Outside general counsel for small businesses.

What does the subscription cover day to day?

The subscription covers what a business deals with day to day: entity formation, contracts, business and legal strategy, employment issues, vendor relationships, partnerships, and risk. The value is in when the counsel happens, before commitments are made rather than after something breaks. New businesses often start here: see the business formation guides for how to choose the right structure.

Business formation

Choosing the right entity, from LLC to corporation, and filing the paperwork that starts the business correctly the first time.

Contract review, markup, and drafting

Customer, vendor, and service agreements read before signature, with the terms that matter, including indemnification, liability caps, and termination rights, negotiated rather than accepted.

Contract templates and playbooks

The agreements you sign repeatedly, standardized once so each new deal starts from your position instead of the other side's.

Entity and governance documents

Operating agreements, bylaws, and the ownership and decision rules that decide what happens when partners disagree.

Buy-sell and partnership agreements

What happens if an owner leaves, dies, or wants out, settled while everyone still agrees.

Employment agreements and offer letters

Terms for new hires, including contractor versus employee classification, written before the first payroll runs.

Employee handbooks and internal policies

Policies that match how the business actually operates, reviewed as headcount and practice change.

Noncompete, nonsolicitation, and confidentiality

Restrictive covenants and NDAs drafted to be enforceable and proportionate, not copied from a template.

Vendor and supplier agreements

Payment terms, scope, service levels, and exit rights across the relationships the business runs on.

Commercial leases

The space the business occupies, reviewed before signing, with renewals and obligations understood up front.

Licensing and regulatory questions

Ongoing advisory on the permits, registrations, and rules that apply to how the business operates.

Risk review and business strategy

Where the exposure sits, what a decision commits you to, and the tradeoffs worth weighing before you act.

Transaction and diligence support

Preparing the company's records and agreements for due diligence ahead of an acquisition, sale, or outside investment.

This is a subscription, not a traditional retainer drawn down against hourly rates: nothing depletes, and no balance needs topping up. The hourly model is slow and expensive and punishes you for picking up the phone. The flat fee removes both problems, with predictable cost, priority responsiveness, and a lawyer who already knows the business. The full reasoning is on why we work on a flat fee.

Who is outside general counsel for?

The sweet spot is the entrepreneur whose business generates roughly $1M to $20M in revenue and has no in-house counsel. You are past the napkin stage, with real contracts, real relationships, and real risk.

Most owners in that position have engaged attorneys only on a spot basis: calling when something goes wrong, getting a big invoice, waiting weeks for a response, and walking away frustrated. The best legal work is the work you never have to think about, because it was done right the first time.

One kind of business is not a fit: large companies that need a full-service firm with multiple practice areas under one roof. The firm is selective about who it takes on, not because of limited space, but because Good, Good Counsel^® only works within the right relationship.

Based in Williamson County? See outside general counsel in Franklin, TN. Still building toward that stage? Start with the attorney for entrepreneurs page.

Common questions about the flat-fee model