Miami Business Alliance | Best Outside General Counsel In Miami

General Counsel

A General Counsel is a company’s main attorney and primary source of legal advice. In terms of hierarchy, a General Counsel normally reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) because a company’s business decisions are in large part based upon the legal advice of its General Counsel. In fact, if a Board of Directors willfully and intentionally goes against the legal advice of its General Counsel, then it is possible that a Board’s “Errors and Omissions” insurance policy may not cover the financial losses caused by the Board’s vote and actions. Accordingly, it is very important for a company to have an experienced General Counsel.

Doctors who are “Specialists” usually specialize only in one area. For example, if a patient has a heart problem, then the patient will go a “cardiovascular doctor,” and not a “podiatrist.” As the name implies, a General Counsel has “general” experience in multiple areas, similar to a “Family doctor.” Sometimes, a General Counsel may also have specialized experience in one area of the law. In other instances, a General Counsel may have specialized experience in two areas of the law.

A General Counsel has “general” experience in some areas of the law, and it is impossible for a General Counsel to have specialized experience in every area of the law, just like it is impossible for a medical doctor to also be specialized in every area of medicine. However, Mr. Emmanouil specializes in several areas, as follows:

General Counsel (both “In-house” and “outside”)
Corporate Law
Business Transactions
Buying and Selling Companies
Complex Commercial Litigation
Complex Commercial Arbitration (both as an Attorney and Arbitrator)
Complex Commercial Mediation (both as an Attorney and Mediator)

The Role of a General Counsel.

Every company is unique. No two companies are identical. Even two companies in the same industry are not identical. While every company has its own specific legal needs, all companies do share similar general legal needs. Such general legal needs may involve a General Counsel to do the following:

Counsel the company on general legal issues.
Ensure that corporate formalities are followed.
Attend and participate in Board meetings.
Draft, analyze, and negotiate contracts with customers, other companies, vendors, landlords, and independent contractors.
Identify legal issues that are outside of the General Counsel’s specialized area of expertise, and assist in obtaining counsel with experience in that that specific legal area. (For example, if there is an employment issue, then the General Counsel can recommend to the Board that an employment attorney be retained for a specific matter.)
Manage counsel in other jurisdictions to prosecute and defend the company’s legal and business interests.

Two Types of General Counsel: “In-House” and “Outside.”

There are generally two types of General Counsels: (1) an “In-House” General Counsel, and (2) an “Outside” General Counsel. An “In-House” General Counsel generally represents and works only for one Company, and his office is within or inside the company. An “Outside” General Counsel normally represents and works for several companies, and his office may be outside and separate from the various companies.

Ask any company if it would like to have an “In-House” General Counsel, and the answer is always “Yes, of course!” However, the salary is a company’s single largest factor when considering to have an In-House General Counsel – how much money can a company afford to pay a General Counsel? An experienced Business Law Attorney in Miami with over 20 years of experience can expect to receive a base salary anywhere between $250,000 to over $500,000 per year, depending on several factors such as stock options, retirement plans, company car, monthly stipends and allowances, and other benefits.

Miami Business Alliance’s Outside General Counsel Plan.

Understandably, many smaller companies cannot afford to pay between $25,000 per month for an “In-House” General Counsel. Also, many smaller companies do not need a General Counsel “Full-Time.” Instead, many smaller companies may only need a General Counsel only 5 to 10 hours per month. For such companies, Miami Business Alliance can offer “Outside” General Counsel services for as little as $2,500 per month for 5 hours, which is only a fraction of the cost of having such an “In-House” General Counsel. Many small businesses can easily use an attorney for 5 hours each month. Think of it this way - would you like to have a $350,000 per year attorney for only $30,000 part time? Of course the answer is yes, because $30,000 is about half of what you can pay a secretary in Miami. So you can have an attorney represent you on a VIP status for about half of what you pay most administrative employees!

How does the Outside General Counsel Plan work?

Here is how the Outside General Counsel Plan works: each month, the $2,500 monthly retainer is for up to five (5) hours of time spent by Zachary. Time is not carried over to subsequent months, but most smaller companies should easily have at least 5 hours of work that they can send to Mr. Emmanouil each month. For any time that is spent over 5 hours, a company simply pays for the additional time.

Another great benefit of the Outside General Counsel plan is that it allows businesses to budget the monthly amount in their budget.

Accordingly, such an Outside General Counsel Plan is an ideal solution for smaller businesses because it allows them to still have an experienced General Counsel, but for only a fraction of the cost.

VIP Status and Concierge Services Are Included With Our “Outside General Counsel Plan.”

In addition to offering Mr. Emmanouil as a Business Law Attorney with over 20 years of experience in many different areas, Miami Business Alliance’s Outside General Counsel Plan also includes additional value and benefit of VIP Status.

VIP Status.

If your company is a member of Miami Business Alliance’s Outside General Counsel Plan, then your company will also receive VIP status. This means that your company has priority over other clients. When you call, then you will receive a return phone call promptly, normally within the same day. When you send an email, then you will also receive an email response promptly, also normally within the same day.

Understandably, because Mr. Emmanouil deals with business matters internationally, he may not always be able to respond so quickly, However, with VIP status, you will be notified in advance of Mr. Emmanouil’s international trips. In this manner, Mr. Emmanouil can arrange to service your legal needs either before or after such an international trip. Moreover, another added benefit of VIP Status is that, for emergency situations, you will also have direct access to Mr. Emmanouil via his mobile phone via Whatsapp when he travels internationally.

Accordingly, even if a GC member does not use up to 5 hours each month, then it should be realized that VIP status, by itself, is worth over $2,500 per month. There are times when a company has one significant legal question, and it cannot wait a week, or even a few days, to obtain a legal answer. In such instances, it is worth having VIP status to have priority and faster answers.