Flexible In-House Counsel
For Companies
We’ll set up a cost-effective, efficient legal function for your business. You’ll have an experienced lawyer as your single point of contact who works as part of your operations team. No duplication and no reinventing the wheel each time. We get to know your business quickly to manage your legal matters effectively and add value. And as your flexible in-house legal function, we can be scaled up or down depending on needs.We analyse risk and prioritise what’s important, then manage and carry out the day-to-day legal work, all to a set budget. We’ve all worked as in-house lawyers in fast growth companies, so know what you need (and don’t need) to worry about. We’ll work with you to get deals and contracts done and help achieve your business goals.
“The fact that all their lawyers have worked inside businesses means they are commercial, pragmatic and know exactly how to prioritise what’s important.”
COO – Squirro
“We’re very pleased with the work LegalEdge are doing for us. We’re getting quick and decisive responses that are really helping us move forward.”
Finance & Operations Director – Depop
For Legal Teams
We work with small in-house legal teams that need additional support on a flexible basis without adding to headcount.Whether it’s overflow work, a project or just a much-needed extra pair of hands we can help. We get the job done without supervision, working seamlessly as part of your team or behind the scenes, whatever works best for you. We don’t do endless negotiations on the clock or write long legal memos. We just help prioritise, find solutions and get it done.
We understand the challenges and demands of small in-house teams because we’ve been there. We work as an extension to your team, get up to speed on business priorities quickly, and help you keep control of legal workflow and budget.
“The ideal solution for the busy in-house counsel who is unable to add a permanent head as you have the ability to flex support without the need to rely on expensive law firms.”
Vice President & EMEA Managing Counsel – Thomson Reuters
LegalEdge has provided excellent, commercially focused advice as part of our in-house legal team that has helped us close contracts with our customers and partners.”
CEO – Diona
Day-to-Day Legal
Business Set Up & Structure
We’ll ensure your corporate set up, structure, documents and filings are right for you and protect you and your business.- Guide you through the choices and process of setting up (Ltd Company, LLP, etc)
- Get the right legal documentation in place to protect you, your shareholders and your directors, including founder / shareholder agreements, new Articles of Association, Services Agreements, etc
- Help with compliance with the company’s constitutional documents, provide board and shareholder minutes and resolutions and give guidance on meetings and paperwork
- Advise on governance matters to ensure the relationship between the shareholders and management is properly regulated
- Help maintain statutory books, registers, Companies House filings, etc
- Carry out any remedial work necessary to ensure the right documents, records and filings are in place and provide company secretarial oversight to ensure things are done properly
- Help you understand your responsibilities as a company director – see our ‘Director’s Duties’ workshop
Fundraising
We’ll guide you through your investment round quickly and efficiently so you can get on with running your business.- Help you understand different types of investments and which is best for you [see our Pitch Prep service below]
- Show you up front what the investment process will be like, how it differs according to types of investors and what to expect and when
- Make sure you’re ready for investor due diligence so you can execute the deal quickly
- Help you get the right structure and documents in place for the investment using our tried and tested templates
- Help you negotiate to get the best possible deal
- Advise on stakeholder/external communications
- Help you navigate your post-investment world – add people, products, tech
Pitch Prep: we’ll review your pitch deck and give practical guidance and feedback so you can deliver a winning pitch. We know what investors are looking for because we’ve been on both sides of the table.
- Meet for a deep dive into your business and where you are on your investment journey
- Provide guidance and advice on your funding strategy and objectives
- Review your pitch deck and give you feedback so you end up with a professionally presented pitch that covers the necessary and attracts investors
- Provide you with a package of legal basics that you’ll need when you’re in contact with investors (NDA, disclaimers, FSMA waivers, etc)
Check out our blog on How to win over investors
Contracts & Deals
Ineffective contracts can slow down your sales cycle and reduce revenue growth, whilst bad or unprofitable deals cost money and management time.- Streamline contracts and processes, making it easier for you to do business
- Create templates that reflect your operational realities and work for your business
- Negotiate your contracts to get them signed as quickly as possible
- Introduce playbooks, train and empower your sales teams to negotiate efficiently and effectively, bringing in revenue faster (see our training section for more detail)
- Apply contracts and processes consistently across new markets to help you to scale efficiently
- Health check supplier contracts to get deals done more quickly
And, we’ll find tools to help you get out of or renegotiate bad, ineffective or unprofitable deals.
- Review your contracts and processes to assess your options, leverage what you have and help get you the best possible result
- Find practical solutions to avoid lengthy court battles where possible
- Negotiate with your customers/suppliers so you don’t have to
- Enforce the terms of your contracts
- Restructure the deal and contract in a way that works for both sides so you can get your business back on track
People & Incentives
Your people are your key assets. Make sure you can attract and retain the right people to help your business grow.- Review and improve your employment contracts, policies and hiring process so that expectations are clear and your business is adequately protected
- Help to put the right employee incentives in place to attract and keep your people (whilst protecting yourself)
- Provide consistency in approach as you grow into new markets
- Ensure you’re complying with regularly changing industry practice and law
- Make sure you understand the differences between freelancers/contractors and employees to minimise IR35 and other risks
- Ensure you have limits of authority/a sign off process so you’re clear on who’s agreeing what for the company
- Help to deal with underperforming staff
- Help manage restructuring programmes
HR Legal Counsel
Your people are your biggest asset. But attracting and retaining talent whilst managing your team can be a challenge – so getting it right from the outset with a good strategy is paramount to growth.
We’ll help navigate all your Legal HR needs from getting to grips with early stage hiring right through to managing established teams as a fast growth business.
Brand Protection & Trade Marks
Safeguard your brand, product/services and reputation as you grow.- Register your trade mark and make sure your trade mark portfolio is right for your business and you’re not wasting money
- Assess what you have and prioritise what you need to protect (and what you don’t) and how you protect it
- Protect your intellectual property to keep your brand strong in all your markets and territories
- Ensure a smooth roll out of any rebrand and that communications are handled effectively
Trade Mark Services
Click here for our Quick Fees Calculator and a simple online application form which includes a no-obligation preliminary trade mark search.
Products & Services
Roll out your new products/services as efficiently as possible so you’re ready to sign up new customers quickly and realise revenue fast .- Make your contracts work for the products/services you’re selling so that it’s easy to do business
- Leverage templates to avoid re-inventing the wheel
- Get the right licensing model and processes for new tech products/services/SaaS
- Protect and properly exploit the IP rights in the new products/services
- Manage regulatory issues
- Work with sales and marketing teams to get external communications right
GDPR & Data Protection
We’ll help put in place a practical data protection strategy that minimises reputational, legal and financial risk.- Understand what personal data you hold and what you do with it
- Prioritise the steps you need to take for compliance and implement them
- Get the right documents, policies and processes in place for compliance
- Ensure policies and contracts include the right data protection clauses
- Ensure your sales and marketing strategy and communications are compliant
- Get the right documents and processes in place for staff data
- Train staff on their responsibilities for handling data (see our training)
- Get the right processes and support for detecting and reporting data breaches, handling complaints and subject access requests
- Comply with relevant data protection laws in the jurisdictions in which you operate using our global network of data specialists
- Access to our network of DPOs and EU Reps
International Expansion
We’ll help you avoid the pitfalls of doing business locally and get you trading in your new markets as soon as possible.- Guide you through the process of setting up (new branch, office, subsidiary, etc.) so that you can make the right decisions for your business
- Get the right corporate structure in place with the right documentation
- Ensure you’re complying with and understand local legal requirements
- Localise contracts to make it it easier to do business locally whilst keeping your templates and processes consistent
- Help you to protect your brand and other assets in each new market
- Onboard staff in the right way to minimise risk
- Work with our global network of local providers to make it hassle free
* See our case study with Depop on Expanding into new markets (and doing the day- to-day legals too)
Exit
We’ll guide you through your exit quickly and efficiently helping with your exit strategy and ensuring you get the right deal.- Make sure you’re exit ready
- Find the right deal for you
- Show you what the process will be like, and tell you what to expect and when
- Help you get the right advisers on board
- Get you ready for the due diligence process
- Help you get the right structure in place
- Advise on stakeholder communications
- Help you with any post-exit matters
Legal Operations
Legal Strategy & Budget
Legal operations is about running your legal function like a business, focusing on priorities, efficiencies and budget management to add value.Many growing businesses struggle to manage legal effectively, either spending too much on specialist lawyers when they need a more commercial approach or trying to manage it themselves. We proactively manage legal and anticipate legal issues before they become a problem to avoid nasty, expensive surprises.
- Create and manage your legal strategy and improve processes
- Manage your legal budget to ensure spend is aligned with risk
- Use the right resources for the right job, including managing law firm specialists and other advisers, implementing tech for contract management, compliance, etc.
- Understand what you need to worry about, and what you don’t
- Protect and maximize assets
- Close deals quickly to drive revenue
- Navigate business milestones, such as fundraising and launching new products and services
Health Check & Risk Assessment
Our Health Check allows a business to take stock, review its practices and processes and take steps to put its house in order. It’s designed to highlight potential issues before they become problematic. We’ll work with you to understand the risk profile of your business, your objectives and priorities, highlighting where money is best spent (and where it’s not).- Identify the legal risks affecting your organisation
- Review your risk position to avoid crises
- Assess the potential impact of those risks on your organisation
- Produce a risk summary and action plan
- Prioritise what needs to be in place so you don’t waste time and money
- Implement practical solutions within an agreed budget and timescale
- Free up your management time so you focus on your business and achieving your goals
HR Legal Counsel
Your people are your biggest asset. But attracting and retaining talent whilst managing your team can be a challenge – so getting it right from the outset with a good strategy is paramount to growth.We’ll help navigate all your Legal HR needs from getting to grips with early stage hiring right through to managing established teams as a fast growth business.
Fractional EMEA GC for US Companies
As your Fractional EMEA General Counsel we work as an extension to your US legal or business team, managing your EMEA legal work and providing strategic advice to navigate the complexities of these markets.- Work with your US and EMEA teams to set up an effective EMEA legal function that proactively supports the business
- Localise, negotiate and draft contracts with your customers, local partners and suppliers
- Maintain consistency of templates and processes across EMEA and in line with US
- Identify and mitigate legal risks associated with market entry and expansion
- Ensure regulatory compliance across EMEA
- Make it easier for you to do business across borders by understanding the different laws and cultures
- Manage your people/HR legal matters across EMEA to ensure compliant onboarding of new staff and staying up to date with HR legal requirements
- Implement robust GDPR/data protection and IP strategies to safeguard and maintain the integrity of your brand across EMEA
- Provide access to, and manage where required, our network and community of local providers and experts
Fractional Head of People Service
We provide strategic guidance and day-to-day support for your evolving workforce to align with your company objectives.
Our experienced Fractional Heads of People are CIPD qualified and experienced HR professionals who will work with you to provide the operational support you need to be compliant with all areas of human resources. Whether you already have an HR head or team or no HR resource, we can help with specific projects/overflow work or create, build, manage and optimise your people function without increasing headcount. They will also partner with our employment lawyers (see our HR Legal Counsel service) as needed so you have full coverage of your HR as well as employment law requirements.
It’s everything your managers need to support them perform their job – better, faster, safer, and more efficiently.
Our services include:
- Developing your HR strategy
- for efficient workforce management
- Workplace Policies
- from preparing bespoke offers, family friendly policies and practices, staff handbooks, letters and forms and general correspondence.
- Designing compensation and benefits packages/policies
- for attracting and retaining top talent
- Performance Measurement and Managing employees
- to help build a culture of excellence and accountability, from developing performance appraisals and processes and training managers on best practice to performance improvement plans, grievances and holding disciplinary meetings.
- Ending Employment
- to provide support in managing terminations, including from redundancies, retirement, dismissals, exit interviews and sensitive terminations.
- Absence Management
- from return-to-work meetings, long-term sick guidance, disciplinary measures, arranging occupational health assessments
- Organisational and project needs
- support to implement restructurings and integrations resulting from TUPE and other acquisitions
- Bespoke recruitment solutions
- to help identify and onboard top talent, ensuring a seamless integration with your company culture and values.
- Talent management and succession planning
- to build a high-performance culture and nurture top talent and strategies for clear career progression
- Employee Engagement Surveys
- to help understand the needs and views of your employees
- Performing HR audits
- to ensure compliance and to identify gaps and areas for improvement
- Developing your HR strategy
Training
The aim of our training is to enable businesses to do more without the need for legal input.We provide practical training to help improve processes, build team knowledge and drive efficiencies. We run training sessions that focus on educating teams on legal topics and developing an understanding of how to work with legal. We also offer bespoke workshops tailored to your business objectives.
CONTRACTS
- Empowering sales teams to negotiate and close deals quickly and effectively
- Demystifying legal terminology and understanding your contracts
- Revenue recognition and why it’s important
- Negotiation skills
HR
- HR contracts and policies
- Essential employment law for managers – the employment life cycle from start to finish
- Handling employee investigations to minimise claims
- Anti-bullying and harassment
- Equality and diversity
- Absence management
BUSINESS SET UP
- Directors’ Duties
- Equity Cap Table Management
COMPLIANCE
- Risk management and escalation training
- Limits of Authority (covering delegation and sign off)
- Anti-bribery/corruption
- Modern slavery training
- Practical training to demystify GDPR and understand compliance and processes
TECH/IP
- How to protect, manage and exploit your intellectual property assets
- Best practise for Open Source compliance
- Third party software compliance
LEGAL OPS/DESIGN
- How to manage and prioritise legal work and budget
- Legal teams: Working more efficiently for your business
Legal Design
Legal design combines design thinking with legal services to make law and legal documents easier to understand and more accessible and user friendly.- Develop lean and scalable documentation and processes to get deals done quicker and improve revenue recognition
- Redesign contracts and policies to make them simpler and user friendly whilst ensuring that legal risks are managed
- Develop legal triaging and self-serve products so business teams can avoid over reliance on senior management/legal
- Identify tech within your existing stack that can be used to streamline compliance and contracting processes
- Identify ways to make the most of the data embedded in legal documentation to better inform strategic decision-making and budgeting