I agree with you that often the consultant gets nothing out of the NDA (bar the case where the consultant is sharing a proprietary method). Larger consulting fi

I agree with you that often the consultant gets nothing out of the NDA (bar the case where the consultant is sharing a proprietary method). Larger consulting firms actually often include their own form of NDA in engagement letters forbidding the client from sharing work product with third parties without permission. The NDA is typically separate from the actual engagement letter in my experience, and to your point I've actually worked on projects where we signed the engagement letter but "forgot" to sign the NDA and that piece fell through the cracks We scrupulously acted as though we had though to prevent the reputational damage that would come from violating confidentiality - NDA or no NDA.