Q: What
kind of companies should consider using Resident General Counsel?
A: Developing
and mid-sized companies (public or private) which do not have
a general counsel and are spending too much time and money with
outside counsel should consider retaining Resident General Counsel.
We provide a unique opportunity to obtain the personal commitment
of an experienced, top tier general counsel at an affordable fixed
cost. Instead of paying up to $200 an hour for first year lawyers
and up to $700 an hour for senior partners, you can have senior
partner level experience at a fraction of the cost.
Q: How
will using Resident General Counsel be different than using our
current law firm?
A:
The services of Resident General Counsel
are performed on-site at your headquarters on a regular basis,
ensuring that a personal as well as professional relationship
develops. The management team and employees of your company will
not need to educate different attorneys from each practice area
of your law firm in order to have your complete legal needs handled.
Your company will not need to train junior associates who are
not familiar with your business. The CEO, CFO and other members
of your management team will have a “partner” to help
them navigate through the myriad of legal issues which confront
corporations today.
Q: How
can retaining Resident General Counsel provide a more valuable
solution for your company than hiring an in-house attorney?
A: Retaining
Resident General Counsel will enable your company to obtain the
benefits of hiring an experienced, top-tier General Counsel even
though you may not yet have anticipated the need or budgeted for
a full-time General Counsel. Instead of hiring an affordable,
but junior attorney, you can now add a “resident”
General Counsel to your management team without making a full-time
hiring commitment. Your company receives and pays for services
only to the extent that you need them. The level of services you
receive may be adjusted based on your actual needs.
Q: How
will using Resident General Counsel's services reduce costs and
provide value for our company?
A: There
are three reasons why using Resident General Counsel should result
in overall reduced legal costs and provide value. First, a substantial
amount of advice and legal matters will be handled directly by
a highly experienced “resident” General Counsel, resulting
in a cost savings from outside law firms. Second, cost savings
will be achievable by the implementation of an Outside Counsel
Billing Policy for all outside counsel, careful review of projects
to be assigned to outside counsel, and management of their bills.
Finally, substantial amounts of senior management time will be
freed from reviewing legal documents and communicating with outside
counsel; your management team members will have more time to concentrate
on the core business.
Q: How
will the Resident General Counsel program reduce financial and
legal risk for our company?
A: The
in-person presence of a General Counsel on a regular basis will
help your company identify its areas of financial and legal risk.
So many business issues have important but hidden legal implications
and consequences (for instance, using product and service names
without proper trademarking). Routine business practices often
expose corporations to financial risk (for instance, allowing
employees to sign binding contracts without having a contract
and transaction approval policy in place). As a result of having
a resident General Counsel to provide proactive, rather than reactive
services, important issues will not arise for the first time during
due diligence for an IPO, acquisition or strategic alliance, and
the chance for an unexpected legal crisis is greatly reduced.
Q: How
does the arrangement between Resident General Counsel and its
clients typically work?
A: The
Resident General Counsel program is flexible to meet your needs.
The basic program provides one day a week (or four days a month)
of on-site legal services, with the opportunity to obtain more
services as needed and as available. Resident General Counsel
has developed the “First Things First Program™”
to provide companies with an initial assessment of their fundamental
legal needs. This program is designed to inform your company of
legal needs that you may not even know you have, as well as identify
important legal issues which should be addressed. Your company
would enter into a Consulting Agreement and pay a monthly retainer
for services.
Q: If our
company retains Resident General Counsel, do we discontinue our
relationships with our present law firms?
A:
Probably not. Rather, Resident General Counsel will manage the
relationship with your existing outside counsel, finding ways
to ensure that you receive the best service possible and carefully
monitoring legal staffing decisions and invoices. Resident General
Counsel will of course handle a significant amount of your legal
needs without outside counsel involvement to reduce your billings.
And, there may be times when Resident General Counsel helps you
find the right law firm for matters requiring special expertise
(such as patents or ERISA) or for matters which require intensive
resources (such as an IPO or significant acquisition).
Q: What
else should I know about Resident General Counsel that I didn’t
ask?
A: There
is a high probability that you will enjoy using Resident General
Counsel for your legal services. It’s personal as well as
professional. In addition to providing value and reducing cost,
Resident General Counsel can show you that it is possible to enjoy
working with your lawyer.
Q: How
do I learn more about the Resident General Counsel program?
A: To set up an appointment
to find out whether these services would work for you, and to
learn about the First Things First Program™ and our personal
guarantee, please contact Ruth Williams at rwilliams@residentgc.com
or (908) 781-7960.
