Spencer West’s Outsourced General Counsel (Outsourced GC) service offers businesses flexible, cost-effective legal support without the need for a permanent in-house team. Ideal for start-ups, scale-ups, and lean businesses, our service allows you to hire a GC or in-house legal support on a fractional basis, whether for ongoing legal issues or specific projects. Our experienced lawyers, who have worked across various sectors, understand the unique challenges faced by businesses and in-house legal teams, providing relevant, knowledgeable advice that aligns with your culture and goals.
Our Outsourced GC service is designed for flexibility, offering part-time, full-time, short-term, long-term, and project-based support tailored to your needs. You can scale the service up or down as required, ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiency. We offer continuity with a dedicated point of contact, but also provide a team approach for uninterrupted service when needed. This flexibility fosters long-term relationships and seamless legal support.
Spencer West’s pricing is competitive, often based on general counsel salaries rather than high hourly rates typical of law firms, offering significant savings, especially for interim resource needs. We begin with an initial three-month subscription, reviewed and renewed on a rolling basis, allowing you to adjust your spending as needed. This approach ensures you only pay for the legal support you require, with potential for negotiated discounts for longer commitments.
Our service includes tools, questionnaires, and templates to help identify your business’s legal needs and prioritise risks, enhancing the effectiveness of our day-to-day support. Additionally, our global reach means we can assist with international legal challenges, providing the expertise necessary for businesses operating across multiple jurisdictions.
- Commercial contracts and bespoke agreements, both for your procurement of materials and services and for your sale of products or services.
- Regulatory compliance, through development of tailored policies and procedures ensuring your business meets its legal requirements.
- Corporate governance and company secretarial support, so that the rights and obligations of directors and shareholders are upheld, and relevant notifications are sent to Companies House.
- Employment law support for your HR team, including immigration and sponsorship.
- Protection and exploitation of your intellectual property (e.g. copyright, trademarks and brand).
- Basic data protection obligations, including privacy policies and data processing and sharing agreements.
- Complaints handling and avoidance or early resolution of minor disputes.
- Instructing and managing specialist lawyers, when required (e.g. for debt recovery, competition law, litigation or a real estate or corporate transaction).
- Startups, scaleups and other businesses, with little or no in-house legal resource.
- Businesses whose in-house lawyer or team needs some support.
- Businesses who require legal support for international trade, and expansion of their business into new jurisdictions.
Service for Businesses with Limited or No In-House Legal Resources
Many startups and small businesses don’t have legal experts among their founders. However, legal issues can arise from day one and escalate if not managed properly, which can be stressful for unqualified staff. Addressing minor legal issues before they become major problems is crucial for business stability.
Spencer West offers an Outsourced General Counsel Service as a practical solution. By subscribing, businesses can access experienced in-house lawyers who handle a wide range of legal matters pragmatically and commercially.
Our General Counsel lawyers can assist with various legal issues, tailored to your specific business needs.
Support for In-House Lawyers and Legal Teams
If your in-house legal team is overburdened or if you face sudden increases in legal workload, additional support might be necessary. This could include major projects, team members on leave, or specific legal mandates from audits, regulators, or government agencies.
Spencer West provides flexible legal support to address these challenges.
We offer both ad hoc and long-term assistance, whether for individual lawyers or complete teams. Our GC lawyers can enhance your team’s capacity, and we also provide specialists for specific legal tasks, such as IT contracts or sector-specific issues like FMCG.
Our experienced professionals integrate quickly with your team, ensuring seamless support for both complex legal matters and urgent needs.
Our Outsourced GC lawyers cover all business law aspects, including corporate and commercial advice, dispute resolution, compliance, employment, and immigration.
Whether you need an individual or a virtual/physical team, we can rapidly scale to provide the right mix of experience and skills.
Putting Your International Trade Plans to Work
For Board Directors or General Counsels managing global business operations, legal expertise is vital. Spencer West’s General Counsel Services offer tailored solutions to support international operations and growth.
Our legal professionals have extensive international law experience, ensuring compliance across multiple jurisdictions and mitigating risks.
This service provides high-quality legal advice without the overhead costs of full-time in-house counsel. Our flexible approach adapts to the size and needs of your business, allowing for strategic resource allocation.
We operate as an extension of your team, providing proactive legal strategies aligned with your business goals. We assist with strategic planning and market entry, helping you expand into new jurisdictions.
Our guidance on immigration laws, work permits, visas, and international employment regulations ensures compliance and supports global workforce mobility.
We also develop and implement comprehensive compliance strategies to keep your business in line with local and international legal requirements.
Meet our team
