Outside general counsel

Regardless of its size and operations, your business faces various regulatory, legal, and compliance issues. Whether you want to form a legal entity, ensure that your operations adhere to industry-specific regulations, or file a civil lawsuit for legal damages, you need an experienced legal team on your side.

Every business can benefit from an in-house attorney. However, not all companies have the resources or need to appoint one.

If you own a business in Jacksonville, Amelia Island, or anywhere in the US, don’t take the risk of trying to self-manage your legal obligations. Get help from an outside general counsel attorney from our team at Montague Law. Contact us today at 904-234-5653.

What is an Outside General Counsel Attorney?

An outside general counsel lawyer is generally a member of a law firm hired to provide a business with all the legal advice and representation necessary to navigate legal matters. Small and mid-sized businesses often retain outside general counsel to manage legal matters on an ongoing basis instead of hiring an in-house attorney or legal team.

Larger companies with an in-house legal department may also hire outside general counsel to support their staff legal team during a specific case or legal matter. In some cases, retaining outside counsel may be necessary to provide staff attorneys with support in ongoing legal tasks.

An outside general counsel attorney may handle:

•       Reviewing contracts
•       Resolving contract disputes
•       Reviewing and negotiating all real estate transactions
•       Maintaining corporate records to ensure legal compliance
•       Reviewing potential acquisitions or mergers to protect your business interests
•       Representing your business during litigation to protect your rights and interests
•       Reviewing and negotiating the terms of commercial finance transactions

 Outside General Counsel Lawyer: Our Services

As your outside general counsel attorney, we deliver the same solutions as an in-house lawyer, with a particular focus on the term “counsel.”

We will work closely with you to understand your business objectives and ventures. Then, we will provide you with personalized legal advice regarding your business’s rights, legal responsibilities, and obligations. Your general counsel will also provide you with valuable insight into your entity structures and operations so that you can make informed business decisions.

Identifying potential legal issues quickly is integral to our legal services, and we aim to mitigate all risks by navigating or avoiding:

•       Changing regulations and laws affecting your business
•       Non-compliance with internal policies, legislation, and best practices that apply to your business
•       Failure to fulfill contractual liabilities
•       Damages to third parties, such as competitors, that may result in civil lawsuits
•       Litigation due to disputes with stakeholders, partners, or customers

When you hire us for general counsel services, we will build a professional attorney-client relationship with you. Your Montague Law representative will provide your business with a comprehensive range of solutions to take on all issues with legal implications.

Access to a diverse range of legal solutions means you don’t have to appoint several attorneys. We can take care of your real estate transactions, review government contracts, obtain documents for mergers, and more.

With an outside general counsel agreement, you only need to communicate with one attorney from one law firm. Our objective is to streamline and centralize all your legal processes, freeing up your time and energy so you can focus on growing your business.

The Benefits of Hiring an Outside General Counsel Attorney

As your business and requirements for legal solutions grow, you need to choose between hiring an on-site attorney and hiring outside general counsel. But, what are the benefits of hiring outside general counsel?

Cost

Hiring outside general counsel is the most cost-effective option if you want to avoid recruiting costs, paying the salary of an in-house attorney, and providing the employee benefits typically granted to full-time staff members. In-house attorneys often require partial ownership or equity in the business, which is not the case with outside counsel.

Likewise, with an outside counsel hire, you only pay for the legal work that the firm performs. On the other hand, an in-house attorney receives a full salary, even during months when your business doesn’t require legal work.

Flexibility

The process of hiring an outside general counsel attorney is significantly easier than appointing an in-house employee. Before hiring outside counsel, you can “test” their services to see if the law firm is a good fit for your business. Under the rules of Professional Conduct, if you are not satisfied with the outside counsel’s service, you can terminate the service agreement at any time.

However, terminating an employee agreement in violation of the agreement terms can land you in hot water. Even though Florida is an at-will state, hiring a lawyer as an employee doesn’t provide you with the same flexibility as an outside counsel agreement.

Efficiency

As a business owner, you know all too well how legal issues can arise at any time and often require a quick response to ensure the best outcome. If you don’t have a legal advisor on standby to deal with legal matters as they occur, you will need to spend valuable time evaluating potential candidates. Attorneys often have one practice area, which means you may need to onboard several lawyers to take care of complex legal issues.

As an outside general counsel, we are your one-stop shop for legal solutions. By providing you with a single point of contact, we can streamline all legal aspects of your business. We will also play an active role in your business’s legal interests, which means we may catch potential legal issues before they can cause problems.

External Perspective

You have a vested interest in your business’s performance and all decisions you make likely have an emotional component. While it is true that emotion is an essential driver of business decisions, it can negatively impact the outcome of legal matters.

Hiring outside counsel provides you with an objective, outside perspective on legal issues and the outcomes you should pursue. At Montague Law, we adopt a strategic approach and will weigh all available legal solutions against each other to select the most effective option.

Access to Multiple Legal Services

Even with extensive experience in corporate law, a single in-house counsel lawyer may not have all the necessary skills to meet all your business’s legal needs. In larger organizations, staff legal teams often request additional support from external firms when working on complex legal matters.

Hiring outside general counsel from the get-go means that you have access to various legal services and the collective skills and experience of an entire legal team.

Onboarding outside counsel doesn’t mean that your legal team lacks insights into your business’s legal requirements. At Montague Law, we will go the extra mile to familiarize ourselves with your business’s objectives, operations, and procedures so that we can anticipate and resolve all legal issues.

Foundation for Growth

If you are in the process of starting a new business, you can rely on our legal solutions to establish a platform for growth. We can help you select the most optimal legal structure, issue corporate documentation to ensure regulatory compliance, protect your intellectual property, draw up employee contracts, and more.

The Skills We Bring to Your Business

At Montague Law, we can provide your business with extensive legal knowledge and expertise, resulting from many years of experience in the legal field. Our team also has the necessary research skills to formulate the most effective legal solution for any situation your business may face, regardless of its complexity.

We understand the value of clear and regular communication. Our team will ensure that you have no problem understanding the legal issues your business faces and the solutions we recommend. Even if you don’t come from a legal background, you will have all the necessary information to make calculated decisions.

Risk management is integral to any effective legal solution. We aim to minimize your business’s regulatory, contractual, and compliance risks as your outside counsel. We can also help you formulate and implement measures to mitigate your risk for negligence resulting in third-party damages and civil claims.

Let an Outside General Counsel Lawyer Help

Depending on the type of business you run, you have many different legal responsibilities. Adhering to your legal obligations is critical to prevent non-compliance, penalties, and successful civil claims against yourself or your business entity. You also have the right to operate your business in a manner that you see fit, provided that you don’t violate relevant laws and regulations.

Navigating common legal business issues can be challenging, especially if you need to use all your available resources to serve customers and grow your business.

We provide outside general counsel services for business owners in Amelia Island, Jacksonville, and throughout the country. With us in your corner, you can focus on building your business without worrying about legal matters.

To learn more about outside general counsel and the benefits that it can offer your business, give us a call at 904-234-5653 to schedule an initial consultation.