Outside General Counsel Services

Through its outside general counsel services, DKB LEGAL  frees owners of small, midsize and emerging companies to concentrate on what they do best – operating and growing their businesses. 

In today’s business climate, companies of all sizes face increased legal, compliance and regulatory challenges. Larger companies typically meet these challenges by employing an in-house general counsel – an attorney (or group of attorneys) employed full time – to provide legal support and guidance to the company. However, for many businesses, this may not be a viable option. The cost of hiring a full-time, in-house attorney to advise regarding entity formations, transactions, corporate governance, employment matters, dispute avoidance and resolution, regulatory compliance programs and other legal matters may simply be too high. These same companies may also find that engaging a law firm on an hourly basis is not the best solution, as legal fees can escalate quickly.  

DKB LEGAL offers an alternative. We provide outside – or part time – general counsel services on a fixed fee basis. In other words, DKB LEGAL’s outside general counsel clients pay a relatively low, agreed-upon fee and that’s it – there is never a bill for hours worked. Because we do not bill our outside general counsel clients by the hour, DKB LEGAL and its clients are aligned in their interest to find the most efficient and cost-effective solutions to legal and compliance challenges. Our outside general counsel clients never have to wonder whether a question is worth asking or whether an issue warrants consultation because there is no additional cost. DKB LEGAL’s incentive is to resolve its clients’ challenges quickly and accurately, not to create billable hours. 

We begin each outside general counsel relationship by conducting an assessment of our client’s objectives, polices, strategies, operating methods, processes, products, services, suppliers, customers and the applicable regulatory and compliance requirements. Through this process, we identify and assess our clients’ legal risks, needs, and opportunities. We then collaborate with our client to develop a customized game plan designed to minimize or even eliminate risks and to maximize opportunities.

Following the initial assessment and strategic planning, DKB LEGAL serves as our clients’ primary point of contact in resolving the identified legal issues and in managing the day-to-day legal or compliance challenges that inevitably arise. In essence, we enable our clients to have ready access to an experienced, highly qualified attorney to address issues effectively, efficiently and with little or no learning curve – all at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time, in-house attorney or retaining a traditional, billable-hour law firm.

As part of our outside general counsel service, we also assist our clients by identifying, selecting, and coordinating (as needed) with other legal specialists, accountants, tax advisers and other specialized professionals. We evaluate the reasonableness of fees charged, monitor performance, and serve as our clients’ advocate in managing these relationships.

Specific services that DKB LEGAL provides to its outside general counsel clients will be tailored to meet each individual client’s needs and circumstances. In general, our outside general counsel services include (but are not necessarily limited to):

Employment / Human Resources:

  • Review, assess and revise employee handbook, written employment policies.

  • Review, assess, revise and/or draft restrictive covenants (non-competition, non-solicitation, nondisclosure or confidentiality agreements), tailored to the company’s business and protectable interests.

  • Employee review assistance.

  • Employee performance management, including progressive discipline tracking and assistance

  • Employee separation processing.

  • General labor law compliance.

Operations

  • Review of operations, key contracts, vendor relationships, processes, key documents.

  • Drafting, negotiating, reviewing and dispute avoidance and resolution with respect to commercial contracts (including employment, independent contractor, vendor, customer, re-seller, purchase, lease, and licensing agreements).

  • Assistance with managing intellectual property.

  • Drafting, review and modification of privacy policies, terms of use and other internet and information technology matters.

  • Pre-litigation dispute resolution and assistance with collections strategies.

  • Regulatory compliance.

Company Governance:

  • Entity formation analysis and filings.

  • Periodic corporate or other state or federal filings, fees, etc.

  • Assistance with minute books, preparation of board and shareholder resolutions and attendance at board meetings

  • Review and implementation of corporate governance procedures.

  • Drafting, negotiating, reviewing, and dispute avoidance and resolution with respect to various company documents, including partnership or operating agreements, buyout agreements and bylaws.

General:

  • Risk analysis and mitigation strategies.

  • Overall day-to-day counseling and advice.

  • Ongoing advice on the legal implications of business decisions.

  • Early dispute identification, avoidance and resolution.

  • Reduced rates for litigated matters (described further in the Employment and Business Dispute Resolution and Litigation page).

  • Network of legal specialists – manage and review of other outside counsel relationships.