SME'S AND OUTSOURCED GENERAL COUNSEL:
The Often-Overlooked Asset That Can Be Your Secret to Success

As a small to midsized enterprise (SME), you have a lot on your plate. The biggest issue you want to concentrate on is the growth of your business. Many CEO's and owners, just like you, feel alone, feeling like they can't talk with anyone on their team about their thoughts for the future, as it may impact the jobs of the team. Until your company is large enough to hire an in-house general counsel, there is no one associated with the company who knows all the history, who can talk with you, as the CEO and/or owner, and counsel you about the directions that you want to take the company. This may include talking about the team members themselves, especially if you determine that the team member is no longer providing value to the business or that person is still a good team member, but the team member belongs in another seat in the organization chart.

I have seen a lot of struggles that SMEs have had over the years that have cost them lost time, assets, employees, customers, and the opportunity for growth. That is why I'm so passionate about providing Outsourced General Counsel (OGC) services and spreading the word that this is an essential secret asset that can save a business owner or leader time, money, and headaches.

My example above is just one of the benefits of having an Outsourced General Counsel – the ability to have these conversations with an attorney who knows your history of the company, its team members, its direction, its problems, and issues. With this background, the OGC can provide you with the critical insight that you may need at the time, giving you valuable information on both the business aspects and legal aspects of a change. After all, when your company has hired outside attorneys in the past, it was to put out one “fire,” not to learn about the history of your company. In addition, the outside attorney normally reports to your CFO, so how comfortable do you feel about those conversations that you want to be in private?

This is one of many things that an OGC can provide to you. Here are some other benefits that you will find a good OGC can provide:

  • Drafting contracts and creating a personalized library of your company's most common standard forms.
  • Due diligence review of business contracts.
  • Reviewing and revising commercial lease agreements.
  • Monitoring and helping to prevent regulatory or compliance issues and preventative legal care.
  • Assess the legal, financial and tax ramifications of a proposed action, giving you clear guidance.
  • Be part of your management team.
  • Legal advice on employment matters, including termination of employment and severance pay.
  • Management of legal department.
  • Negotiating transactions.
  • Management of outside legal specialists for particular projects.
  • Assistance in building a successful, sustainable, and saleable business.
  • Exit strategies for principals of the business.

And what qualifies as a “good” OGC? There are several items you should check into, but you can start by looking for a legal professional who has a wide breadth of business knowledge, has preferably owned businesses outside their law firm, has experience with helping businesses grow, sustain, solve problems, create succession plans, and a plethora of other areas that demonstrate business knowledge in addition to legal prowess.

Usually, hiring legal talent is viewed as a cost, rather than determining the value an OGC can provide. When hiring an OGC as part of your team, it is truly an investment in organizing and managing the legal function and providing you counsel that should result in less “fires” to be put out in your business and allow you and your top leadership to truly focus on the growth of the business.

If you are an SME that is still hiring lawyers ad hoc as issues arise, ask yourself what is holding you back from trying an Outsourced General Counsel? Try setting up some consulting work with an OGC, or signing up for services for a year, and see if the results help you better understand the value that can be provided to your business and the relief it can bring you. There can be a lot of loss by continuing to put off this key step, but only great things to gain by giving it a try.

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Denice Gierach

Gierach Law Firm

Denice Gierach is an attorney, CPA, Northwestern University business master's graduate, and has owned several businesses from real estate to manufacturing. She is the lead attorney at Gierach Law Firm in the Chicago area. With more than 30 years of experience, she has been a respected and sought-after resource for businesses looking to grow, sell, solve problems, and succeed long term. Her insights across business areas gives a fuller lens to business issues and solutions, and helps businesses grow and succeed with less time spent on legal issues and other time-consuming problems.

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