Does My Business Need an Outsourced General Counsel? 

The business and legal worlds are intertwined. A large part of doing business involves looking out for legal risks, setting up processes to minimize those risks, and handling legal disputes. Put another way, handling legal issues comes with the territory of doing business, whether it is reviewing a vendor agreement, ensuring compliance with relevant rules and regulations, or facing the threat of litigation from a disgruntled client or employee.  

At the same time, business owners and managers wear many hats and, as the business grows, tend to take on additional responsibilities managing finance, employment, innovation, manufacturing, sales, and other areas. They will usually not have the time, bandwidth, or expertise to handle the many legal issues that come up. 

This is when a business needs to start thinking about taking on an outsourced legal counsel. Doing so can save the company legal hassles and money and free up management time. An experienced Naperville, IL business law attorney can become part of your management team as your outsourced general counsel to help your business thrive legally and financially.  

What Is an Outsourced General Counsel?

An outsourced general counsel is a hybrid between a business law attorney and a company’s in-house counsel. They meet the same legal needs as in-house counsel, providing advice and legal representation on multiple day-to-day and long-term legal issues, but at a fraction of the cost. 

Who Can Benefit From Outsourced General Counsel Services?

Outsourced general counsel services can benefit businesses in all industries and sizes, but are particularly appropriate for small to medium-sized businesses that find themselves consistently turning to a roster of legal representatives for help but do not yet have the size, legal volume, or resources to hire a full-time general counsel in-house. Outsourced general counsel services are particularly appropriate for businesses looking to streamline the company’s legal processes, as this avoids the inefficiencies that can occur when multiple employees and law firms are involved. 

What Are Common Services Outsourced General Counsels Provide?

The role of an outsourced legal general counsel can be as broad or narrow as the business needs, but in general, an outsourced general counsel:

• Provides advice and answers questions on legal concerns that come up on a daily basis.
• Drafts and reviews agreements.
• Advises on routine legal disputes.
• Manages additional law firms and attorneys you may have on board for specialized matters such as litigation.
• Provides corporate governance support.
• Attends important board meetings.
• Provides tax advice.
• Drafts and reviews employment handbooks and advises on employee disputes.
• Ensures compliance with rules and regulations such as employment laws and may set up compliance processes.
• Detects and minimizes legal risks. 
• Navigate complex mergers and acquisitions transactions.

What Are the Top Benefits of Having an Outsourced General Counsel?

Knows Your Business 

An outsourced general counsel will diligently get to know your business, staff, clients, industry, and most pressing legal issues. As a result, the strategic advice they give will be made with this deep knowledge of the business side of the equation. The knowledge of your business also means that your lawyer will be efficient and proactive. 

Cost-Effective

An outsourced legal counsel is far more cost-effective than an in-house general counsel, who is paid a significant salary plus benefits and requires training. It is also more cost-effective than hiring outside law firms who tend to bill on an hourly basis. In addition, because an outside general counsel knows your business inside and out, they are able to work more efficiently, further reducing costs. 

On-Demand Advice

Unlike many outside law firms, an outsourced general counsel provides advice on demand on a range of legal matters. Moreover, because they know your business well, they will be better situated to offer advice. The working relationship is also more similar to that of an in-house counsel that you can contact quickly with questions.  

Allows Management to Focus on Managing

By having an outsourced general counsel a phone call or email away, management can step away from worrying about potential legal issues and focus on running and growing the company. 

Legal Specialization

Your outsourced general counsel will be familiar with a broad range of legal issues. Even in areas that are more specialized, a legal counsel who knows your business inside and out will be able to flag potential legal issues and refer you to quality law firms on boutique matters such as patent filing or litigation. 

Risk Management 

Aside from the basic fact that having an attorney readily available to provide advice minimizes the risk a small concern becomes a big dispute, one of the key roles of an outsourced general counsel is conducting compliance work. Your lawyer can implement a process to ensure that the company complies with relevant laws and regulations, be quick to flag any concerns and empower key staff to do the same. They can also take a big-picture look at your business and recommend changes to minimize legal issues. 

Operational Legal Documents

An outsourced general counsel may review your operational documents, ensure that everything is correct, and suggest changes. Likewise, your outsourced general counsel can review any existing company contract and create strongly drafted agreements to keep the company legally protected. 

Minimize Growing Pains

As a company grows, whether organically or through mergers and acquisitions, there are inevitable changes that can bring up complex legal issues. A skilled outsourced general counsel can proactively flag any issues that happen as a result of company growth. 

Employee Training 

An outsourced legal counsel may offer training to staff on legal and compliance issues. This can help strengthen a company’s culture of legal compliance. Outsourced general counsel can also offer mentoring to higher-level management and provide a legal perspective to the individuals making the most crucial decisions on the business side. 

Contact a Naperville, IL Business Law Attorney

A growing business needs skilled legal counsel on hand who knows the business needs and the industry. The experienced Naperville, IL outsourced general counsel at Gierach Law Firm can help your business thrive. Call our offices at 650-756-1160 for a consultation today.