“You mean like a ‘virtual CFO’? But for General Counsel?” Asked my accountant.

“Yep, but not strictly virtual – an outsourced general counsel can work a mix of on-site or remotely, depending client needs,” I explained.

“Well I have bunch of clients who’d be up for that!” She exclaimed.

This conversation took place shortly after we’d met Paul Napier. As the former GC of an ASX listed company and Minter Ellison lawyer before that, Paul had seen an opportunity to provide outsourced general counsel services to high-growth and established businesses that didn’t yet have (or necessarily want) a permanent GC or in-house lawyer.

Coming up to two years on, we caught up with Paul to see how he’s tracking and how his outsourced GC offering is being received by clients.

Managing legal spend is a pain point for many businesses, particularly as they mature. As your operations expand, so do your legal bills. There are more risks to manage and more contracts to sign. 

If you’re spending a lot on legal fees, you might realise that you’ll soon reach a point where it’s cheaper to employ a salaried in-house lawyer. Someone senior enough with the range of experience to deal with most of your day to day legals, and can pre-empt and manage any legal emergency

But hiring your first lawyer is a big step – it’s a significant cost, a lot of commitment and perhaps you’re just not ready?

Provider Assist’s Managing Director, Victoria Kelly got in touch with InCounsel in 2017 to see if we could assist in providing an outsourced general counsel to take on the growing legal requirements of the business.