When a business grows, its legal complexity increases. Whether you’re exploring a new market opportunity, negotiating critical agreements, or figuring out regulatory obligations, legal questions pop up fast. Waiting too long to identify and get to know a business attorney who can help your business grow while also mitigating risks may be the most expensive way to handle legal issues.
Outside General Counsel Can Save Time, Money, and Headaches
A common mistake I see is business owners trying to tackle legal hurdles on their own. Relying on handshake deals, borrowing a friend’s terms and conditions, or downloading a contract template online may seem quick and cost-effective, but it can lead to costly errors. Starting with a “free” document or overlooking a key legal point can ultimately cost far more to rectify than investing in professional help from the outset. Finding an attorney and bringing them up to speed if something doesn’t go as planned is also stressful and time-consuming. Having experienced outside general counsel on your team can be a valuable investment to avoid potentially significant problems later.
What is Outside General Counsel?
Outside general counsel is a lawyer or law firm hired by a business to serve as regular, flexible legal support, along the lines of an in-house legal department but without full-time payroll or overhead costs.
Why Hire Outside General Counsel?
Finding someone to serve as outside general counsel is proactive and strategic. Instead of scrambling when faced with a legal question, knowing exactly who to call leads to quicker solutions and better outcomes. An attorney already familiar with your business operations, industry, goals, and risk tolerance can offer timely, practical legal guidance across a wide range of topics, including strategic alliances, contracts, compliance, employment issues, intellectual property, and more.
But outside general counsel isn’t just for putting out fires. The right counsel can assist with strategic planning and help identify the best business structures to achieve operational and exit strategies. They can help shape deals that accurately reflect business operations, identify growth opportunities, and achieve business goals while minimizing risk, unnecessary liability and avoidable expenses. In other words, outside general counsel can help increase profitability.
Having this expertise in place is especially valuable for growing or mid-sized companies that aren’t ready for full-time in-house general counsel but still need regular legal support. For larger businesses, access to outside general counsel can provide project support or specialized expertise to bolster in-house legal departments.
Who Should I Hire as Outside General Counsel?
Outside general counsel should have experience supporting businesses and be familiar enough with your specific industry, operations, strategy and bottom-line objectives to jump in immediately and offer tailored advice that fits the situation.
Hiring outside general counsel with previous in-house experience and cross-industry exposure brings both legal knowledge and real-world business insight. Access to counsel that provides practical, actionable advice on how to build and scale within an effective legal framework is a cost-effective and valuable resource for your business.
Before joining Fortis Law Partners, I worked for both small and multinational businesses in various legal and business roles. I’ve collaborated with product development and operations teams, sat in the C-suite, and helped companies navigate business and legal challenges in industries ranging from manufacturing to financial, technical and software services. I understand both niche challenges and the broader business picture and apply that experience to help my clients grow successfully.
Bottom line
Engaging outside general counsel is not just for crisis management; it’s a strategic advantage for your bottom line. If you are in the process of scaling your business, now is the time to consider bringing an experienced legal partner into the fold. Contact me if you have questions about how hiring outside general counsel could benefit your business.
