FAQs
What is a fractional or outside general counsel?
1
A fractional or outside general counsel, they mean the same thing, is a lawyer who serves as a company’s go-to legal advisor on a part-time, outsourced basis instead of as a full-time employee. Just like an in-house counsel, they help with day-to-day legal issues, risk management, contracts, compliance, employment questions, policies, vendor/customer disputes, and coordinating specialized outside lawyers when needed.
How fractional counsel differs from other lawyers:
Differs from an in-house lawyer: a fractional/outside general counsel is not a full-time staff member. You’re not paying benefits, bonuses, or payroll tax.
Differs form a specialist attorney: they handle broad business legal needs, not just one niche like patents, tax, or litigation. They can work with a specialist attorney in ways that lessen your legal fees.
Differs from a litigator: they focus more on prevention and business advice than on going to court. They can work with litigators to lessen your time working with a litigator and lessen your legal fees.
Differs from a transactional lawyer: they may draft/review deals too, but an outside counsel role is broader, continuous, and in a position to really know your business.
Why would I want an outside counsel?
2
If you are running your business without any legal counsel then you are waiting for a problem that forces you to hire legal counsel, usually an outside law firm. This means a few things:
You will have a legal problem that has gotten big enough for you to realize its a legal problem. That means it is likely now an expensive legal problem. Had you been in regular discussions with a lawyer about your business the lawyer would have likely discovered this legal problem early and fixed it quickly before it grew into an expensive time sink.
There are likely a lot of legal problems you don’t know you have and may not show up until years down the road, such as when you want to sell your business. These problems, like not owning the intellectual property you thought you owned, or not being able to assign key contracts, can destroy your business and crater a sale.
You may be missing out on legal and tax advantages. Routinely working with a lawyer who knows your business can help you structure deals that advantage you and mitigate legal liability.
If you already have a general counsel, a fractional general counsel can provide the bridge to getting more work done for less until you really need to add another in-house counsel.
What makes you different from other fractional general counsels?
3
Besides my breadth and depth of experience, my practice focuses on replicating having your own general counsel. This means I stay away from hourly billing. This means you pay one monthly amount for my legal services, almost like paying an employee but without having to pay for benefits, bonuses, and payroll tax.
How do I get started?
4
Getting started is simple. Reach out through my contact form telling me about your business. I’ll reach out to you to set up a time to discuss how Simon Krauss General Counsel can help.