The decision to hire the services of a General Counsel is a big one for any start-up or young business.  It’s a significant business investment.

However, there are many reasons why a business will choose to take the plunge.  A good GC is invaluable to any business’s success.  For start-ups, a good GC will help navigate treacherous new regulatory waters, advise on the best way to raise finance, help protect that all-important IP and advice on strategy and operational matters.  The question about hiring a GC is rarely ‘if’ but ‘when’.

It makes little sense to hire a GC, as the article below puts it, who is only going to act as an “air traffic controller” – that is, someone whose only role is to manage external council or just to cover basic day to day contract reviews.  But a young company has options – instead of adding to head count it could recruit an interim GC/senior in house lawyers from entities like ours.  This means that lawyers would not be on headcount, not a constant overhead but the individual would act as part of their team and be able to add a great deal of legal, strategic and operational value.  It would place them in the right position to grow, but also to hire a permanent GC when the company is ready to do so.