What Are the Benefits of Outside General Counsel to Your Business?

No matter the size of your business, there will be moments when you need quality legal advice. But knowing how to get your legal needs met can be a challenge, especially for businesses that don’t have the resources of a large corporation. That’s why many businesses are turning to outside general counsel, as this avoids the expense of an in-house attorney or legal team.

To learn more about the benefits of outside general counsel for your business, contact the North Carolina business attorneys at Mullen Holland & Cooper P.A.

How Can Hiring Outside General Counsel Help Your Business?

There are several key benefits to hiring an outside general counsel instead of retaining an in-house legal team. Those benefits include:

• Increased efficiency – Legal issues tend to crop up at the least opportune moments, such as at the close of a major deal. If you don’t already have someone on staff who has the knowledge and training to handle the issue, you could face a significant expense in time and money getting the problem resolved. Even if you have in-house counsel, they may not be trained in the particular area of law that you’re dealing with, so you may have to go outside your company anyway. But if you have a law firm with a broad knowledge base for your outside counsel, you can take advantage of their experience and get whatever issue you’re facing resolved quickly.
• Lower costs – Many firms are starting to offer fixed rates for general counsel services, which can be cheaper than the billable-hours model used by most in-house counsels. You might also end up saving money because you’re only paying for legal services when you need them, while still enjoying the quick and efficient service that comes with an outside law firm.
• Greater cost certainty – If you’ve budgeted for a full-time, in-house counsel, you may think you know what it will cost to handle any legal issues your business may face. But unless you’ve hired a large legal team that can cover the wide range of potential issues you may encounter, you may end up needing to hire additional legal help, leading to increased expenses you haven’t accounted for. With a firm hired as outside general counsel on a per-service basis, however, you have fixed, reliable costs, regardless of the scope of the work needed.
• General preparedness – Running any business comes with a certain amount of risk, and some of these risks are hard to plan for. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare as best you can, though. A sudden lawsuit or a snag in a major deal could have devastating, potentially fatal consequences for your business, and you need to be prepared to the best of your ability. By hiring an outside firm to be your business’ general counsel, you can rest easy knowing you have the resources to deal with any sudden legal emergencies that may arise.

How Mullen Holland & Cooper Can Help

The North Carolina business lawyers at Mullen Holland & Cooper P.A. have the knowledge, skillset, and drive you’re looking for in outside general counsel. Our highly experienced attorneys can assist you with finding the right corporate structure for your business, handling a merger or the purchase of another business, negotiating leases and contracts, drafting and reviewing documents, and more. Once you’ve hired our firm, you can focus on running your business while we take care of your legal headaches.

We’d be happy to speak with you further about the services we can offer your business. To learn more, call our Gastonia office at 704-864-6751 or visit our contact page.