Fractional In-House Counsel Services
Day-to-Day Legal
Company Set Up, Governance & Co Sec
We’ll ensure your corporate set up, structure, documents and filings are right and protect the business as you grow. Neglecting this, doing it yourself, or outsourcing to someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing is common, and causes problems later on. It’s not uncommon for it to delay or even jeopardize a funding round or exit. Which can be catastrophic if you’re running out of runway. So it’s really important to get key things in place when you start and as you scale.
We will:
- Guide you through the choices and process of setting up (limited company, LLP, etc)
- Get legal documentation in place to protect you, your shareholders and your directors, including founder / shareholder agreements, new Articles of Association, director services agreements, etc.
- Advise on compliance with corporate law and constitutional documents and governance to ensure the relationship between the shareholders and management is properly regulated
- Help you understand your responsibilities as a director – see our ‘Director’s Duties’ workshop
Our Co Sec services will:
- Help manage your cap table and statutory registers (directors, shareholders, etc), using platforms like Kudocs (unless you’re already on another, e.g. Capdesk, Ledgy, Vestd, etc.)
- Carry out any remedial work necessary for due diligence
- Provide board and shareholder minutes and resolutions and give guidance on meetings and paperwork required for good governance
- Make filings at Companies House – annual and ad hoc (e.g. issuing new shares, appointing/ terminating directors, accounts, confirmation statements, etc)
- Provide a UK registered office address for formal communications
- Help organise / manage signing of legal documents (via, e.g. Docusign)
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
Watch our bite-size video on how to improve your contracts and processes.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
Fractional Employment Counsel & Head Of People
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 people needs including giving strategic legal and operational HR support to enable growth in line with your business objectives and values.
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
Mediation
Navigating the complexities of business growth often brings inevitable conflicts which are very difficult to anticipate at the outset. When such conflicts arise, mediation can be an invaluable tool for scaling companies, providing a swift and cost-effective resolution to both internal and external disputes. Unlike traditional litigation or even arbitration, mediation empowers the parties in dispute to settle amongst themselves and preserve their (working) relationships.
Common issues that can benefit from mediation (even if traditional litigation has already commenced) include:
- Shareholder disputes
- Investment decision disagreements
- Asset and IP ownership conflicts
- HR and employment grievances
- Customer and client contract disagreements
Our guided mediation service offers a structured yet flexible framework to address these conflicts, enabling your business to focus on expansion rather than huge legal fees and costly litigation or arbitration. Our mediation service is headed up by our experienced in-house counsel Rustam Roy, who is a CEDR-accredited mediator. Find out more about Rustam here.
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
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
Watch our Health Check videoOur 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
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
DISPUTE RESOLUTION TRAINING
All businesses have disputes – how it’s managed in the early stages can make the crucial difference between prompt resolution and an ongoing costly headache.
Our training serves as an introduction to the fundamentals of dispute resolution.
By providing this training, you’re empowering your managers to mitigate risks, foster a positive work environment, and maintain productivity.
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
People
Fractional Employment 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 people needs including giving strategic legal and operational HR support to enable growth in line with your business objectives and values.
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 HR operational support you need for your people. 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
Mentoring and Coaching
Our mentoring and coaching services can help those navigating their in-house counsel role. Whether you’re new to an in house position or seeking to enhance your skills, our experienced team offers personalised guidance and strategic insights to help you succeed in our fast-moving legal landscape.MENTORING
Our mentoring support is tailored to support those early on in their in-house legal career. We bring a wealth of experience as senior in-house lawyers, well-acquainted with the demands of the in-house role, particularly being ‘first in’, along with insight and support on how to build a robust and cohesive legal function.
Each mentoring relationship is unique, but typically guidance is focused around your specific challenges, objectives and work, to facilitate your professional growth and success. And it generally covers the following.
- Strategic support and advice: we help equip you with the right tools, insights and best practices for navigating the complexities of your role effectively.
- Workload management: we help prioritise tasks and optimise workflow to improve productivity and minimise stress, fostering a balanced and sustainable approach to your work and responsibilities.
- Sounding board: acting as a confidential sounding board, providing a safe space for you to explore ideas, seek feedback and gain perspective on challenging issues, empowering you to make informed decisions with confidence.
We may also be able to provide supervision for those wanting to qualify as solicitors.
By leveraging our mentoring support, you receive invaluable guidance and resources so you can develop professionally and establish a strong foundation for your legal function’s success.
COACHING
Finding ways to understand ourselves better, to help direct and control our careers and core elements of our lives, can sometimes be difficult. That’s where a coach can really help. Rachael North is the People & Culture Lead at LegalEdge and a highly sought after Executive Coach. With close to 10 years’ coaching experience and 20 years’ leadership experience, nurturing in-house legal careers, championing personal and professional development and enhancing executive experiences, has been a constant activity for Rachael throughout.
She works with the LegalEdge team, as well as CLO’s, GC’s, Directors, CEO’s, CFO’s, founders and business leaders. Supporting clients to tap into blocks, learning how to be accountable and staying open to their potential, Rachael builds deep and authentic relationships and uses bespoke coaching techniques, including scientifically proven assessment tools, to produce excellent results. Coaching can be one of the most powerful ways to speed up personal and professional transformation. And, in a constantly evolving legal world we can all benefit from having this additional support, especially when adapting to change. You should know when you engage Rachael, you can be assured of her singular attention and positive energy to champion you or your business.
Speak to Rachael about:
- Cultivating clear communication skills
- Boosting self-belief and confidence levels
- Adapting to change and refining interpersonal skills in an evolving legal landscape
- Fostering resilience, recognising inherent strengths and creating a better state of being
- Charting career trajectories and developmental roadmaps
- Developing leadership abilities to influence, shape direction and lead by example
- Managing tough conversations
- Nurturing business expansion strategies
- Prioritising personal well-being and work-life balance
“Working with Rachael has been a real pleasure. She enabled me to take a look at my career development and challenges with fresh eyes, using an insightful and structured approach. Rachael leverages her deep expertise in the legal sector to provide knowledgeable input and she is not afraid to challenge and test her clients. I would certainly encourage other professionals to work with Rachael if they are lucky enough to have the opportunity.”
Keir Ashton, ex Global Chief Legal Officer – Louis Dreyfus Company, Global Commodities
