Inside – Out: Advantages of Outside General Counsel
A recent article in the American Bar Association Journal highlights a trend in business legal services: The Outside General Counsel. This “trend” is nothing new to Ethos Business Law — it is the basis of our business model — our “Ethos!” Outside general counsel services, or fractionalized general counsel, are growing in popularity as business owners realize the value they can leverage from proactive, business-focused attorneys that have in-house experience, business education and law firm training. But how do these services work and why are they better?
The basic business model is simple — outside general counsel services typically work with small to midsize businesses that have few or no in-house lawyers and act as an in-house lawyer without the cost or commitment of full-time employment. They can parachute into a company, even as a C-level executive, and stay for as long or as briefly as needed. Outside general counsel are perfectly suited to triage and solve your day-to-day legal needs at a fraction of the cost of traditional legal solutions. Here are just some of the benefits that outside general counsel provide when compared with traditional law firms:
- They are key business advisors, not just legal technicians
- They have significant in-house executive legal experience, and often times advanced business education
- They share a business-centric and practical approach, grounded in the company’s business objectives
- They can work in your office, along side your team
- They provide proactive legal risk management, helping avoid problems before they arise
- They communicate better with business constituents
- They provide another executive on your team, without the commitment of hiring a new employee
- They free you from worrying about the 6-minute bills
- They offer low overhead costs, meaning more affordable rates
An outside general counsel can handle your day-to-day legal needs in a manner that is more relevant to you than a traditional law firm and at a more compelling cost. In addition, they can work with law firms, and manage them, to get the most out of high-priced specialists when needed. Large companies rely on in-house counsel for these reasons. With an outside general counsel, you can too.