- Consumer's Choice Award 2019
- Consumer's Choice Award 2020
- Consumer's Choice Award 2021
- Consumer's Choice Award 2022
- Consumer's Choice Award 2023
- Consumer's Choice Award 2024
For growing businesses in Hickory Hills, managing legal needs without a full-time in-house team is practical. Our outside general counsel service provides strategic counsel, contract review, risk management, and regulatory compliance on an as-needed basis. We partner with leadership to align legal strategy with business goals, ensuring timely advice, clear communications, and cost-effective solutions. This approach helps you stay focused on operations while safeguarding the company.
From our Hickory Hills office, we deliver flexible legal support without the overhead of a large law department. Our team conducts policy reviews, vendor agreements, employment guidance, and dispute avoidance under a structured retainer or project-based arrangement. You gain access to seasoned guidance when needed, with responsive communication and practical documentation that fits your budget. This model helps local businesses navigate Illinois laws, monitor compliance, and plan for growth with confidence.
Having an experienced outside general counsel offers strategic legal leadership without the cost of a full-time department. You gain ongoing risk assessment, faster contract turnaround, and clearer policy guidance that supports daily operations and long-term plans. This service provides continuity across projects, regulatory monitoring, and board-level communication, helping leadership make informed decisions while maintaining compliance. The approach scales with your needs, ensuring counsel is available when critical issues arise and remains embedded in your business decisions.
Our firm combines hands-on corporate counsel with practical litigation experience, bringing a balanced perspective to everyday legal matters. Our team includes attorneys dedicated to business law, contract negotiation, employment guidance, and risk management. We understand Illinois regulations and local business realities in Hickory Hills and surrounding communities. We work closely with executives, finance teams, and operations leaders to provide clear, actionable guidance, and we remain accessible for timely guidance.
Outside general counsel is a flexible, integrated approach to managing legal matters within your business. Instead of a fixed in-house team, you gain ongoing access to counsel who understand your operations, industry, and regulatory landscape. We help you set policy, review major contracts, monitor risk, and respond quickly to changes in Illinois law. This arrangement fosters continuity, predictable budgeting, and a proactive stance toward legal risk while preserving internal resources for core activities.
Engagements are designed to scale with growth and changing needs. You may choose a retainer, project-based work, or a blended model, ensuring counsel is available when strategic decisions are made or when disputes arise. Our team coordinates with executives, finance, and HR to align legal strategy with business goals, providing clear, practical guidance, documented decisions, and measurable results.
An outside general counsel is a long-term legal partner who acts as your company’s in-house adviser for governance, contracts, risk, and compliance. The arrangement emphasizes collaboration, timely advice, and integrated processes rather than isolated legal tasks. By embedding legal thinking into decisions from planning to execution, your business gains steadier guidance, efficient workflows, and a consistent standard across departments.
Core elements include ongoing counsel, contract review and negotiation, risk assessment, policy development, training, and governance support. We follow a practical process that begins with discovery of your objectives, then builds an action plan, assigns responsibilities, and establishes regular check-ins with leadership. We document decisions, track milestones, and provide clear reporting so you can monitor progress. This approach keeps your organization protected while enabling efficient operations.
Key terms are defined to help leadership and staff understand the outside general counsel relationship. Common terms include retainer, scope of services, governance, risk management, and compliance program. The glossary aligns language across contracts, policies, and communications so all teams share a consistent understanding of legal processes and expectations.
Retainer refers to a prearranged agreement for ongoing access to counsel, with a defined scope of services and a budgeting framework. This structure helps manage costs and ensures availability for routine tasks, strategic reviews, and urgent matters. The scope should specify priorities, response times, and reporting obligations to maintain clarity and accountability.
Governance encompasses the systems, policies, and practices used to direct and control the company. It includes board engagement, policy oversight, risk evaluation, and compliance monitoring with applicable laws. A reliable outside general counsel helps implement governance frameworks that support transparent decision making and accountability across departments.
Contract management involves drafting, reviewing, negotiating, and tracking corporate agreements across vendors, customers, and internal teams. The goal is clear terms, balanced risk, and timely execution. We emphasize standardized templates, approved authorities, and robust recordkeeping to support scalable growth and reliable operations.
Policy and training refer to written guidelines and practical instruction that help employees comply with laws and internal rules. Regular policy updates, accessible resources, and concise training materials ensure consistent behavior and reduce legal risk across the organization. This supports audits and helps protect the company reputation during regulatory reviews and provides measurable training outcomes.
Businesses have options for legal support, including in-house teams, project-based counsel, or outsourced general counsel. Each model offers different levels of control, cost, and flexibility. An outside general counsel arrangement provides strategic leadership with predictable budgeting, scalable scope, and integrated risk management, without committing to a fixed headcount. The choice depends on your size, growth trajectory, and comfort with ongoing legal collaboration.
During early stages or for smaller portfolios, a limited approach can cover essential tasks such as contract review, policy updates, and risk monitoring. This keeps costs predictable while providing access to guidance when needed. It works well for companies with straightforward needs or tight budgets.
If the business focuses on core operations and needs timely support rather than full governance oversight, a targeted plan delivers essential guidance, proactive contract handling, policy updates, and risk monitoring without overextending resources. This approach preserves agility, helps maintain clear accountability, and allows you to scale services as needs evolve.
A comprehensive service ensures governance, risk management, contract oversight, and policy implementation are integrated across the organization. It reduces silos, provides consistent messaging, and supports strategic decision-making with a steady flow of guidance and documentation that is accessible to leadership and staff.
When the business faces growth, regulatory changes, or complex vendor arrangements, a full-featured program helps maintain consistency, coverage, and accountability. It aligns legal work with business objectives, ensuring policies are current and disputes are managed with clarity and speed.
A comprehensive approach delivers sustained governance, proactive risk management, and cohesive policy implementation across departments. It reduces reactive firefighting by anticipating issues, standardizing processes, and providing a consistent framework for decision-making. Clients report greater predictability in budgeting and smoother collaboration between legal, finance, and operations.
This approach also supports scalable growth by building institutional knowledge, maintaining up-to-date contracts and templates, and offering ongoing training. With clear roles, responsibilities, and reporting, executives can make informed choices and respond confidently to changing regulatory landscapes.
One major benefit is continuity. A single partner maintains governance across initiatives, ensuring policies and contracts stay aligned with strategic goals. This reduces downtime, speeds up approvals, and creates a reliable legal backbone for operations.
Another key advantage is scalability. As the company grows, the same framework expands to cover new products, markets, and regulatory requirements. Clients enjoy consistent service levels, predictable costs, and a clear path for adding services as needs evolve.
Establish a simple, documented scope up front. Define priorities, response times, and reporting so your team knows what to expect. This helps prevent scope creep and keeps budgeting predictable while enabling efficient collaboration.
Use standardized documents and templates. Centralized, approved resources save time, ensure compliance, and provide a clear audit trail for contracts, policies, and training across the organization.
If your business aims to balance growth with strong governance, outside general counsel offers practical guidance, ongoing oversight, and predictable budgeting. This model keeps legal counsel closely aligned with operational needs while providing access to a broad range of skills across corporate law, risk management, and compliance.
It’s a flexible option for Illinois companies seeking continuity without a full-time in-house team. Engaging as needed allows leaders to prioritize core activities while ensuring legal considerations are integrated into strategic decisions. The result is steadier processes, clearer documentation, and a proactive approach to legal risk.
Businesses often turn to outside general counsel when launching products, negotiating complex vendor agreements, addressing regulatory changes, or handling governance matters. A steady legal partner helps maintain compliance, manage risk, and support growth initiatives without disrupting operations or elevating fixed costs.
A growing company needs ongoing contract oversight, policy updates, and governance support to maintain efficiency and reduce risk across departments.
Regulatory changes require timely guidance, documentation, and training to keep teams aligned with new requirements.
Disputes or vendor negotiations demand experienced, coordinated counsel to protect interests and preserve business relationships.
If you face uncertain legal questions, need policy updates, or want proactive risk management, our team is ready to assist. We aim to be a dependable partner who communicates clearly, respects budgets, and keeps you informed as priorities evolve. You can expect practical guidance and timely responses across your organization.
Our team brings practical, business-focused counsel to Hickory Hills and Illinois clients. With hands-on corporate experience and a collaborative approach, we help you accomplish goals while navigating regulatory requirements, complex contracts, and workforce matters. We prioritize clear communication, predictable budgeting, and timely guidance to keep your operations compliant and focused.
Choosing our service means access to a dedicated partner who understands your industry, the local market, and the Illinois legal landscape. We tailor solutions, keep governance simple, and avoid unnecessary disputes, helping leaders move decisions forward with confidence. We provide ongoing policy reviews, training, and proactive risk management to support sustainable growth.
Our approach emphasizes collaboration, client education, and accountable practices. We align legal work with your budget, deliver practical documents, and maintain open channels for feedback. This method reduces friction and builds trust while enabling you to scale services as needs evolve.
We begin with listening to your goals, reviewing current processes, and tailoring a plan that fits your budget. A phased approach combines governance, policy updates, contract oversight, and risk management. You will receive clear timelines, defined responsibilities, and regular progress reports to keep everyone aligned and informed.
Step 1 focuses on discovery and goal setting. We gather information about your business, operations, and compliance needs, then outline a practical plan that addresses priorities and constraints. This foundation ensures subsequent steps stay aligned with strategy and budget.
During discovery, we interview leadership, review key contracts, and identify gaps in governance and policy. The goal is to capture your objectives, risk tolerance, and desired outcomes to shape a tailored engagement.
We translate findings into a concrete scope, milestones, and responsibilities. The plan defines deliverables, success metrics, and communication channels to ensure transparency throughout the engagement.
Step 2 centers on policy development, contract governance, and risk management. We implement standardized templates, perform critical reviews, and establish reporting to keep leadership informed and prepared for key decisions.
Policy development creates practical guidelines that reflect regulatory requirements and company values. We provide training materials and easy-to-use resources to help teams apply policies consistently.
Implementation includes deploying templates, assigning owners, and integrating governance into daily operations. We monitor progress and adjust as needed to maintain momentum.
Step 3 emphasizes ongoing oversight, review cycles, and continuous improvement. We provide periodic audits of contracts, governance practices, and risk controls to ensure sustained effectiveness.
We review outcomes, gather feedback, and adjust policies and procedures to reflect changing needs and lessons learned from real-world application.
Ongoing oversight ensures that governance remains current, risk controls stay effective, and the organization benefits from steady, proactive legal support.
At the Frankfort Law Group, we take great pride in our commitment to personal service. Clients come to us because they have problems, and they depend upon us to help them find solutions. We take these obligations seriously. When you meet with us, we know that you are only doing so because you need help. Since we started our firm in northeast Illinois, we have focused on providing each of our clients with personal attention. You do not have to be afraid to tell us your story. We are not here to judge you or make you feel ashamed for seeking help. Our only goal is to help you get results and move past your current legal problems.
At the Frankfort Law Group, we take great pride in our commitment to personal service. Clients come to us because they have problems, and they depend upon us to help them find solutions. We take these obligations seriously. When you meet with us, we know that you are only doing so because you need help. Since we started our firm in northeast Illinois, we have focused on providing each of our clients with personal attention. You do not have to be afraid to tell us your story. We are not here to judge you or make you feel ashamed for seeking help. Our only goal is to help you get results and move past your current legal problems.
Outside general counsel is a long-term, integrated approach to providing strategic legal guidance for governance, contracts, risk management, and compliance. It combines the stability of in-house leadership with the flexibility of external resources. This model ensures continuity across initiatives, aligns legal work with business priorities, and supports decision-making with practical, timely counsel. The arrangement is designed to scale with your growth and adapt to evolving regulatory requirements. You gain a consistent partner who understands your operations and industry needs.
A retainer typically establishes a budgeting framework for ongoing access to counsel and a defined set of services. It provides predictable costs and prioritized response times, while allowing you to request additional support as needed. The specifics should be documented in the engagement letter, including scope, hours, and reporting. This structure helps prevent surprises and ensures collaboration remains steady as your priorities change.
Response times vary by priority and agreement but are generally defined in the retainer terms. Urgent matters may receive more immediate attention, while routine tasks are scheduled within agreed windows. Clear expectations help teams plan work and maintain momentum on important initiatives. Regular status updates and documented decisions increase transparency and accountability across the organization.
Yes. Employment policies, handbook updates, wage and hour guidance, and compliance with state and federal labor laws can be covered. We tailor policy development and training to fit your company culture and regulatory environment. Ongoing updates help reduce risk and keep staff informed about changes that affect their roles and responsibilities.
Contract negotiations are a core component of outside general counsel. We draft and review agreements with attention to terms, risk allocation, and commercial impact. Our goal is to secure favorable terms while preserving business relationships. We maintain standardized templates, approval workflows, and a clear record of negotiations to support efficient execution.
No mandatory travel is required. We can support you remotely with virtual consultations, on-site meetings as needed, and periodic visits to your local office. Our flexible model allows you to choose the level of in-person interaction that best suits your operations and budget.
Billing typically follows the retainer or project-based structure outlined in your engagement. You will see predictable monthly costs for ongoing services or itemized charges for specific projects. We strive for transparent, reasonable pricing and open communication about any changes to scope or hours.
Yes. We can work with your existing vendors, consultants, and outside counsel. Our role is to coordinate and integrate legal work across teams, ensuring consistency and alignment with your strategic goals. We provide guidance, templates, and governance to streamline collaboration and avoid duplicated efforts.
Getting started typically involves an initial discovery call, a scoping assessment, and a proposed engagement plan. After agreement, we initiate onboarding, set up reporting, and begin with priority tasks such as policy updates or contract reviews. We aim to establish a smooth transition and quick wins that demonstrate value early in the relationship.
An outside general counsel offers ongoing strategic leadership, integrated processes, and scalable support that adapts with your business. Unlike a fixed in-house team, you gain access to a broad skill set, flexible engagement models, and a partner who coordinates across departments to manage risk, improve governance, and drive efficient operations.