OMNI LAW
Outside General Counsel
What an Outside General Counsel Does for a Growing Company
Most growing companies hit the same wall. The legal work is constant (contracts, vendor terms, employment questions, a financing, a dispute that needs to not become a lawsuit), but it does not add up to a full-time legal department. That usually leaves two options. Hiring a general counsel means committing a projected starting salary of $222,750 to $270,500, before bonus, benefits, or equity (Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide). Doing nothing means the CEO negotiates contracts at midnight and legal risk gets managed by whoever answers the email first.
Outside general counsel is the third option. Omni Law P.C. serves as your company’s legal department on an ongoing engagement: attorneys who have worked in-house, available on an ongoing basis, the way in-house counsel is, for a scoped monthly fee rather than a payroll line. We serve companies in nine states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
Wondering whether this model fits your company? Call Omni Law P.C. at (844) 354-1234 to schedule a consultation.
An outside general counsel handles the legal work an employed general counsel would handle, without joining your payroll. In a typical engagement, that means:
Contracts: drafting, reviewing, and negotiating the agreements your business runs on, including customer agreements, vendor and supplier terms, NDAs, licensing deals, service agreements, and the templates your team reuses.
Corporate governance: board resolutions and consents, entity maintenance across states, corporate records, and keeping the structure you formed compliant year over year.
Employment matters: offer letters, contractor versus employee classification, separation agreements, and the handbook questions that come up weekly.
Transactions: financings, acquisitions, asset purchases, and the diligence that precedes them, with mergers and acquisitions support from the same firm when a deal arrives.
Compliance calendar: annual reports, franchise taxes, registered agent and foreign qualification filings in every state where you operate, tracked so deadlines do not lapse.
Risk and disputes: demand letters in and out, pre-litigation strategy, and coordinating litigation or local counsel when a matter needs one.
Board and executive support: a lawyer in the room, or on the call, when decisions with legal consequences get made.
Some firms call this outsourced general counsel, virtual general counsel, or part-time general counsel. The labels differ; the model is the same, namely ongoing, relationship-based legal counsel rather than one-off projects or a hotline.
Outside General Counsel Compared With Hiring an In-House GC
The decision is rarely outside GC versus in-house GC. For many companies under a certain size, it is outside GC versus no GC, because the in-house math does not work yet.
| Full-time general counsel | Outside general counsel | |
|---|---|---|
| Base cost | $222,750 to $270,500 projected starting salary (Robert Half, 2026) | A flat monthly fee, scoped to the legal work the business actually generates |
| Real cost | Base plus bonus, benefits, and equity. At large public companies, median total general counsel compensation is reported at $2.5 million (BarkerGilmore, 2026) | The engagement fee. No benefits, no equity, no severance |
| Commitment | Permanent executive hire | Scales up, down, or off as needs change |
| Coverage | One lawyer’s bandwidth and background | A firm: transactional, employment, and deal support behind one point of contact |
| Multi-state reach | One lawyer’s admissions and bandwidth | A firm’s combined admissions across multiple states, with local counsel engaged elsewhere |
The honest version of this table: once your legal spend is consistently the equivalent of a full-time salary, hiring in-house starts to make sense, and a candid outside GC will tell you so. Until then, you are paying full-time rates for part-time need. The two figures above measure different populations. Robert Half reports projected starting salaries for a new hire; BarkerGilmore reports total compensation, including bonus and long-term incentives, at companies far larger than the ones this page is written for.
Outside GC, Fractional GC, Interim GC, and Virtual GC: How the Models Differ
The terms overlap, and many firms use them interchangeably. The distinctions that matter in practice:
| Model | What it usually means | Who provides it |
|---|---|---|
| Outside general counsel | A law firm serves as your company’s ongoing legal counsel. You get a firm’s breadth behind one relationship. That is the model described on this page. | Law firm engagement |
| Fractional general counsel | An individual attorney gives your company a fixed fraction of their time, often a set number of days per week, sometimes with a seat in your leadership meetings. | Usually one attorney, closer to a part-time executive |
| Interim general counsel | A temporary in-house GC, usually full-time for a bounded period, such as a leave cover, a gap between hires, or the run-up to a first legal hire. | Contract or seconded attorney, fixed term |
| Virtual or part-time GC | Marketing labels applied to one of the models above. Read the engagement terms rather than the title. | Varies |
If you are weighing the fractional model specifically, including what it costs, how to evaluate one, and when it fits, our companion Fractional General Counsel guide walks through the market pricing tiers and a twelve-question evaluation checklist.
What Is Included in an Engagement, and What Is Scoped Separately
Every engagement is defined in writing before it starts: what is covered, what is billed separately, and how to reach us. A typical outside GC engagement includes:
Included in the engagement:
A designated attorney relationship, the same lawyer, who knows your business
Contract drafting, review, and negotiation within the agreed scope
Corporate governance and entity maintenance
The multi-state compliance calendar: annual reports, franchise taxes, and foreign qualifications, tracked and filed.
Employment document support
Legal review of routine business decisions, including the quick question emails and calls
Coordination of outside litigation, intellectual property, or local counsel when a matter needs one
Scoped separately, with advance notice:
Litigation and arbitration, including any matter that has been filed or is likely to be filed
Major transactions, such as a financing round or an acquisition, quoted as projects before work begins
Regulatory investigations and enforcement matters
Intellectual property prosecution (trademark, copyright, and patent filings), as distinct from IP strategy and licensing
Securities offerings and reporting obligations
Administrative agency charges (EEOC and state equivalents) and wage-and-hour claims
Matters in states where the firm is not admitted, and matters where a court requires local counsel, which we coordinate rather than handle ourselves
How Outside General Counsel Engagements Are Priced
Outside GC engagements are typically scoped as a flat monthly fee based on the legal work the company generates: contract volume, the number of states in scope, how regulated the industry is, and whether board and financing work is included. Work that falls outside the monthly scope, such as litigation, a financing round, or an acquisition, is quoted as a separately scoped project before work begins. Our fee structure page explains the billing arrangements we use, and the engagement letter states the fee for your company before any work is billed.
Published market figures for comparable arrangements, including the retainer tiers other firms advertise, are collected in our companion Fractional General Counsel guide. Your own fee is quoted from your scope, not from a table.
Want a scoped monthly fee for your company’s legal work? Call Omni Law P.C. at (844) 354-1234 to schedule a consultation.
Which Companies an Outside GC Engagement Fits
Outside general counsel fits a specific stage: recurring legal needs, without a basis for a full legal department yet. Our engagements concentrate in:
Startups and venture-backed companies, from formation through financings, with counsel that already knows the cap table
E-commerce and consumer brands, with vendor, platform, and fulfillment agreements at volume
Content creators and media companies, with entertainment and media transactions alongside the corporate work
Private equity portfolio companies that need reporting-grade legal hygiene without a GC hire at each portfolio company
Regulated and multi-state operators, whose exposure is precisely that state lines change the rules
Established companies with a departing GC, for coverage while you decide whether to rehire
If your legal needs are episodic rather than recurring, a scoped project engagement usually serves you better than a monthly one, and we will say so on the first call.
Where We Serve: Nine States With a Named Admitted Attorney
Outside general counsel works when the advice is grounded in the state where the question arises. Each state we serve has a named attorney admitted there and responsible for it. Bar numbers, admission years, and links to the official licensing records are published on our attorney credentials page.
| State | Outside GC services | Attorney responsible |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Outside general counsel in Arizona | Alex Davis |
| California | Outside general counsel in California | Alex Davis |
| Colorado | Outside general counsel in Colorado | Zachary Windham |
| Florida | Outside general counsel in Miami | Zachary Windham |
| New Jersey | Bergen, Essex, and Hudson counties | Alex Davis |
| New York | Outside general counsel in New York City | Alex Davis |
| Oregon | Outside general counsel in Oregon | Zachary Windham |
| Pennsylvania | Outside general counsel in Philadelphia | Alex Davis |
| Washington | Outside general counsel in Washington | Zachary Windham |
City-level pages for Los Angeles, San Jose, and San Francisco carry the local detail for our California office cities.
For companies operating in several states, the engagement covers those states under one relationship, including where and when you need to register as a foreign entity as you expand. Where a matter arises in a state where we are not admitted, or where a court requires local counsel, we say so and coordinate that engagement rather than handling it ourselves.
How an Outside General Counsel Engagement Starts
Consultation call. What legal work your business generates, what is urgent, and whether this model fits. If in-house counsel or a different arrangement serves you better, we say so on this call.
Scope and engagement letter. What is included, what is scoped separately, the fee, and the ways to reach us, in writing before anything is billed.
The first 30 days: legal baseline. We review the entity structure, the contract templates in active use, the compliance calendar in every operating state, and the open items, then deliver a prioritized punch list.
Ongoing cadence. A standing check-in, direct access in between, and quarterly review of scope against what your business actually needed.
If you are still weighing the timing, read when growing companies need outside general counsel support.
Related Practice Areas
Outside GC engagements frequently draw on the rest of the firm: startup formation for entity setup and founder documents, mergers and acquisitions when a deal arrives, and entertainment law for creators and media companies. Pricing for each is described on our fee structure page.
Talk With Omni Law P.C. About Outside General Counsel
If your company generates legal work every week but does not yet justify a full-time legal department, an outside general counsel engagement puts a designated attorney and a firm’s bench behind a predictable monthly fee. The first call covers what your business generates, what it should cost, and whether a different arrangement would serve you better.
Ready to talk through scope and fees? Call Omni Law P.C. at (844) 354-1234 to schedule a consultation.
Attorney advertising. This page provides general information about our services and is not legal advice. Reading it or contacting Omni Law P.C. does not create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Third-party salary and compensation figures cited above are published by their respective sources on the dates noted and may change.
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Omni Law P.C. boasts a team of seasoned legal professionals.
Contact Omni Law P.C. for Transactional, Business, and
Corporate Legal Services.
Seeking knowledgeable guidance for your business? Omni Law P.C. focuses on providing flexible and affordable legal services to businesses, executives, and founders across various industries. Our experienced attorneys have a deep understanding of corporate transactions, intellectual property, commercial agreements, and emerging technologies We offer businesses the outside counsel they need to succeed.
Whether you require assistance with contract negotiation, trademark registration, or mergers and acquisitions, we provide strategic legal advice tailored to your unique needs. Contact us today at (323) 300-4184 to see how we can provide the legal support to help you achieve your business objectives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an outside general counsel do?
An outside general counsel handles the ongoing legal work of your business, including contracts, governance, employment matters, compliance deadlines, and transaction support, as a continuing engagement with a law firm rather than as a full-time employee on your payroll.
How is outside general counsel different from hiring in-house?
Cost and structure. A full-time general counsel carries a projected starting salary of $222,750 to $270,500 (Robert Half 2026 Salary Guide) plus bonus, benefits, and equity. An outside GC engagement is a monthly fee scoped to actual need, and it comes with a firm’s breadth (transactional, employment, and deal support) rather than one lawyer’s bandwidth.
What does outside general counsel cost?
Outside GC engagements are typically structured as flat monthly fees scoped to the company’s needs, with the fee stated in the engagement letter before work begins. Litigation, major transactions, regulatory investigations, and IP prosecution are quoted as separately scoped projects. Our fee structure page explains the billing arrangements we use.
Do you work with startups?
Yes. Startups and venture-backed companies are a core client base, from formation through financings. If your legal needs are project-based rather than ongoing, we will recommend the right scope on the first call.
Can you work alongside our existing lawyer or legal team?
Yes. We regularly supplement an in-house team that needs additional capacity, and we coordinate with your other counsel, including IP prosecution, litigation, and local counsel, rather than replacing them.
Which states do you cover?
Our attorneys are admitted in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Bar numbers and links to the official licensing records for each admission are published on our attorney credentials page. Companies operating in several of those states are covered under one engagement. Matters arising elsewhere are handled with local counsel.
Is outside general counsel the same as fractional general counsel?
They are close cousins. Outside GC is an ongoing engagement with a law firm; fractional GC is typically an individual attorney committing a fixed fraction of their time to your company. Our companion Fractional General Counsel guide covers the differences, the published market costs, and how to choose.
Who will actually handle our work?
A designated attorney, not a rotating bench. State-specific matters are handled or reviewed by the attorney admitted in that state, named in the table above.