquired in a business combination and the fair value of the reporting unit was the purchase price paid to acquire the reporting unit. Based on the result of the second step of the goodwill impairment analysis, we recorded a $13.1 million non-cash pretax charge to reduce the carrying value of goodwill in our Huron Financial segment.
	In estimating future cash flows for our Huron Financial segment, we relied on an internally generated six-year forecast and a three percent long-term assumed annual revenue growth rate for periods after the six-year forecast. Our forecast was based on our historical experience, current backlog, expected market demand, and other industry information. Our discounted cash flow analysis assumed a 13% weighted average cost of capital (“WACC”) discount rate.
	Intangible assets as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 consisted of the following:
					September 30, 2013				December 31, 2012
			Useful		Gross		Accumulated		Gross		Accumulated
			Life in		Carrying		Amortization		Carrying		Amortization
			Years		Amount				Amount
	Customer relationships		1 to 13		$	25,006	$	13,160	$	24,738	$	10,268
	Non-competition agreements		1 to 6			4,611		3,658		4,684		3,067
	Trade names		1 to 8			150		43		150		8
	Technology and software		5			4,041		2,357		4,041		1,751
	Document reviewer database		3			450		225		450		90
	Total				$	34,258	$	19,443	$	34,063	$	15,184
	Identifiable intangible assets with finite lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives. The majority of customer relationships are amortized on an accelerated basis to correspond to the cash flows expected to be derived from the relationships. All other customer relationships, non-competition agreements, trade names, technology and software, and the document reviewer database are amortized on a straight-line basis.
	Intangible assets amortization expense was $1.4 million and $1.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively. Intangible assets amortization expense was $4.3 million and $5.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively. Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense is $5.8 million for 2013, $4.6 million for 2014, $3.1 million for 2015, $1.9 million for 2016, $1.2 million for 2017 and $0.8 million for 2018. Actual future amortization expense could differ from these estimated amounts as a result of future acquisitions and other factors.

Earnings_Per_Share

Earnings Per Share	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Earnings Per Share	'
	6	Earnings Per Share
	Basic earnings per share excludes dilution and is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period, excluding unvested restricted common stock. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential reduction in earnings per share that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock under the treasury stock method. Earnings per share under the basic and diluted computations are as follows:
			Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
			September 30,				September 30,
			2013		2012		2013		2012
	Net income from continuing operations		$	17,161	$	10,416	$	44,344		$	17,308
	Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax			10		47		(31)			518
	Net income		$	17,171	$	10,463	$	44,313		$	17,826
	Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic			22,386		21,950		22,293			21,881
	Weighted average common stock equivalents			487		376		419			366
	Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted			22,873		22,326		22,712			22,247
	Net earnings per basic share:
	Net income from continuing operations		$	0.77	$	0.47	$	1.99		$	0.79
	Income from discontinued operations, net of tax			—		0.01		—			0.02
	Net income		$	0.77	$	0.48	$	1.99		$	0.81
	Net earnings per diluted share:
	Net income from continuing operations		$	0.75	$	0.47	$	1.95		$	0.78
	Income from discontinued operations, net of tax			—		—		—			0.02
	Net income		$	0.75	$	0.47	$	1.95		$	0.80
	The computation of diluted earnings per share excludes unvested restricted common stock, outstanding options and other common stock equivalents in periods where inclusion of such potential common stock instruments would be anti-dilutive. The weighted average common stock equivalents presented above do not include the effect of approximately 36,600 and 42,200 common stock equivalents for the three months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, and approximately 78,900 and 85,300 common stock equivalents for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively, because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive.

Borrowings

Borrowings	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Debt Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Borrowings	'
	7	Borrowings
	During 2011, the Company and certain of the Company’s subsidiaries as guarantors entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with various financial institutions, as amended by the first and second amendments to the credit agreement dated as of August 31, 2012 and September 25, 2013, respectively (as amended and modified, the “2011 Credit Agreement”). The 2011 Credit Agreement replaced the previous Credit Agreement, dated as of June 7, 2006, and all subsequent amendments thereto, by and among the Company and the lenders therein. The second amendment to the credit agreement, which we entered into during the third quarter of 2013, extended the term of the 2011 Credit Agreement from August 31, 2017 to September 25, 2018, and provided for less restrictive covenants, among other things.
	The 2011 Credit Agreement consists of a senior secured credit facility in an aggregate principal amount of $450.0 million comprised of a five-year revolving credit facility (“Revolver”) under which the Company may borrow from time to time up to $247.5 million and a $202.5 million five-year term loan facility (“Term Loan”) that was funded in a single advance on the closing date of the first amendment. The 2011 Credit Agreement provides for the option to increase the revolving credit facility in an aggregate amount of up to $50 million subject to certain requirements as defined in the 2011 Credit Agreement. The proceeds of the senior secured credit facility were used to refinance existing indebtedness and will continue to be used for working capital, capital expenditures, and other corporate purposes.
	The obligations under the 2011 Credit Agreement are secured pursuant to a Security Agreement with Bank of America as Collateral Agent. The Security Agreement grants Bank of America, N.A., for the ratable benefit of the lenders under the 2011 Credit Agreement, a first-priority lien, subject to permitted liens, on substantially all of the personal property assets of the Company and the subsidiary guarantors. The Revolver and Term Loan are also secured by a pledge of 100% of the voting stock or other equity interests in our domestic subsidiaries and 65% of the voting stock or other equity interests in our foreign subsidiaries.
	Fees and interest on borrowings vary based on our total debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) ratio as set forth in the 2011 Credit Agreement. Interest is based on a spread over the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) or a spread over the base rate, as selected by the Company. The base rate is the greater of (a) the Federal Funds Rate plus 0.5%, (b) the Prime Rate and (c) except during a Eurodollar Unavailability Period, the Eurodollar Rate plus 1.0%.
	As of the date of the second amendment to the credit agreement, the Term Loan had a principal amount outstanding of $181.3 million. This principal balance is subject to scheduled quarterly amortization payments equal to 6.9% of the principal balance in 2013, 13.8% in 2014, 15.8% in 2015, 16.6% in 2016, 16.6% in 2017, and 30.3% in 2018, as set forth in the 2011 Credit Agreement. The maturity date for the Term Loan is September 25, 2018, at which time the outstanding principal balance and all accrued interest will be due and payable in full. All outstanding borrowings under the Revolver, as amended, will be due upon expiration of the 2011 Credit Agreement on September 25, 2018. As of September 30, 2013, the Company has made all scheduled quarterly amortization payments as they have come due in accordance with the Term Loan.
	Under the 2011 Credit Agreement, dividends are restricted to an amount up to $50 million plus 50% of cumulative consolidated net income from the closing date of the 2011 Credit Agreement plus 50% of the net cash proceeds from equity issuances. In addition, certain acquisitions and similar transactions need to be approved by the lenders.
	The 2011 Credit Agreement contains quarterly financial covenants that require us to maintain a minimum fixed charge coverage ratio of 2.25 to 1.00 and a maximum leverage ratio that varies throughout the term and was 3.00 to 1.00 as of September 30, 2013, as those ratios are defined therein, as well as a minimum net worth greater than $150 million. At September 30, 2013, we were in compliance with these financial covenants with a fixed charge coverage ratio of 4.14 to 1.00, a leverage ratio of 1.18 to 1.00, and net worth greater than $150 million. At December 31, 2012, we were also in compliance with these financial debt covenants.
	The borrowing capacity under the 2011 Credit Agreement is reduced by any outstanding letters of credit and payments under the Term Loan. At September 30, 2013, outstanding letters of credit totaled $4.8 million and are primarily used as security deposits for our office facilities. As of September 30, 2013, the unused borrowing capacity under the 2011 Credit Agreement was $242.7 million. Borrowings outstanding under this credit facility at September 30, 2013 totaled $175.0 million, all of which was under the Term Loan. These borrowings carried a weighted average interest rate of 2.0%, including the effect of the interest rate swaps described below in Note 9 “Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity.” Borrowings outstanding at December 31, 2012 were $192.5 million and carried a weighted average interest rate of 2.5%. Effective March 31, 2013, we have classified as current liabilities the scheduled quarterly principal payments due under the Term Loan within twelve months of the balance sheet date, as we intend to make these payments with cash from operations rather than from availability under the Revolver.

Restructuring_Charges

Restructuring Charges	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Restructuring And Related Activities [Abstract]	'
Restructuring Charges	'
	8	Restructuring Charges
	During the second quarter of 2013, we incurred a $0.6 million pretax restructuring charge related to the consolidation of office space in Washington, D.C. The charge primarily consisted of the accrual of remaining lease payments for an office we vacated during the second quarter of 2013.
	During the third quarter of 2012, we incurred a $2.2 million pretax restructuring charge primarily consisting of $0.9 million related to the consolidation of office space in Washington, D.C. and $1.1 million related to our office relocation in New York, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2012. The Washington, D.C. charge included an accrual of $0.7 million for the remaining lease payments, net of estimated sublease income, for the office space we vacated during the third quarter of 2012 and $0.2 million of accelerated depreciation on leasehold improvements for that space. The New York charge included $0.4 million of accelerated depreciation and $0.7 million for brokerage fees related to the execution of a sublease arrangement. We did not incur a lease charge related to the relocation of our New York City office space as income from our subtenant is expected to more than offset our remaining lease obligations through 2016, net of our deferred lease liability. During the first and second quarters of 2012, we incurred cumulative charges of $1.1 million primarily related to accelerated depreciation on our New York office leasehold improvements, partially offset by the net favorable impact of updated assumptions for lease accruals related to previously vacated office spaces.
	As of September 30, 2013, our restructuring charge liability is $0.8 million, and primarily consists of the present value of remaining lease payments, net of estimated sublease income, for our vacated office spaces in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The restructuring charge liability is included as a component of Accrued expenses and Deferred compensation and other liabilities.

Derivative_Instruments_and_Hed

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity	'
	9	Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity
	On March 20, 2009, we entered into an interest rate swap agreement for a notional amount of $100.0 million effective on March 31, 2009 and ending on February 23, 2012. We entered into this derivative instrument to hedge against the risk of changes in future cash flows related to changes in interest rates on $100.0 million of the total variable-rate borrowings outstanding described above in Note 7 “Borrowings.” Under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we received from the counterparty interest on the $100.0 million notional amount based on one-month LIBOR and we paid to the counterparty a fixed rate of 1.715%. This swap effectively converted $100.0 million of our variable-rate borrowings to fixed-rate borrowings beginning on March 31, 2009 and through February 23, 2012.
	On December 8, 2011, we entered into a forward amortizing interest rate swap agreement effective on February 29, 2012 and ending on April 14, 2016. We entered into this derivative instrument to continue hedging against the interest rate risks of our variable-rate borrowings described above. The swap had an initial notional amount of $56.6 million and amortizes throughout the term. Under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we receive from the counterparty interest on the notional amount based on one-month LIBOR and we pay to the counterparty a fixed rate of 0.9875%.
	On May 30, 2012, we entered into an additional forward amortizing interest rate swap agreement effective on May 31, 2012 and ending on April 14, 2016. We entered into this derivative instrument to further hedge against the interest rate risks of our variable-rate borrowings described above. The swap had an initial notional amount of $37.0 million and amortizes throughout the term. Under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we receive from the counterparty interest on the notional amount based on one-month LIBOR and we pay to the counterparty a fixed rate of 0.70%.
	On April 4, 2013, we entered into a one-year forward amortizing interest rate swap agreement effective on March 31, 2014 and ending on August 31, 2017. We entered into this derivative instrument to further hedge against the interest rate risks of our variable-rate borrowings described above. The swap has an initial notional amount of $60.0 million and amortizes such that, collectively with our other two interest rate swaps, we are effectively fixing the interest rate on 80% of our Term Loan borrowings throughout the term of the swap agreement. Under the terms of the interest rate swap agreement, we will receive from the counterparty interest on the notional amount based on one-month LIBOR and we will pay to the counterparty a fixed rate of 0.985%.
	FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” requires companies to recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value on the balance sheet. In accordance with ASC Topic 815, we have designated these derivative instruments as cash flow hedges. As such, changes in the fair value of the derivative instruments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (“OCI”) to the extent of effectiveness and reclassified into interest expense upon settlement. The ineffective portion of the change in fair value of the derivative instruments is recognized in interest expense. As of September 30, 2013, it was anticipated that $0.4 million of the net losses, net of tax, currently recorded in OCI will be reclassified into earnings within the next 12 months. Our interest rate swap agreements were effective during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013.
	The table below sets forth additional information relating to these interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
			Fair Value (Derivative Asset and Liability)
	Balance Sheet Location		September 30,		December 31,
			2013		2012
	Other non-current assets		$	582	$	—
	Accrued expenses		$	661	$	493
	Deferred compensation and other liabilities		$	124	$	439
	All of the Company’s derivative instruments are transacted under the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) master agreements. These agreements permit the net settlement of amounts owed in the event of default and certain other termination events. Although netting is permitted, it is the Company’s policy to record all derivative assets and liabilities on a gross basis on the consolidated balance sheets. If we had elected to net derivative instruments subject to master netting agreements as of September 30, 2013, the impact would have reduced our derivative assets and liabilities by $0.2 million. As of December 31, 2012, all of our derivative instruments were recorded as liabilities.
	We do not use derivative instruments for trading or other speculative purposes, and we did not have any other derivative instruments or hedging activities as of September 30, 2013. Refer to Note 11 “Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)” for additional information on our derivative instruments.

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru

Fair Value of Financial Instruments	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	'
	10	Fair Value of Financial Instruments
	Certain of our assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. FASB ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or the price that would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value and requires companies to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels based on the objectivity of the inputs as follows:
	Level 1 Inputs		Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
	Level 2 Inputs		Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.
	Level 3 Inputs		Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, and include situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability.
	Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair market value. The carrying values for receivables from clients, unbilled services, accounts payable, deferred revenues and other accrued liabilities reasonably approximate fair market value due to the nature of the financial instrument and the short-term maturity of these items. The carrying values of our bank borrowings reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets approximate fair value, using level 2 inputs, since they bear interest at variable rates based on market rates as set forth in the 2011 Credit Agreement. Refer to Note 7 “Borrowings.”
	The table below sets forth our fair value hierarchy for our financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
			Quoted Prices		Significant		Significant		Total
			in Active		Other		Unobservable
			Markets for		Observable		Inputs
			Identical Assets		Inputs		(Level 3)
			(Level 1)		(Level 2)
	September 30, 2013
	Assets:
			$	—	$	—	$	2,666	$	2,666
	Promissory note
	Interest rate swaps			—		366		—		366
	Total assets		$	—	$	366	$	2,666	$	3,032
	Liabilities:
			$	—	$	569	$	—	$	569
	Interest rate swaps
	Deferred acquisition payments			—		—		5,103		5,103
	Total liabilities		$	—	$	569	$	5,103	$	5,672
	December 31, 2012
	Asset:
	Promissory note		$	—	$	—	$	2,907	$	2,907
	Liabilities:
			$	—	$	932	$	—	$	932
	Interest rate swaps
	Deferred acquisition payments			—		—		10,525		10,525
	Total liabilities		$	—	$	932	$	10,525	$	11,457
	As part of the consideration received for the sale of our AA practice on December 30, 2011, the Company received a $3.5 million promissory note payable over four years. The note will be paid to the Company in quarterly installments of approximately $0.2 million which began in the second quarter of 2013 with a final payment of approximately $1.1 million on the maturity date in December 2015. The fair value of the note is based on the net present value of the projected cash flows using a discount rate of 14%, which accounts for the risks associated with the note. The decrease in the fair value of the note during the first nine months of 2013 reflects the principal payments received, less the accretion of interest income in excess of interest payments received.
	The fair value of the interest rate swaps was derived using estimates to settle the interest rate swap agreements, which are based on the net present value of expected future cash flows on each leg of the swaps utilizing market-based inputs and discount rates reflecting the risks involved.
	Deferred acquisition payments are included in the total purchase consideration for certain business acquisitions the Company has completed and represent fixed future payments owed to the sellers of those businesses. The fair value of the deferred acquisition payments is based on the payment terms, which range from one to two years, and the net present value of expected cash flows using a discount rate ranging from 4% to 8%. The decrease in the fair value of the deferred acquisition payments during the first nine months of 2013 reflects payments of principal and accrued interest during the first nine months of 2013, less the accretion of interest expense in excess of interest payments made.

Other_Comprehensive_Income

Other Comprehensive Income	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Equity [Abstract]	'
Other Comprehensive Income	'
	11	Other Comprehensive Income
	The table below sets forth the components of other comprehensive income, net of tax, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012.
			Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
			September 30, 2013						September 30, 2012
			Before		Tax		Net of		Before		Tax		Net of
			Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes
					Benefit						Benefit
	Other comprehensive income:
	Foreign currency translation adjustment		$	1,019	$	6	$	1,025	$	496	$	—	$	496
	Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges:
	Change in fair value		$	(549)	$	218	$	(331)	$	(382)	$	151	$	(231)
	Reclassification adjustments into earnings			142		(56)		86		144		(57)		87
	Net unrealized gain (loss)		$	(407)	$	162	$	(245)	$	(238)	$	94	$	(144)
	Other comprehensive income		$	612	$	168	$	780	$	258	$	94	$	352
			Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
			September 30, 2013						September 30, 2012
			Before		Tax		Net of		Before		Tax		Net of
			Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes
					Benefit						Benefit
	Other comprehensive income:
	Foreign currency translation adjustment		$	62	$	57	$	119	$	403	$	(45)	$	358
	Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges:
	Change in fair value		$	308	$	(122)	$	186	$	(1,074)	$	428	$	(646)
	Reclassification adjustments into earnings			421		(168)		253		516		(206)		310
	Net unrealized gain (loss)		$	729	$	(290)	$	439	$	(558)	$	222	$	(336)
	Other comprehensive income		$	791	$	(233)	$	558	$	(155)	$	177	$	22
	The before tax amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss related to our cash flow hedges are recorded to Interest expense, net of interest income.
	Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax, includes the following components:
			Foreign Currency		Net Unrealized		Accumulated Other
			Translation		Gains/(Losses) on		Comprehensive Loss
			Adjustments		Derivatives
	Balance, December 31, 2012		$	(805)	$	(554)	$	(1,359)
	Current period change			119		439		558
	Balance, September 30, 2013		$	(686)	$	(115)	$	(801)

Income_Taxes

Income Taxes	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Income Taxes	'
	12	Income Taxes
	The Company’s effective tax rates for the three months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 were 42.2% and 43.4%, respectively. The Company’s effective tax rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 were 43.1% and 47.6%, respectively. The effective tax rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 were higher than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, due primarily to the impact of foreign losses with no tax benefit and certain non-deductible business expenses, partially offset by the impact of certain credits and deductions. The effective tax rates for both periods in 2012 were higher than the statutory rate, inclusive of state income taxes, due primarily to the impact of foreign losses with no tax benefit, partially offset by the release of reserves for uncertain tax positions. The foreign losses with no tax benefit had a larger impact on our effective tax rate in both periods of 2012 compared to 2013 due to the lower pretax income from continuing operations for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012.

Commitments_Contingencies_and_

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees	'
	13	Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees
	Litigation
	Qui Tam Action
	On December 9, 2009, plaintiff, Associates Against Outlier Fraud, filed a first amended qui tam complaint against Huron Consulting Group Inc. and others under the federal and New York state False Claims Act (“FCA”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The federal and state FCA authorize private individuals (known as “relators”) to sue on behalf of the government (known as “qui tam” actions) alleging that false or fraudulent claims were knowingly submitted to the government. Once a qui tam action is filed, the government may elect to intervene in the action. If the government declines to intervene, the relator may proceed with the action. Under the federal and state FCA, the government may recover treble damages and civil penalties (civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation under the federal FCA and $12,000 per violation under the state FCA). On January 6, 2010, the United States declined to intervene in the lawsuit. After the Court granted Huron’s motion to dismiss without prejudice, on September 29, 2010, the relator filed a second amended complaint alleging that Huron and others caused St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center to receive more than $30 million in inflated outlier payments under the Medicare and Medicaid programs in violation of the federal and state FCA and seeking to recover an unspecified amount of civil penalties. On March 8, 2013, the Court granted Huron’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the relator’s second amended complaint in its entirety with prejudice. As a result, we reversed the charge of $1.2 million relating to settlement discussions which we recorded in the second quarter of 2012, in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 450, “Contingencies.” The relator filed an appeal on April 2, 2013. On April 8, 2013, Huron filed an appeal of an earlier denial of a motion to dismiss filed by Huron which argued that the relator’s action was barred because, under the FCA jurisdictional bar, the action was based on publicly disclosed information and the relator cannot qualify as an original source. We continue to believe that the claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
	Tamalluk Business Development LLC v. Huron Consulting Services LLC (Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance)
	On August 22, 2013, we learned that Tamalluk Business Development LLC, who was Huron’s agent in Abu Dhabi, and its principal, Mubarak Ahmad Bin Hamouda Al Dhaheri, filed a claim against Huron Consulting Services LLC in the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance. The lawsuit alleges that under the agency agreement, Tamalluk was entitled to a commission on certain amounts that Huron collected from Abu Dhabi clients, and that Huron breached the agreement with Tamalluk and caused damages by declining to enter into a client engagement in Abu Dhabi and subsequently terminating the agency agreement with Tamalluk. Claimants allege they are entitled to $50 million for damage to reputation and defamation and another $50 million for breach of contract. Huron submitted its written response on September 25, 2013. The response states that Huron had the right to terminate the agency agreement with Tamalluk, and Huron had the sole discretion whether to accept or reject an engagement. Huron also filed a counterclaim on October 10, 2013 seeking a judicial order to permit the cancellation of Huron’s commercial license to allow Huron to cease doing business in Abu Dhabi. We believe the claims made by Tamalluk Business Development and its principal are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
	Other Litigation Gain
	During the third quarter of 2013, we reached a settlement agreement to resolve a lawsuit brought by Huron, resulting in a gain of $5.3 million being recorded. We collected $2.6 million of the settlement amount during the fourth quarter of 2013, and we anticipate the remaining amount will be collected during the first quarter of 2014. The settlement receivable is recorded in Prepaid expenses and other current assets.
	From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we are not a party to or threatened with any other litigation or legal proceeding that, in the current opinion of management, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expected results.
	Guarantees and Indemnification
	Guarantees in the form of letters of credit totaling $4.8 million and $5.1 million were outstanding at September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively, to support certain office lease obligations as well as Middle East performance and bid bonds.
	To the extent permitted by law, our bylaws and articles of incorporation require that we indemnify our officers and directors against judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement, including attorneys’ fees, incurred in connection with civil or criminal action or proceedings, as it relates to their services to us if such person acted in good faith. Although there is no limit on the amount of indemnification, we may have recourse against our insurance carrier for certain payments made.

Segment_Information

Segment Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Segment Information	'
	14	Segment Information
	Segments are defined by FASB ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” as components of a company in which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. In the first quarter of 2013, the Company reorganized its internal financial reporting structure. Under the new structure, the Company began reporting information as five operating segments: Huron Healthcare; Huron Legal; Huron Education and Life Sciences; Huron Financial; and All Other. Our chief operating decision maker manages the business under these five operating segments.
	Under this new internal financial reporting structure, the former Health and Education Consulting segment became two separate segments: Huron Healthcare and Huron Education and Life Sciences. These practices continue to share a significant number of academic medical center clients and will continue to closely collaborate in the market. The Legal Consulting segment is now referred to as Huron Legal and the Financial Consulting segment is now referred to as Huron Financial. The structure of the Legal Consulting and Financial Consulting segments did not change. In addition, certain immaterial practices which were historically part of our Health and Education Consulting segment were combined and disclosed in our All Other segment. While our consolidated results have not been impacted, we have restated our historical segment information for consistent presentation.
		—		Huron Healthcare
	Our Huron Healthcare segment provides consulting services to national and regional integrated health systems, physician practices, community hospitals, managed care organizations, and academic medical centers. This segment provides consulting services related to hospital or healthcare organization performance improvement, revenue cycle improvement, clinical quality and care variation, labor productivity, non-labor cost management, information technology, patient flow improvement and physician practice management.
		—		Huron Legal
	Our Huron Legal segment provides advisory and business services to assist law departments of major global corporations and law firms with their strategy, organizational design and development, operational efficiency, and cost effectiveness. These results-driven services help reduce the amounts they spend on legal services and enhance client service. Our expertise focuses on strategic and management consulting, cost management, and technology and information management including matter management, records management, digital evidence, document review and discovery services.
		—		Huron Education and Life Sciences
	Our Huron Education and Life Sciences segment provides consulting services to universities, research institutions, healthcare organizations, academic medical centers, and pharmaceutical, medical device manufacturer and biotechnology companies. We develop and implement performance improvement, technology, and research enterprise solutions to help clients address challenges relating to financial management, strategy, operational and organizational effectiveness, research administration, and regulatory compliance.
		—		Huron Financial
	Our Huron Financial segment provides financial advisory, restructuring and turnaround, interim management, valuation, forensic and litigation, and operational improvement consulting services to companies in transition, boards of directors, and investors and lenders. Our consultants provide senior level involvement and extensive industry experience to drive results. Our experienced leadership, management depth and flexible staffing model allow us to efficiently lead projects ranging from middle market to large company assignments. We draw on career experience gathered from operations, lending, investment banking, portfolio and asset management, public accounting, and management consulting to provide practical business solutions.
		—		All Other
	Our All Other segment consists of any lines of business not managed by our other four operating segments. These businesses include our public sector consulting practice and our foreign healthcare and strategic consulting operations based in the Middle East.
	Segment operating income consists of the revenues generated by a segment, less the direct costs of revenue and selling, general and administrative costs that are incurred directly by the segment. Unallocated corporate costs include costs related to administrative functions that are performed in a centralized manner that are not attributable to a particular segment. These administrative function costs include costs for corporate office support, certain office facility costs, costs relating to accounting and finance, human resources, legal, marketing, information technology and Company-wide business development functions, as well as costs related to overall corporate management.
	The table below sets forth information about our operating segments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, along with the items necessary to reconcile the segment information to the totals reported in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.
			Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
			September 30,				September 30,
			2013		2012		2013		2012
	Huron Healthcare:
	Revenues		$	86,957	$	74,999	$	244,648	$	201,171
	Operating income		$	30,772	$	33,868	$	91,440	$	69,778
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			35.4%		45.2%		37.4%		34.7%
	Huron Legal:
	Revenues		$	45,263	$	46,153	$	131,296	$	133,443
	Operating income		$	15,138	$	11,479	$	28,869	$	33,489
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			33.4%		24.9%		22.0%		25.1%
	Huron Education and Life Sciences:
	Revenues		$	34,806	$	33,863	$	107,666	$	93,373
	Operating income		$	7,773	$	12,406	$	28,672	$	28,051
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			22.3%		36.6%		26.6%		30.0%
	Huron Financial:
	Revenues		$	7,223	$	6,689	$	25,068	$	16,821
	Operating income		$	664	$	1,763	$	7,995	$	1,659
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			9.2%		26.4%		31.9%		9.9%
	All Other:
	Revenues		$	486	$	184	$	500	$	388
	Operating loss		$	(285)	$	(428)	$	(701)	$	(1,971)
	Segment operating loss as a percentage of segment revenues			N/M		N/M		N/M		N/M
	Total Company:
	Revenues		$	174,735	$	161,888	$	509,178	$	445,196
	Reimbursable expenses			17,542		13,470		51,001		41,820
	Total revenues and reimbursable expenses		$	192,277	$	175,358	$	560,179	$	487,016
	Statements of Earnings reconciliation:
	Segment operating income		$	54,062	$	59,088	$	156,275	$	131,006
	Items not allocated at the segment level:
	Other operating expenses and gains			17,975		20,562		58,640		65,436
	Depreciation and amortization expense			4,968		4,879		14,624		13,585
	Goodwill impairment charge			—		13,083		—		13,083
	Other expense, net			1,427		2,176		5,135		5,887
	Income from continuing operations before income tax expense		$	29,692	$	18,388	$	77,876	$	33,015
	N/M – Not Meaningful
	Segment Assets:		September 30,		December 31,
			2013		2012
	Huron Healthcare		$	79,678	$	60,288
	Huron Legal			47,846		51,594
	Huron Education and Life Sciences			26,391		31,129
	Huron Financial			10,445		1,462
	All Other			72		50
	Unallocated assets (1)			655,580		643,377
	Total assets		$	820,012	$	787,900
		-1	Goodwill and intangible assets are included in unallocated assets, as management does not evaluate these items at the segment level when assessing segment performance or allocating resources.
	At both September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, no single client accounted for greater than 10% of our combined receivables and unbilled services balances. No single client generated greater than 10% of our consolidated revenues during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012.

Subsequent_Events

Subsequent Events	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Subsequent Events [Abstract]	'
Subsequent Events	'
	15	Subsequent Events
	On October 1, 2013, the Company completed its acquisition of the assets of Blue Stone International, LLC (“Blue Stone”), a provider of professional services supporting Oracle enterprise performance management, information management, and business intelligence solutions. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, the Company acquired substantially all of the assets and assumed certain liabilities of Blue Stone in exchange for $30 million in cash. The results of operations of Blue Stone will be included within the Huron Education and Life Sciences segment.

New_Accounting_Pronouncements_

New Accounting Pronouncements (Policies)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]	'
Income Taxes	'
	In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-11, Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists. This guidance requires that an unrecognized tax benefit, or a portion of an unrecognized tax benefit, be presented in the financial statements as either a reduction to a deferred tax asset or separately as a liability depending on the existence, availability and/or use of an operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. This guidance will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2014. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-11 to impact our consolidated financial statements.
Cumulative Translation Adjustment	'
	In March 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-05, Parent’s Accounting for the Cumulative Translation Adjustment Upon Derecognition of Certain Subsidiaries or Groups of Assets Within a Foreign Entity or of an Investment in a Foreign Entity, which amends current accounting guidance on foreign currency matters. This guidance requires that the entire amount of a cumulative translation adjustment related to an entity’s investment in a foreign entity should be released when there has been a: (i) sale of a subsidiary or group of net assets within a foreign entity and the sale represents the substantially complete liquidation of the investment in the foreign entity, (ii) loss of a controlling financial interest in an investment in a foreign entity, and (iii) step acquisition for a foreign entity. This guidance will be effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of 2014. We do not expect the adoption of ASU 2013-05 to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
Comprehensive Income	'
	In February 2013, the FASB issued ASU No. 2013-02, Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which amends current accounting guidance on comprehensive income. The guidance requires an entity to present, either on the face of the statement where net income is presented or in the notes, significant amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive income by the respective line items of net income if the amount is reclassified to net income in its entirety in the same reporting period. For other amounts not required to be reclassified in their entirety to net income in the same reporting period, a cross reference to other disclosures that provide additional detail about the reclassification amounts is required. The Company adopted this guidance effective January 1, 2013. The guidance required a change in disclosure only and did not have any effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Intangibles - Goodwill and Other	'
	In accordance with ASC 350, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other,” we reassigned the goodwill balance of the Health and Education Consulting segment using the relative fair value approach based on an evaluation of expected future discounted cash flows.
Derivatives and Hedging	'
	FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” requires companies to recognize all derivative instruments as either assets or liabilities at fair value on the balance sheet. In accordance with ASC Topic 815, we have designated these derivative instruments as cash flow hedges. As such, changes in the fair value of the derivative instruments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (“OCI”) to the extent of effectiveness and reclassified into interest expense upon settlement. The ineffective portion of the change in fair value of the derivative instruments is recognized in interest expense. As of September 30, 2013, it was anticipated that $0.4 million of the net losses, net of tax, currently recorded in OCI will be reclassified into earnings within the next 12 months. Our interest rate swap agreements were effective during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013.
Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures	'
	Certain of our assets and liabilities are measured at fair value. FASB ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or the price that would be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC Topic 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy for inputs used in measuring fair value and requires companies to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels based on the objectivity of the inputs as follows:
	Level 1 Inputs	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
	Level 2 Inputs	Quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.
	Level 3 Inputs	Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, and include situations in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability.
	Cash and cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair market value. The carrying values for receivables from clients, unbilled services, accounts payable, deferred revenues and other accrued liabilities reasonably approximate fair market value due to the nature of the financial instrument and the short-term maturity of these items. The carrying values of our bank borrowings reported in the Consolidated Balance Sheets approximate fair value, using level 2 inputs, since they bear interest at variable rates based on market rates as set forth in the 2011 Credit Agreement. Refer to Note 7 “Borrowings.”
Contingencies	'
	Qui Tam Action
	On December 9, 2009, plaintiff, Associates Against Outlier Fraud, filed a first amended qui tam complaint against Huron Consulting Group Inc. and others under the federal and New York state False Claims Act (“FCA”) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The federal and state FCA authorize private individuals (known as “relators”) to sue on behalf of the government (known as “qui tam” actions) alleging that false or fraudulent claims were knowingly submitted to the government. Once a qui tam action is filed, the government may elect to intervene in the action. If the government declines to intervene, the relator may proceed with the action. Under the federal and state FCA, the government may recover treble damages and civil penalties (civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation under the federal FCA and $12,000 per violation under the state FCA). On January 6, 2010, the United States declined to intervene in the lawsuit. After the Court granted Huron’s motion to dismiss without prejudice, on September 29, 2010, the relator filed a second amended complaint alleging that Huron and others caused St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center to receive more than $30 million in inflated outlier payments under the Medicare and Medicaid programs in violation of the federal and state FCA and seeking to recover an unspecified amount of civil penalties. On March 8, 2013, the Court granted Huron’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the relator’s second amended complaint in its entirety with prejudice. As a result, we reversed the charge of $1.2 million relating to settlement discussions which we recorded in the second quarter of 2012, in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 450, “Contingencies.” The relator filed an appeal on April 2, 2013. On April 8, 2013, Huron filed an appeal of an earlier denial of a motion to dismiss filed by Huron which argued that the relator’s action was barred because, under the FCA jurisdictional bar, the action was based on publicly disclosed information and the relator cannot qualify as an original source. We continue to believe that the claims are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
	Tamalluk Business Development LLC v. Huron Consulting Services LLC (Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance)
	On August 22, 2013, we learned that Tamalluk Business Development LLC, who was Huron’s agent in Abu Dhabi, and its principal, Mubarak Ahmad Bin Hamouda Al Dhaheri, filed a claim against Huron Consulting Services LLC in the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance. The lawsuit alleges that under the agency agreement, Tamalluk was entitled to a commission on certain amounts that Huron collected from Abu Dhabi clients, and that Huron breached the agreement with Tamalluk and caused damages by declining to enter into a client engagement in Abu Dhabi and subsequently terminating the agency agreement with Tamalluk. Claimants allege they are entitled to $50 million for damage to reputation and defamation and another $50 million for breach of contract. Huron submitted its written response on September 25, 2013. The response states that Huron had the right to terminate the agency agreement with Tamalluk, and Huron had the sole discretion whether to accept or reject an engagement. Huron also filed a counterclaim on October 10, 2013 seeking a judicial order to permit the cancellation of Huron’s commercial license to allow Huron to cease doing business in Abu Dhabi. We believe the claims made by Tamalluk Business Development and its principal are without merit and intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.
	Other Litigation Gain
	During the third quarter of 2013, we reached a settlement agreement to resolve a lawsuit brought by Huron, resulting in a gain of $5.3 million being recorded. We collected $2.6 million of the settlement amount during the fourth quarter of 2013, and we anticipate the remaining amount will be collected during the first quarter of 2014. The settlement receivable is recorded in Prepaid expenses and other current assets.
	From time to time, we are involved in legal proceedings and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. As of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we are not a party to or threatened with any other litigation or legal proceeding that, in the current opinion of management, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in legal proceedings, actual results could differ from current expected results.
Segment Reporting	'
	Segments are defined by FASB ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” as components of a company in which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. In the first quarter of 2013, the Company reorganized its internal financial reporting structure. Under the new structure, the Company began reporting information as five operating segments: Huron Healthcare; Huron Legal; Huron Education and Life Sciences; Huron Financial; and All Other. Our chief operating decision maker manages the business under these five operating segments.

Discontinued_Operations_Tables

Discontinued Operations (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Discontinued Operations And Disposal Groups [Abstract]	'
Summarized operating results of discontinued operations	'
	Summarized operating results of discontinued operations are presented in the following table:
		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2013		2012		2013		2012
		$	24	$	—	$	57	$	683
	Revenues
	Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income tax expense	$	18	$	78	$	(51)	$	836
	Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$	10	$	47	$	(31)	$	518

Goodwill_and_Intangible_Assets1

Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'
	The table below sets forth the changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the nine months ended September 30, 2013.
		Current Segments
	Former Segments	Huron		Huron		Huron		Huron		Total
		Healthcare		Legal		Education		Financial
						and Life
						Sciences
	Health and Education Consulting		$       355,880	$	—	$	94,601		$             —	$	450,481
	Legal Consulting		—		52,947		—		—		52,947
	Financial Consulting		—		—		—		159,077		159,077
	Total new alignment as of December 31, 2012		355,880		52,947		94,601		159,077		662,505
	Accumulated impairment		—		—		—		(142,983)		(142,983)
	Goodwill, net as of December 31, 2012		355,880		52,947		94,601		16,094		519,522
	Foreign currency translation		—		(8)		—		—		(8)
	Goodwill, net as of September 30, 2013		$     355,880	$	52,939	$	94,601		$     16,094	$	519,514
Intangible assets	'
	Intangible assets as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012 consisted of the following:
				September 30, 2013				December 31, 2012
		Useful		Gross		Accumulated		Gross		Accumulated
		Life in		Carrying		Amortization		Carrying		Amortization
		Years		Amount				Amount
	Customer relationships	1 to 13		$	25,006	$	13,160	$	24,738	$	10,268
	Non-competition agreements	1 to 6			4,611		3,658		4,684		3,067
	Trade names	1 to 8			150		43		150		8
	Technology and software	5			4,041		2,357		4,041		1,751
	Document reviewer database	3			450		225		450		90
	Total			$	34,258	$	19,443	$	34,063	$	15,184

Earnings_Per_Share_Tables

Earnings Per Share (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]	'
Reconciliation of basic and diluted earnings per share	'
	Earnings per share under the basic and diluted computations are as follows:
		Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
		September 30,				September 30,
		2013		2012		2013		2012
	Net income from continuing operations	$	17,161	$	10,416	$	44,344		$	17,308
	Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax		10		47		(31)			518
	Net income	$	17,171	$	10,463	$	44,313		$	17,826
	Weighted average common shares outstanding – basic		22,386		21,950		22,293			21,881
	Weighted average common stock equivalents		487		376		419			366
	Weighted average common shares outstanding – diluted		22,873		22,326		22,712			22,247
	Net earnings per basic share:
	Net income from continuing operations	$	0.77	$	0.47	$	1.99		$	0.79
	Income from discontinued operations, net of tax		—		0.01		—			0.02
	Net income	$	0.77	$	0.48	$	1.99		$	0.81
	Net earnings per diluted share:
	Net income from continuing operations	$	0.75	$	0.47	$	1.95		$	0.78
	Income from discontinued operations, net of tax		—		—		—			0.02
	Net income	$	0.75	$	0.47	$	1.95		$	0.80

Derivative_Instruments_and_Hed1

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]	'
Fair Value interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments	'
	The table below sets forth additional information relating to these interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
		Fair Value (Derivative Asset and Liability)
	Balance Sheet Location	September 30,		December 31,
		2013		2012
	Other non-current assets	$	582	$	—
	Accrued expenses	$	661	$	493
	Deferred compensation and other liabilities	$	124	$	439

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru1

Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]	'
Financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis	'
	The table below sets forth our fair value hierarchy for our financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012.
		Quoted Prices		Significant		Significant		Total
		in Active		Other		Unobservable
		Markets for		Observable		Inputs
		Identical Assets		Inputs		(Level 3)
		(Level 1)		(Level 2)
	September 30, 2013
	Assets:
		$	—	$	—	$	2,666	$	2,666
	Promissory note
	Interest rate swaps		—		366		—		366
	Total assets	$	—	$	366	$	2,666	$	3,032
	Liabilities:
		$	—	$	569	$	—	$	569
	Interest rate swaps
	Deferred acquisition payments		—		—		5,103		5,103
	Total liabilities	$	—	$	569	$	5,103	$	5,672
	December 31, 2012
	Asset:
	Promissory note	$	—	$	—	$	2,907	$	2,907
	Liabilities:
		$	—	$	932	$	—	$	932
	Interest rate swaps
	Deferred acquisition payments		—		—		10,525		10,525
	Total liabilities	$	—	$	932	$	10,525	$	11,457

Other_Comprehensive_Income_Tab

Other Comprehensive Income (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Equity [Abstract]	'
Components of other comprehensive income, net of tax	'
	The table below sets forth the components of other comprehensive income, net of tax, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012.
		Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
		September 30, 2013						September 30, 2012
		Before		Tax		Net of		Before		Tax		Net of
		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes
				Benefit						Benefit
	Other comprehensive income:
	Foreign currency translation adjustment	$	1,019	$	6	$	1,025	$	496	$	—	$	496
	Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges:
	Change in fair value	$	(549)	$	218	$	(331)	$	(382)	$	151	$	(231)
	Reclassification adjustments into earnings		142		(56)		86		144		(57)		87
	Net unrealized gain (loss)	$	(407)	$	162	$	(245)	$	(238)	$	94	$	(144)
	Other comprehensive income	$	612	$	168	$	780	$	258	$	94	$	352
		Nine Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
		September 30, 2013						September 30, 2012
		Before		Tax		Net of		Before		Tax		Net of
		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes		Taxes		(Expense)		Taxes
				Benefit						Benefit
	Other comprehensive income:
	Foreign currency translation adjustment	$	62	$	57	$	119	$	403	$	(45)	$	358
	Unrealized gain (loss) on cash flow hedges:
	Change in fair value	$	308	$	(122)	$	186	$	(1,074)	$	428	$	(646)
	Reclassification adjustments into earnings		421		(168)		253		516		(206)		310
	Net unrealized gain (loss)	$	729	$	(290)	$	439	$	(558)	$	222	$	(336)
	Other comprehensive income	$	791	$	(233)	$	558	$	(155)	$	177	$	22
Components of accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax	'
	Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax, includes the following components:
		Foreign Currency		Net Unrealized		Accumulated Other
		Translation		Gains/(Losses) on		Comprehensive Loss
		Adjustments		Derivatives
	Balance, December 31, 2012	$	(805)	$	(554)	$	(1,359)
	Current period change		119		439		558
	Balance, September 30, 2013	$	(686)	$	(115)	$	(801)

Segment_Information_Tables

Segment Information (Tables)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013
Segment Reporting [Abstract]	'
Components of segment information	'
	The table below sets forth information about our operating segments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, along with the items necessary to reconcile the segment information to the totals reported in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.
			Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
			September 30,				September 30,
			2013		2012		2013		2012
	Huron Healthcare:
	Revenues		$	86,957	$	74,999	$	244,648	$	201,171
	Operating income		$	30,772	$	33,868	$	91,440	$	69,778
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			35.4%		45.2%		37.4%		34.7%
	Huron Legal:
	Revenues		$	45,263	$	46,153	$	131,296	$	133,443
	Operating income		$	15,138	$	11,479	$	28,869	$	33,489
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			33.4%		24.9%		22.0%		25.1%
	Huron Education and Life Sciences:
	Revenues		$	34,806	$	33,863	$	107,666	$	93,373
	Operating income		$	7,773	$	12,406	$	28,672	$	28,051
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			22.3%		36.6%		26.6%		30.0%
	Huron Financial:
	Revenues		$	7,223	$	6,689	$	25,068	$	16,821
	Operating income		$	664	$	1,763	$	7,995	$	1,659
	Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues			9.2%		26.4%		31.9%		9.9%
	All Other:
	Revenues		$	486	$	184	$	500	$	388
	Operating loss		$	(285)	$	(428)	$	(701)	$	(1,971)
	Segment operating loss as a percentage of segment revenues			N/M		N/M		N/M		N/M
	Total Company:
	Revenues		$	174,735	$	161,888	$	509,178	$	445,196
	Reimbursable expenses			17,542		13,470		51,001		41,820
	Total revenues and reimbursable expenses		$	192,277	$	175,358	$	560,179	$	487,016
	Statements of Earnings reconciliation:
	Segment operating income		$	54,062	$	59,088	$	156,275	$	131,006
	Items not allocated at the segment level:
	Other operating expenses and gains			17,975		20,562		58,640		65,436
	Depreciation and amortization expense			4,968		4,879		14,624		13,585
	Goodwill impairment charge			—		13,083		—		13,083
	Other expense, net			1,427		2,176		5,135		5,887
	Income from continuing operations before income tax expense		$	29,692	$	18,388	$	77,876	$	33,015
	N/M – Not Meaningful
Segment assets	'
	Segment Assets:		September 30,		December 31,
			2013		2012
	Huron Healthcare		$	79,678	$	60,288
	Huron Legal			47,846		51,594
	Huron Education and Life Sciences			26,391		31,129
	Huron Financial			10,445		1,462
	All Other			72		50
	Unallocated assets (1)			655,580		643,377
	Total assets		$	820,012	$	787,900
		-1	Goodwill and intangible assets are included in unallocated assets, as management does not evaluate these items at the segment level when assessing segment performance or allocating resources.

Basis_of_Presentation_Addition

Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail) (Share-based compensation [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Jun. 30, 2013
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]	'
Error and impact in current financial statements	$1.10
Additional paid-in capital [Member]	'
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]	'
Error and impact in current financial statements	1.1
Direct costs [Member]	'
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]	'
Error and impact in current financial statements	0.9
Selling, general and administrative expense [Member]	'
Basis Of Presentation [Line Items]	'
Error and impact in current financial statements	$0.20

Discontinued_Operations_Additi

Discontinued Operations - Additional Information (Detail) (Accounting Advisory [Member], USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2011
Accounting Advisory [Member]	'
Discontinued Operations (Textual) [Abstract]	'
Loss on sale of Accounting Advisory	$1.90

Discontinued_Operations_Summar

Discontinued Operations - Summarized Operating Results of Discontinued Operations (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Discontinued Operations And Disposal Groups [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Revenues	$24	'	$57	$683
Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income tax expense	18	78	-51	836
Net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$10	$47	($31)	$518

Goodwill_and_Intangible_Assets2

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Changes in the Carrying Amount of Goodwill (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	$662,505
Foreign currency translation	-8	'
Accumulated impairment	'	-142,983
Goodwill, net	519,514	519,522
Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	450,481
Legal Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	52,947
Financial Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	159,077
Huron Healthcare [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	355,880
Foreign currency translation	'	'
Accumulated impairment	'	'
Goodwill, net	355,880	355,880
Huron Healthcare [Member] | Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	355,880
Huron Healthcare [Member] | Legal Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Healthcare [Member] | Financial Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Legal [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	52,947
Foreign currency translation	-8	'
Accumulated impairment	'	'
Goodwill, net	52,939	52,947
Huron Legal [Member] | Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Legal [Member] | Legal Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	52,947
Huron Legal [Member] | Financial Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	94,601
Foreign currency translation	'	'
Accumulated impairment	'	'
Goodwill, net	94,601	94,601
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member] | Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	94,601
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member] | Legal Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member] | Financial Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Financial [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	159,077
Foreign currency translation	'	'
Accumulated impairment	'	-142,983
Goodwill, net	16,094	16,094
Huron Financial [Member] | Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Financial [Member] | Legal Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	'
Huron Financial [Member] | Financial Consulting [Member]	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'
Goodwill	'	$159,077

Goodwill_and_Intangible_Assets3

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
		Segment		Segment
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Number of operating segments	'	5	'	5	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	$662,505,000
Goodwill, Impairment Loss, before tax	'	'	13,083,000	'	13,083,000	'
Long-term assumed annual revenue growth rate	'	'	'	'	3.00%	'
WACC discount rate, Assumed for discounted cash flow	'	'	'	'	'13	'
Intangible assets amortization expense	1,400,000	'	1,900,000	4,300,000	5,100,000	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2013	5,800,000	'	'	5,800,000	'	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2014	4,600,000	'	'	4,600,000	'	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2015	3,100,000	'	'	3,100,000	'	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2016	1,900,000	'	'	1,900,000	'	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2017	1,200,000	'	'	1,200,000	'	'
Estimated annual intangible assets amortization expense 2018	800,000	'	'	800,000	'	'
Huron Healthcare [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	355,880,000
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	94,601,000
Health and Education Consulting [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Number of operating segments	'	2	'	'	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	450,481,000
Health and Education Consulting [Member] | Huron Healthcare [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	355,880,000
Health and Education Consulting [Member] | Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	'
Reassigned amount of goodwill	'	'	'	'	'	$94,601,000

Goodwill_and_Intangible_Assets4

Goodwill and Intangible Assets - Intangible Assets (Detail) (USD $)

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

Sep. 30, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Sep. 30, 2013

In Thousands, unless otherwise specified

Customer relationships [Member]

Customer relationships [Member]

Customer relationships [Member]

Customer relationships [Member]

Non-competition agreements [Member]

Non-competition agreements [Member]

Non-competition agreements [Member]

Non-competition agreements [Member]

Trade names [Member]

Trade names [Member]

Trade names [Member]

Trade names [Member]

Technology and software [Member]

Technology and software [Member]

Technology and software [Member]

Document reviewer database [Member]

Document reviewer database [Member]

Document reviewer database [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Minimum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Maximum [Member]

Intangible assets

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

'

Useful Life in Years

'

'

'

'

'1 year

'13 years

'

'

'1 year

'6 years

'

'

'1 year

'8 years

'

'

'5 years

'

'

'3 years

Gross Carrying Amount

$34,258

$34,063

$25,006

$24,738

'

'

$4,611

$4,684

'

'

$150

$150

'

'

$4,041

$4,041

'

$450

$450

'

Accumulated Amortization

$19,443

$15,184

$13,160

$10,268

'

'

$3,658

$3,067

'

'

$43

$8

'

'

$2,357

$1,751

'

$225

$90

'

Earnings_Per_Share_Reconciliat

Earnings Per Share - Reconciliation of Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Earnings Per Share Reconciliation [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Net income from continuing operations	$17,161	$10,416	$44,344	$17,308
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax	10	47	-31	518
Net income	$17,171	$10,463	$44,313	$17,826
Weighted average common shares outstanding - basic	22,386	21,950	22,293	21,881
Weighted average common stock equivalents	487	376	419	366
Weighted average common shares outstanding - diluted	22,873	22,326	22,712	22,247
Net earnings per basic share:	'	'	'	'
Net income from continuing operations	$0.77	$0.47	$1.99	$0.79
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	'	$0.01	'	$0.02
Net income	$0.77	$0.48	$1.99	$0.81
Net earnings per diluted share:	'	'	'	'
Net income from continuing operations	$0.75	$0.47	$1.95	$0.78
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax	'	'	'	$0.02
Net income	$0.75	$0.47	$1.95	$0.80

Earnings_Per_Share_Additional_

Earnings Per Share - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Earnings Per Share Textual [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Weighted average common stock equivalents antidilutive	36,600	42,200	78,900	85,300

Borrowings_Additional_Informat

Borrowings - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 25, 2013
			Revolving credit facility [Member]	Term Loan Facility [Member]	Term Loan Facility [Member]
Borrowings (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'	'
Aggregate principal amount	$450	'	$247.50	$202.50	'
Period of revolving credit facility	'5 years	'	'	'	'
Period of term loan facility	'5 years	'	'	'	'
Aggregate amount of option available to increase the revolving credit facility	50	'	'	'	'
Percentage of other equity interests in domestic subsidiaries	100.00%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of other equity interests in foreign subsidiaries	65.00%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of Federal Funds Rate	0.50%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of Eurodollar Rate	1.00%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year one	6.90%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year two	13.80%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year three	15.80%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year four	16.60%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year five	16.60%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of original principal balance in year six	30.30%	'	'	'	'
Maturity date	25-Sep-18	'	'	'	'
Borrowings outstanding under credit facility	'	192.5	'	175	181.3
Credit Agreement, dividends restriction amount	50	'	'	'	'
Percentage of cumulative consolidated net income	50.00%	'	'	'	'
Percentage of net cash proceeds from equity issuances	50.00%	'	'	'	'
Minimum fixed charge coverage ratio	2.25	'	'	'	'
Maximum leverage ratio	3	'	'	'	'
Minimum net worth amount	150	'	'	'	'
Actual fixed charge coverage ratio	4.14	'	'	'	'
Actual leverage ratio	1.18	'	'	'	'
Outstanding letters of credit	4.8	5.1	'	'	'
Unused borrowing capacity under Credit Agreement	$242.70	'	'	'	'
Percentage of weighted average interest rate of borrowings	2.00%	2.50%	'	'	'

Restructuring_Charges_Addition

Restructuring Charges - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012
				Office space in Washington, D.C [Member]	New York City office locations [Member]	Washington DC [Member]	Washington DC [Member]	New York [Member]
							Leasehold Improvements [Member]	Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Restructuring Charges (Additional Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Pre-tax restructuring expenses	$2,194	$596	$3,253	$600	$1,100	$900	'	'
Lease payments, net of estimated sublease income	'	'	'	'	'	700	'	'
Restructuring reserve accelerated depreciation	'	'	'	'	400	'	200	1,100
Brokerage fees related to sublease arrangement	'	'	'	'	700	'	'	'
Restructuring charge liability	'	$800	'	'	'	'	'	'

Derivative_Instruments_and_Hed2

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Apr. 30, 2013	31-May-12	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2009	Sep. 30, 2013	Apr. 04, 2013	30-May-12	Dec. 08, 2011	Mar. 20, 2009
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Variable-rate borrowings outstanding	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	$100
Fixed-rate borrowings	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	100
Interest rate swap agreement, effective date	'	31-May-12	29-Feb-12	31-Mar-09	31-Mar-14	'	'	'	'
Interest rate swap agreement, end date	'	14-Apr-16	14-Apr-16	23-Feb-12	31-Aug-17	'	'	'	'
Duration of LIBOR	'1 month	'1 month	'1 month	'1 month	'	'	'	'	'
Percentage of fixed rate	'	'	'	'	'	0.99%	0.70%	0.99%	1.72%
Anticipated net losses, net of tax, currently recorded in OCI reclassified into earnings	'	'	'	'	0.4	'	'	'	'
Impact on Balance Sheet by netting derivative instruments	'	'	'	'	0.2	'	'	'	'
Interest rate swaps [Member]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities [Line Items]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Interest rate swap agreement for a notional amount	'	'	'	'	'	60	37	56.6	$100
Percentage of debt effectively fixed by interest rate swaps	'	'	'	'	'	80.00%	'	'	'

Derivative_Instruments_and_Hed3

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activity - Fair Value Interest Rate Swaps Designated as Cash Flow Hedging Instruments (Detail) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Other non-current assets [Member]	'	'
Fair Value interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments	'	'
Fair Value (Derivative Asset and Liability)	$582	'
Accrued expenses [Member]	'	'
Fair Value interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments	'	'
Fair Value (Derivative Asset and Liability)	661	493
Deferred compensation and other liabilities [Member]	'	'
Fair Value interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedging instruments	'	'
Fair Value (Derivative Asset and Liability)	$124	$439

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru2

Fair Value of Financial Instruments - Financial Assets and Liabilities Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (Detail) (Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member], USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	$3,032	'
Liabilities, fair value	5,672	11,457
Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	5,103	10,525
Promissory note [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	2,666	2,907
Interest rate swaps [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	366	'
Liabilities, fair value	569	932
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	'	'
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member] | Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	'	'
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member] | Promissory note [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	'	'
Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1) [Member] | Interest rate swaps [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	'	'
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	366	'
Liabilities, fair value	569	932
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member] | Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	'	'
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member] | Promissory note [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	'	'
Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) [Member] | Interest rate swaps [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	366	'
Liabilities, fair value	569	932
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	2,666	'
Liabilities, fair value	5,103	10,525
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member] | Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	5,103	10,525
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member] | Promissory note [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	2,666	2,907
Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) [Member] | Interest rate swaps [Member]	'	'
Fair Value, Asset/Liability	'	'
Asset, fair value	'	'
Liabilities, fair value	'	'

Fair_Value_of_Financial_Instru3

Fair Value of Financial Instruments - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 30, 2011
Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'
Promissory note received for sale of AA	'	'	$3.50
Promissory note payable period	'	'4 years	'
Consideration received as promissory note payable, 2013	0.2	'	'
Consideration received as promissory note payable, 2015	$1.10	'	'
Promissory note [Member]	'	'	'
Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'
Discount rate used to measure fair value	14.00%	'	'
Promissory note payable maturity date	31-Dec-15	'	'
Minimum [Member] | Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'	'
Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'
Discount rate used to measure fair value	4.00%	'	'
Deferred acquisition payment terms	'1 year	'	'
Maximum [Member] | Deferred acquisition payments [Member]	'	'	'
Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'
Discount rate used to measure fair value	8.00%	'	'
Deferred acquisition payment terms	'2 years	'	'

Other_Comprehensive_Income_Com

Other Comprehensive Income - Components of Other Comprehensive Income, Net of Tax (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Other Comprehensive Income Loss Net Of Tax Period Increase Decrease [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Foreign currency translation adjustment, before taxes	$1,019	$496	$62	$403
Change in fair value, before taxes	-549	-382	308	-1,074
Reclassification adjustments into earnings, before taxes	142	144	421	516
Net unrealized gain (loss), before taxes	-407	-238	729	-558
Other comprehensive income, before taxes	612	258	791	-155
Foreign currency translation adjustment, tax (expense) benefit	6	'	57	-45
Change in fair value, tax (expense) benefit	218	151	-122	428
Reclassification adjustments into earnings, tax (expense) benefit	-56	-57	-168	-206
Net unrealized gain (loss), tax (expense) benefit	162	94	-290	222
Other comprehensive income, tax (expense) benefit	168	94	-233	177
Foreign currency translation adjustment, net of taxes	1,025	496	119	358
Change in fair value, net of taxes	-331	-231	186	-646
Reclassification adjustments into earnings, net of taxes	86	87	253	310
Net unrealized gain (loss), net of taxes	-245	-144	439	-336
Other comprehensive income	$780	$352	$558	$22

Other_Comprehensive_Income_Com1

Other Comprehensive Income - Components of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss, Net of Tax (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Loss Net Of Tax [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments, Beginning balance	'	'	($805)	'
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments, Current period change	1,025	496	119	358
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments, Ending balance	-686	'	-686	'
Net Unrealized Gains/(Losses) on Derivatives, Beginning balance	'	'	-554	'
Net Unrealized Gains/(Losses) on Derivatives, Current period change	-245	-144	439	-336
Net Unrealized Gains/(Losses) on Derivatives, Ending balance	-115	'	-115	'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss, Beginning balance	'	'	-1,359	'
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss, Current period change	780	352	558	22
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss, Ending balance	($801)	'	($801)	'

Income_Taxes_Additional_Inform

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Income Taxes (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'
Effective tax rates	42.20%	43.40%	43.10%	47.60%

Commitments_Contingencies_and_1

Commitments, Contingencies and Guarantees - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013	Aug. 22, 2013	Aug. 22, 2013
					Subsequent Event [Member]	Claim against damage on reputation and defamation [Member]	Claim against breach of contract [Member]
Commitments Contingencies And Guarantees (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'	'	'	'
Maximum amount of civil penalties per violation under the Federal False Claims Act	'	$11,000	'	'	'	'	'
Maximum amount of civil penalties per violation under the State False Claims Act	'	12,000	'	'	'	'	'
Alleged amount of outlier payments received	'	30,000,000	'	'	'	'	'
Settlement charges recorded during the period	5,300,000	6,450,000	-1,150,000	'	'	'	'
Loss contingency, claim filed by related party	'	'	'	'	'	50,000,000	50,000,000
Proceeds from legal settlements	'	'	'	'	2,600,000	'	'
Gain on other litigation	5,300,000	'	'	'	'	'	'
Guarantees in the form of letters of credit	$4,800,000	$4,800,000	'	$5,100,000	'	'	'

Segment_Information_Additional

Segment Information - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012
	Clients	Segment	Clients	Segment	Clients	Clients
				Clients
Segment Information (Textual) [Abstract]	'	'	'	'	'	'
Number of operating segments	'	5	'	5	'	'
Percentage of total receivables and unbilled services balances for which no single client reached	'	'	'	10.00%	'	10.00%
Number of single client accounted for greater than 10% of combined receivables and unbilled services balances	'	'	'	0	'	0
Customer revenues as a percentage of consolidated revenue, for which no single client reached	10.00%	'	10.00%	10.00%	10.00%	'
Number of client generated greater than 10% of consolidated revenues	0	'	0	0	0	'

Segment_Information_Components

Segment Information - Components of Segment Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	$174,735	$161,888	$509,178	$445,196
Reimbursable expenses	17,542	13,470	51,001	41,820
Operating income	31,119	20,564	83,011	38,902
Total revenues and reimbursable expenses	192,277	175,358	560,179	487,016
Statements of Earnings reconciliation:	'	'	'	'
Segment operating income	54,062	59,088	156,275	131,006
Items not allocated at the segment level:	'	'	'	'
Other operating expenses and gains	17,975	20,562	58,640	65,436
Depreciation and amortization expense	4,968	4,879	14,624	13,585
Goodwill impairment charge	'	13,083	'	13,083
Other expense, net	1,427	2,176	5,135	5,887
Income from continuing operations before income tax expense	29,692	18,388	77,876	33,015
Huron Healthcare [Member]	'	'	'	'
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	86,957	74,999	244,648	201,171
Operating income	30,772	33,868	91,440	69,778
Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues	35.40%	45.20%	37.40%	34.70%
Huron Legal [Member]	'	'	'	'
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	45,263	46,153	131,296	133,443
Operating income	15,138	11,479	28,869	33,489
Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues	33.40%	24.90%	22.00%	25.10%
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member]	'	'	'	'
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	34,806	33,863	107,666	93,373
Operating income	7,773	12,406	28,672	28,051
Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues	22.30%	36.60%	26.60%	30.00%
Huron Financial [Member]	'	'	'	'
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	7,223	6,689	25,068	16,821
Operating income	664	1,763	7,995	1,659
Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues	9.20%	26.40%	31.90%	9.90%
All Other [Member]	'	'	'	'
Components of Segment Information	'	'	'	'
Revenues	486	184	500	388
Operating income	($285)	($428)	($701)	($1,971)
Segment operating income as a percentage of segment revenues	'	'	'	'

Segment_Information_Segment_As

Segment Information - Segment Assets (Detail) (USD $)	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	$820,012	$787,900
Huron Healthcare [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	79,678	60,288
Huron Legal [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	47,846	51,594
Huron Education and Life Sciences [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	26,391	31,129
Huron Financial [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	10,445	1,462
All Other [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	72	50
Unallocated assets [Member]	'	'
Segment Assets:	'	'
Total assets	$655,580	$643,377

Subsequent_Event_Additional_In

Subsequent Event - Additional Information (Detail) (Blue Stone International, LLC [Member], Business Acquisition [Member], USD $)	1 Months Ended
In Millions, unless otherwise specified	Oct. 31, 2013
Blue Stone International, LLC [Member] | Business Acquisition [Member]	'
Subsequent Event [Line Items]	'
Effective date of acquisition	1-Oct-13
Purchase price of the business acquired	$30