Your Dedicated Attorney,On Demand

Outside general counsel is an attorney or firm that serves as your company's dedicated legal resource without being a full-time employee. You get consistent legal support from someone who knows your business, predictable monthly costs, and the ability to call or email with questions as they come up—without the overhead of a full-time in-house hire.

Traditional law firm engagements are project-based: you have a specific issue, you hire a lawyer, they handle it, and you receive a bill. Outside general counsel is an ongoing relationship. The attorney learns your business, your contracts, your industry, and your goals. When a question arises, there is no ramp-up time—you get answers faster because the context already exists.

Outside general counsel typically makes sense for companies that have regular legal needs but not enough to justify a full-time hire. A full-time general counsel is an expensive, six-figure hire once salary and benefits are counted. Outside counsel provides similar coverage for a flat monthly retainer — quoted in writing at the consultation — scaling up or down based on actual needs. Many companies use outside counsel until a full-time hire is clearly justified.

It starts with an onboarding conversation to understand the business, current legal needs, and priority areas. From there, a monthly retainer is established based on anticipated volume. Most clients communicate via email and scheduled calls, with the ability to reach out for urgent matters. Monthly check-ins help identify upcoming needs and keep the attorney informed about business developments.

The retainer covers day-to-day legal support. Larger projects—like an acquisition, a major litigation matter, or a complex financing—are typically scoped and billed separately, often at a preferred rate for existing clients. The advantage is that your outside counsel already knows the business, so even project-based work starts with full context rather than a learning curve.