Business law capability
Outside general counsel for technology companies and startups
Ongoing senior legal counsel for technology companies, startups, and growing businesses that need coordinated support without building a full in-house legal department.
How we help
What can outside general counsel handle for a growing company?
- 01Commercial contract strategy and review
- 02Legal-priority planning and triage
- 03Corporate governance and company records
- 04Employment and contractor coordination
- 05Intellectual-property and data issue spotting
- 06Financing and transaction preparation
- 07Management of specialist counsel
- 08Legal workflow and contract-intake design
Outside General Counsel counsel questions
What should a company know before choosing outside general counsel?
01What does outside general counsel do for a startup?
Outside general counsel can serve as an ongoing legal point of contact for contracts, governance, employment coordination, intellectual-property and data issues, financing preparation, legal triage, and management of specialist counsel.
02When does a software startup need outside general counsel?
A software startup may need outside general counsel when legal work becomes recurring and connected across customer contracts, hiring, intellectual property, financing, governance, data use, or product commitments, but the workload does not yet justify a full internal legal department.
03How is outside general counsel different from in-house counsel?
Outside general counsel provides ongoing legal support as an external attorney or firm. In-house counsel is employed by the company as a dedicated internal legal resource. The right model depends on workload, availability needs, expertise, company stage, and budget.
04How much does outside general counsel cost?
Cost depends on scope, work volume, urgency, attorney seniority, specialist involvement, and the agreed billing structure. A written engagement should explain staffing, fees, expenses, assumptions, and how work outside the scope will be approved.
05Does outside general counsel replace specialist lawyers?
Not necessarily. Outside general counsel can identify when a matter requires securities, tax, patent, litigation, regulatory, or other specialist advice and coordinate that work with the company’s broader priorities.
Outside counsel guide
Answers for the legal decisions that come with growth.
Compare legal-support models, understand cost structures, decide when to hire, and build a more reliable contract workflow.
How much does outside general counsel cost?
Outside counsel or an in-house lawyer?
When should a startup hire its first lawyer?
How to manage growing contract volume
The Kohler model
Why companies bring this work to Kohler.
Senior attorneys only
Every attorney has at least 25 years of experience. The person advising your business is the person doing the work.
Matched to the matter
Founder Robert Kohler learns what the business needs, then pairs the client with an attorney whose experience fits the work.
Built for operating speed
The firm handles the contracts, employment issues, intellectual-property questions, and commercial matters that cannot wait.