Business success is usually attained by those who not only make good decisions, but are disciplined enough to implement those decisions. In today’s litigious, highly-regulated and ultra-competitive business environment, good decisions are paramount and a lack of information could be fatal.

We developed the Counsel on Retainer Program™ to serve the needs of entrepreneurial small and mid-sized business. It is based on this simple formula: the tremendous cost of making a bad decision dictates an initial investment of time and resources to ensure that bad decisions are avoided. As set forth in greater detail below, our CORP clients find that this interaction improves the quality of every decision, whether large or small.

We have tailored the program to give you the same access to an experienced business attorney that many of your competitors already have in-house. Whatever the issue, you benefit from talking to an attorney that already knows your business, your company’s unique politics, your resources and your short and long-term objectives. While we can certainly tailor the program to your specific needs, the process of the basic arrangement is as follows:

As you know, many large companies can afford to have full-time attorneys on their payroll and speed dial. If those attorneys are helpful, understand the company’s business and are versed in the applicable law, management calls often seeking legal advice with respect to contemplated decisions. Rather than limiting the discussion to whether a certain course of action violates the law, many executives have figured out that it is always beneficial to get another good mind on the project. After all, good lawyers are trained, and should be proficient, at anticipating future problems and predicting the outcome of certain courses of action. And if nothing else, lawyers should have the ability to think critically. In other words, in the “two heads are better than one” mode, these executives run their thoughts and ideas past another “executive,” gathering valuable information. Those of you who have worked in this environment will quickly see the other advantage to this relationship. If they constantly ran these same decisions past their superiors, they may appear indecisive and incompetent. If they ran these decisions past their subordinates, they may appear insecure and incompetent.

When a sizeable transaction or material dispute hits, the executives often use the in-house attorney as a liaison and project manager, even though legal services are likely to be provided by outside counsel. And rather than relying on the recommendations of outside attorneys who have very little financial incentive to conclude the issues quickly, the executive can turn to their in-house attorney for unbiased advice at every major decision point.