General Counsel Services

While all businesses need the assistance of an experienced attorney from time to time, many small and mid-sized companies lack the resources to bring on a full-time lawyer. However, the unique dynamics of some companies (e.g., industry, size, complexity and regulation) requires ongoing legal support and a legal team that can quickly and  efficiently spring into action.

At Smith Legacy Law, we offer general counsel services to bridge this gap and meet the needs of these clients in a way that’s both flexible and cost-effective. Our skilled and knowledgeable attorneys possess significant real-world experience assisting business owners and managers in navigating an increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape throughout every stage of a company’s growth. In the event your business needs an attorney with experience in a highly specialized area of practice that we cannot provide with one our own attorneys, we will identify, retain and supervise an outside attorney to work with our team to meet your specific needs.

Think of this arrangement as a subscription service. Your company pays a regular fixed fee for an agreed-upon list of legal services. This gives your business protection and allows you to take a more proactive approach to identifying and minimizing legal problems—without the expense of a traditional law firm relationship or the cost and hassle of recruiting, hiring, and training an in-house lawyer.

Whether you require compliance and regulatory guidance, assistance drafting contracts, or help with a complex business dispute, our attorneys will act as your trusted advisors and counselors, helping to ensure your business is always on the path towards growth and success.

Scope of Our General Counsel Services

Our general counsel service addresses a wide range of issues typically encountered by small and mid-sized businesses, the exact scope of which can be customized to meet your company’s specific needs and budget. All general counsel services clients are assigned a lawyer who establishes an ongoing relationship with your company, and is contracted to provide services on an as-needed basis. Your general counsel will provide regular legal checkups and ongoing advice that helps you anticipate and correct potential liability issues.

360० Legal Risk Assessment

The best legal problem is one which is avoided. Legal services, when provided at the right time, can act like preventative medicine. Having a lawyer review your business to identify and mitigate risk is akin to having a checkup from your doctor. Your business may need an annual once-over, or it may need an ongoing prescription. The real problems occur when you ignore your business’s legal health. Then, a minor problem can develop into something fatal.

We can forestall your legal problems by completing a 360 degree legal risk assessment – evaluating your business’s overall legal risk, identifying the “problem areas”, prioritizing your risk management efforts, and developing a comprehensive legal risk management plan that works with your budget and timeline.

Lawyer On Call

Business is full of surprises that may threaten to become crises. Perhaps you’ve just been served with a subpoena, or you found out that one of your former sales representatives  is breaching their non-compete / non-solicitation agreement, and you need to speak to an attorney who can give you competent advice right away without a long onboarding process. Our general counsel services clients have access to our lawyer on call service whereby they receive on-demand access to our attorneys.

Employment and Human Resources

Employment issues are a constant concern for any business. Our attorneys are well-versed in all facets of employment law and regulation and can provide general counsel services in connection with:

• Hiring & Termination Procedures
• Employment Agreements
• Executive Compensation Programs
• Restrictive Covenants (Non-compete / Non-solicitation agreements)
• Profit Sharing Agreements
• Employee Handbooks and Policies

Contract Review & Preparation

Our attorneys’ considerable experience representing and counseling commercial clients makes them uniquely positioned to review and draft all manner of contracts and agreements, including

• Non-disclosure agreements
• Professional services agreements
• Buy-Sell agreements
• Operating, shareholder, partnership and joint venture agreements
• Financing agreements
• Vendor and services agreements

Commercial Transactions

Our experienced attorneys can also ensure your company seamlessly navigates all manners of complex commercial transactions with ease:

• Corporate finance and refinance arrangements
• Commercial real estate transactions
• Asset-based term loans
• Revolving and non-revolving lines of credit
• Equipment leases
• Development loans
• Reorganizations>
• Mergers and acquisitions
• Insurance policies

Corporate Governance & Counseling

Smith Legacy Law is well-equipped to advise your company in all areas of corporate governance, including shareholder and multi-owner relations, risk management procedures, and fiduciary duties of directors and officers.

Business Licenses and Regulatory Compliance

Our attorneys stay up-to-date on all regulatory and compliance issues that could potentially impact your business. They can assist you in obtaining any necessary business licenses and with developing a comprehensive strategy to ensure transparency and compliance with laws and regulations in various areas, including data security, privacy, workplace health and safety and tax issues. They can also help you develop incident response plans and policies and procedures for responding to audits and regulatory investigations.

Intellectual Property

Our attorneys can help you protect your intellectual property assets, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets and confidential business data, processes, and “know how”. We can help you inventory your assets and identify where such assets have not been fully protected due to lack of registration, non-disclosure agreements and the like. We can also help you enforce your intellectual property rights against infringers. Relatedly, we can help your business avoid infringing the intellectual property rights of others and/or defend against infringement claims.

Shareholder / Owner Disputes

Conflicts are inevitable in any business. Our attorneys aim to help our commercial clients negotiate and execute strategies to resolve disputes among owners and shareholders as painlessly as possible, with minimal disruption to the enterprise.

• Succession planning for key owners and executives
• Deadlocks and other voting disputes.
• Deteriorating relationships among co-owners.
• Shareholder disputes.
• Books and records proceedings.
• Misappropriation/embezzlement
• Emergency response to the sudden death/departure of a co-owner

Litigation Support

If your business is contemplating litigation or is a party to pending litigation, our attorneys can help you understand and evaluate your legal exposure, potential recovery, cost and timeline of litigation, and the various alternatives to litigation, such as informal settlement, mediation and arbitration. We can also liaise with outside counsel to monitor the progress of litigation, review invoices, coordinate document production and review, and report back to company management as needed. Our litigation practice group can also represent your business and/or executives in the litigation.

Learn More About Our General Counsel Services

Knowledgeable legal counsel is key to the success of any enterprise.

As a premier business law firm, Smith Legacy Law provides highly personalized, experienced legal counsel and representation to companies in a wide range of industries across New York and nationwide. Our general counsel services can ensure you always have ready access to the skillset your company needs, regardless of its size or resources.

To learn more about our flexible general counsel services, contact Smith Legacy Law to schedule a free consultation.