A Solution For the Obstacles Facing In-House Lawyers

November 2, 2021

A major pull-factor for lawyers looking to move in-house, particularly at fast-growth scaleup companies, is not the opportunity to do less work, but to work differently – to bring the legal training and experience they’ve gained at the coalface of private practice to bear on a single point of focus. To build a function, to build a team, to manage legal risk and spot legal opportunity, all with the singular aim of being central to putting together a rocket-ship of a business.

Fundamentally, however, all of these things take time – time to think, time to talk to and listen to the wider business, time to strategise and plan. Unfortunately, the reality for many in-house lawyers is that time is the one thing they don’t have. Especially in the fast-paced, lean world of the scaleup, where very often the head of legal is the legal team, there are always a dozen tasks which needed doing yesterday – NDAs, supply agreements, employment contracts, freelancer agreements, customer negotiations, board minutes…

As Juro’s recent ‘Tech GC Report’ revealed, whilst in-house lawyers are generally much happier having made the move from private practice, the biggest frustration of the role is being ‘buried’ in all of the day-to-day, routine legal work. Though of course absolutely vital to the continuing function and success of the business, this work, which could be handled by more junior lawyers, absorbs so much of the time and energy of in-house lawyers that getting the breathing space to make a real strategic difference to the business just doesn’t happen as often as it should.

Sadly, its often the case that using external counsel on the traditional hourly-rate or fixed-fee model is too expensive and time-consuming to make a real difference to this. Slow response times and having to regularly explain the risk and commercial parameters of the business to new legal teams means that any time saving is lost to extra admin. On a limited budget, trying to negotiate fees and manage work across various law firm teams just adds to the stress of dealing with the ever-growing to-do list.

But what if there was a great value, hassle-free way to access responsive, enthusiastic legal support from lawyers who understand the challenges in-house counsel in fast-growth businesses face? To get customer contract reviews turned around at the speed your sales team demands, and supply agreements negotiated efficiently and effectively, by people who understand the unique challenges of your business? To have access to routine employment, corporate and brand protection support through a single point of contact? That’s where our Flamingo Subscription can help.

The Flamingo Subscription lets you buy blocks of legal support in advance, to use across any of the included services provided by Stephenson Law’s scaleup-focused teams. Your primary contact in the Subscription Team will take the time to get to know you, and understand how you and your business operate and manage legal risk. Our service levels and devotion to responsiveness and commercially-focused, plain-English advice mean that your business gets the support you need quickly and efficiently. We take care of the day-to-day legal work, giving you back the time to be the in-house lawyer you want to be.

Discover more about our Flamingo Subscription here.

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