A perennial concern for businesses of all sizes is minding the bottom line. Now, more than ever, in the face of rising interest rates and a turbulent stock market, companies are focused on controlling expenses, including their legal spend. Meanwhile, traditional legal models continue to reveal their limitations with respect to cost and efficiency, driving clients to seek more innovative and cost-effective legal solutions.

In my role as part-time GC and senior legal advisor, I work with a diverse portfolio of companies. Although my clients differ in size, management structure and stages of growth, among other things, my relationship with them is similar in one fundamental way. Besides helping to manage and address their day-to-day legal work, I serve another important role – that of counsellor. And by “counsellor”, I do not mean acting as their legal “counsel”; rather, I am referring to the support I provide as an unofficial mentor/sounding board - whether to a solo in-house lawyer, a larger client legal department, a paralegal, or a non-legal professional overseeing the client’s legal function.

Starting your own business can be a mammoth undertaking, especially when it comes to managing expenses while working (often tirelessly) to build momentum, and eventually, a revenue stream. Many new business owners grapple with the right time to hire an attorney. Although the thought of engaging an attorney from Day 1 may seem cost-prohibitive, it is a smart business decision even for the smallest companies. Of course, you’ll want a lawyer who is fairly-priced and efficient, and who has experience working with startups.

As most seasoned lawyers can attest, the toughest deals usually come with the tightest deadlines and a level of complexity that prevents the use of a templated agreement. Although protecting the client’s interests is always the most important priority, what good is that goal if you can’t get the deal done? In this blog series, we will offer 4 tried-and-true steps for getting tough deals done both skillfully and quickly. This advice will be shared over 4 separate posts, starting with the necessary step of preparing yourself. 

Over the past decade or so, there’s been a changing of the guard in the legal services industry. As businesses of all sizes have grown more mindful of the bottom line, traditional legal models are revealing their limitations – both in terms of cost and efficiency – opening the door to innovative solutions designed to meet a growing need.

Being the chief financial officer of a growth-stage company means having a hand in nearly every operational function. In addition to running the finance department, the CFO works with other members of the management team on virtually all of the company’s key activities and decisions. When the company does not have an in-house general counsel, the CFO is typically asked to manage the company’s legal affairs, too.