Benefits of an Outside General Counsel

An Outside General Counsel Can Be the Right Legal Solution for Many Growing Businesses

Running a business means dealing with a wide range of challenges—and inevitably, many of those challenges will be legal in nature, from contracts to organizational structure to major transactions. For growing businesses of all sizes, having an outside general counsel is often an excellent option for navigating legal matters efficiently and effectively. The business has an ongoing relationship with an attorney who knows about the business and its leaders while not sharing the costs of that attorney with other businesses.

As a corporate law firm with more than thirty years of experience working alongside business leaders and their companies, our team at Merritt Law has found that the outside general counsel structure provides a great deal of benefits—both for our clients and our team of attorneys. We’re able to do our best work when we have a strong relationship with our clients. Meanwhile, business leaders can continue to focus their time and attention on what’s most worthwhile: operating and growing their company.

Whether you’re a business owner just starting to encounter legal issues, or a well-established business in need of additional legal support, here are a few of the benefits of working with an outside general counsel.

Close Working Relationship

When working with an outside general counsel, businesses are able to establish an ongoing relationship with their attorney. This close relationship opens the door to gaining a greater understanding of the business, its people, and what they need from both a legal and business perspective.

At Merritt Law, we’ve found that gaining this understanding of our clients enables us to do our best work. We’re able to develop a high degree of trust among our clients, as they enjoy the confidence of knowing we understand—and will act upon—their goals and interests, which is primarily the financial health and success of the business.

Ensure Separation Between Legal and Business Matters

While a corporate attorney will inevitably learn from their experience working alongside businesses, ultimately their expertise lies in the law—not in business operations. When working with a law firm as an outside general counsel, this structure of relationship enables a degree of separation. That separation ensures the attorney is primarily providing legal advice, rather than providing unwarranted and unwanted business advice.

This separation also enables greater legal protection for the client. While an in-house counsel may be concerned about keeping their job when considering difficult but important conversations with high-ranking members of an organization, an outside counsel has more freedom to raise and discuss difficult issues—that is, when it’s vital to be direct or even blunt about a legal matter an outside general counsel is in a much better position to do so. 

In fact, Merritt Law has faced this issue several times through the years, and continues to represent those clients who needed difficult counsel.

Convenience and Quality

Businesses who work with Merritt Law as an outside general counsel enjoy a high degree of convenience, quality of legal services, and efficiency. 

Merritt Law clients understand that when they need legal services, they have just one number to call. With our efficient team, relational approach, and emphasis on communication, they understand that they can reach us whenever they need to and have those needs met. Many clients tell us when working with us, it’s like we’re just down the hall.

Further, beyond our wealth of experience, we have strong connections with other trusted attorneys and law firms who provide legal services beyond the scope of our expertise. Even in these instances, our clients just have one number to call. They learn quickly Merritt Law will serve as the legal quarterback by placing the matter with the right attorney or law firm who can best handle whatever legal issue they may have. 

Whether it is a complex business or real estate issue for which our expertise works well, or a complex tax or environmental matter for which a specialist is required, Merritt Law will get you in the right hands. All of this is achieved by simply calling one phone number—ours!

Cost-Effectiveness

Working with an outside general counsel is a highly cost-effective option for legal services compared to hiring a full-time attorney or a large corporate law firm. Further, as noted above, this cost-effectiveness does not equate to a sacrifice when it comes to quality and expertise.

The economic advantages of an outside counsel are there because businesses are able to gain access to the legal guidance they need, as needed. What’s more, fee structures can often be flexible to meet the needs of the client.

Flexibility to Change with Your Business

An outside general counsel has the flexibility to evolve, grow, and shift as your business does. 

As you encounter new legal obstacles, your outside general counsel will be able to handle each one. As your business expands, you can call on your outside general counsel more often as needed. 

And if you grow to the point of hiring an in-house attorney, your outside general counsel can continue to support that individual thanks to their long-established working relationship with your company and their in-depth knowledge of the company’s history and goals.

Merritt Law: Trusted Outside General Counsel

At Merritt Law, many of our most successful client relationships have been as an outside general counsel. We’ve been honored to further the growth of many businesses by clearing away legal obstacles and serving as a trusted partner. 

Our clients know they can rely on the Merritt Law team, as we’re always ready to pick up the phone and provide expert advice—or point them in the right direction. In fact, of all the clients we’ve represented as outside general counsel, we’ve never lost one.

Every business needs legal representation they can count on—and businesses in Austin and throughout the state of Texas can count on Merritt Law. Reach out to our team to learn more about our services.