Outside General Counsel

What is "outside general counsel"?

"Outside general counsel" is an attorney who performs generalized legal work for a business, but is not an employee of that business.

Many large companies have one or more attorneys called "general counsel" or "in-house counsel" who are those companies' salaried employees. They take care of their employer's general legal needs, which can include collections, human resources work, litigation management (managing outside litigation counsel on cases the company is involved in), corporate governance work, contract review, mergers and acquisitions work, and whatever else the employer needs done.

For companies who aren't big enough yet, or who don't have enough legal work to justify having one or more full-time attorneys on salary, having an outside general counsel can be crucial.

Do I need it?

It depends on what your business's legal needs are, but ask yourself these questions:

Do you enter into one or more contracts each month?
Have you breached a contract, or are you about to breach a contract?
Has someone you are doing business with breached a contract they had with you?
Are you constantly chasing down customers who owe you money?
Do you need someone to handle confidential internal human resource investigations for you?
Do you often turn to an area attorney each month for legal advice?
Do you hire more than one type of attorney regularly on an hourly or flat-fee basis to handle company legal work?
Have you planned on hiring an attorney recently, only to find out they do not have time to address your concern promptly?
Does your current, piecemeal arrangement for handling legal issues sometimes leave your legal needs unmet?

If the answer to any of them is "yes," then you may be a prime candidate for an "outside general counsel" arrangement.

How much does it cost?

We offer outside general counsel services to businesses on a subscription basis. We provide responsive legal counsel for companies who have a need.

Better yet, we offer a tiered system tailored to your company's needs. All tiers also include a complimentary initial evaluation and consultation, as well as a periodic assessment of your company's legal needs.

The basics of our system are as follows:

Tier I - Clients receive up to three (3) hours of attorney time per month. The price of a Tier I package is $600 a month. A Tier I subscription is a great value for new businesses just starting out, or those small businesses simply wishing to examine and refine their legal posture.

Tier II - Clients receive up to five (5) hours of attorney time per month. The price of a Tier II package is $1,000 a month. A Tier II subscription is a great value for existing businesses experiencing growth or moderate recurrence of similar legal issues.

Tier III - Clients receive up to ten (10) hours of attorney time per month. The price of a Tier III package is $2,000 per month. A Tier III subscription is a great value for existing businesses who have recognized a need for ongoing legal counsel on a number of issues, but who do not have a place for full-time in-house counsel.

Clients are able to roll over limited hours from month-to-month. Additional hours during a given month may be available. Please contact us for additional details. Also, note that the services offered under this package do not include litigation or large transactions.

Why should I hire you?

We have been representing businesses of all sizes in many different industries, as both in-house counsel and outside general counsel, since 2005. We know how to help businesses thrive and grow to their full potential. We have represented health care providers, industrial manufacturers, professional services firms, restaurant owners, agricultural companies, land holding corporations, and more.

We also have extensive litigation experience, which makes us a little unusual for a firm offering general counsel services. Our knowledge and experience can aid your company in taking its next steps.

How can I get more information?