- 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
An outside general counsel provides strategic legal guidance without needing a full in house team. For Hodgkins businesses, this arrangement delivers proactive compliance, contract oversight, risk management, and scalable support aligned with growth. Our firm offers a predictable engagement that fits your company size, industry, and budget while delivering timely advice to leadership and staff. Partnering with a dedicated attorney helps you navigate complex issues, set sound policy, and protect your assets during day to day operations.
From contract negotiation to governance and regulatory compliance, an outside GC becomes a trusted advisor for the entire leadership group. We tailor every service to your organizational needs, ensuring responsiveness and practical solutions that help you move forward with confidence. In Hodgkins and the surrounding Illinois communities, local insight matters, and our team combines knowledge of state requirements with hands on collaboration to keep your business on track.
Choosing an outside general counsel offers predictable costs, scalable support, and ongoing risk management. It enables timely contract reviews, policy development, and strategic planning that align with business goals. This approach reduces downtime, speeds decision making, and helps avoid costly disputes by addressing issues before they escalate. With hands on guidance, leadership can focus on growth while staying compliant with industry regulations and evolving laws.
Frankfort Law Group serves Hodgkins and nearby communities with practical business and corporate law counsel. Our attorneys bring broad experience in contract law, corporate governance, employment matters, and regulatory compliance. We prioritize clear communication, dependable service, and results that support clients through growth cycles. Our team is familiar with Illinois court procedures, agency oversight, and local business practices, enabling efficient handling of routine matters as well as strategic projects.
Outside general counsel is a flexible model that blends the strategy of an in house counsel with the resource awareness of a law firm. Instead of reacting to issues after they arise, we partner with management to anticipate legal needs, align risk tolerance with business goals, and build scalable processes.
We integrate with leadership, finance, HR, and operations to review vendor contracts, protect intellectual property, and steward governance practices. This coordinated approach reduces friction across departments and ensures legal considerations inform decisions at every stage.
Outside general counsel is a retained advisor who acts as your company’s primary legal strategist, providing ongoing guidance rather than handling one off matters. This model preserves continuity, ensures consistent advice, and helps leadership plan for risk, procurement, hiring, and growth. It differs from an on call attorney by offering integrated support across legal disciplines and business functions.
Key elements include contract management, policy development, risk assessment, regulatory monitoring, and governance support. The process begins with a needs assessment, followed by a tailored engagement plan, ongoing check ins, and clear documentation of decisions. We emphasize practical workflows, transparent communication, and alignment with business objectives to keep operations smooth and compliant.
Learn common terms and definitions used when discussing outside general counsel services, so leaders and teams communicate clearly and understand obligations, rights, and processes.
General Counsel refers to the senior legal advisor who helps steer a company’s overall legal strategy. In an outside general counsel arrangement, this role is performed by an attorney or team who provides ongoing guidance, policy development, and risk management without becoming a full time in house employee. The goal is to align legal considerations with business objectives, support leadership decisions, and maintain consistent governance across departments.
Outside General Counsel describes the retained attorney or firm that delivers ongoing legal leadership as an external partner. This setup offers continuity and integrated support across corporate matters while remaining flexible and cost effective. An outside GC collaborates with leadership to manage contracts, governance, compliance, and risk, helping to protect assets and enable growth.
Governance encompasses the framework of rules, practices, and processes used to direct and control an organization. In practice, governance support from an outside GC includes board liaison, policy creation, compliance oversight, risk management, and documenting major decisions to ensure accountability and continuity.
Contract Management refers to the lifecycle of agreements from drafting and review through execution and renewal. An outside GC helps standardize templates, manage risk, track obligations, and ensure compliance with applicable laws, vendors, and customers.
Business leaders often choose between in house teams, project based counsel, and outside general counsel. Each option offers different levels of control, cost, and responsiveness. This section outlines how an outside GC compares, highlighting predictable engagement, ongoing oversight, and coordinated support across departments to keep operations efficient.
Limited engagement works well when your core legal needs are predictable and not company wide. For example, month to month contract reviews, policy updates, and vendor negotiations can be handled efficiently by a part time or fractional model, reducing overhead while maintaining consistent guidance.
As you scale, access to scalable outside counsel is valuable. The model supports expansion into new markets, regulatory changes, and complex transactions without committing to permanent headcount.
As your business evolves, a comprehensive legal partnership provides continuous guidance, cohesive policy frameworks, and coordinated risk management across departments. The result is clearer accountability, faster execution, and improved ability to navigate regulatory changes.
With ongoing support, leadership can focus on core activities while the legal function proactively identifies opportunities and mitigates potential problems. This approach creates a resilient foundation for growth, reduces friction in decision making, and enhances collaboration with finance, HR, and operations.
Consistent advice across contracts, policies, and regulatory issues helps minimize gaps and miscommunications. You gain a unified voice when negotiating with vendors and partners.
Strategic planning becomes more robust with a steady legal perspective guiding budgets, risk tolerance, and governance. This supports sustainable growth and stronger governance practices.
Define clear goals and expectations at the outset of an outside general counsel engagement. Outline the specific legal priorities, service levels, and reporting cadence. A documented plan helps keep the relationship focused and ensures leadership receives timely insights on risk, compliance, and transactional matters. Regular check ins, milestone reviews, and a simple scope of work prevent scope creep and improve value over time.
Integrate legal guidance with operations, finance, and HR. Shared workflows, templates, and calendars promote consistency and efficiency across the organization while keeping leadership informed and aligned with legal considerations.
For Hodgkins based businesses, outside general counsel offers flexible, cost effective legal leadership that scales with growth. It provides ongoing governance, risk management, and transactional support without the overhead of a full time in house team.
This model supports continuity, stronger vendor relationships, and proactive compliance across departments, helping leaders focus on strategic objectives while maintaining practical control over daily legal needs.
Common circumstances include rapid growth, frequent contract activity, regulatory changes, diligence for partnerships, or leadership transitions. When these are present, an outside GC provides continuity and a steady hand.
A growth phase often brings more complex contracting, new supplier relationships, and evolving governance needs. An outside GC can scale processes, establish templates, and ensure compliance during expansion.
High levels of contracting require efficient review cycles, risk assessment, and standardized templates to protect the business while moving deals forward smoothly.
Regulatory changes demand timely interpretation and policy updates. An outside GC provides ongoing monitoring and practical guidance to keep operations compliant.
Frankfort Law Group is ready to support Hodgkins businesses with practical legal guidance, clear communication, and dependable service. We tailor our approach to fit your needs, industry, and growth trajectory, ensuring you have reliable access to guidance when it matters most.
Our firm combines local Illinois knowledge with broad business law experience, focusing on practical, solution oriented guidance that fits small to mid sized teams.
From governance to contract management, we partner with leadership to protect assets, reduce risk, and enable growth while keeping costs predictable.
Engagements are customized to your needs, offering reliable access to counsel, responsive communications, and measurable outcomes.
After an initial assessment, we tailor an engagement plan, establish governance routines, and set milestones for review. We focus on practical steps and transparent costs to support ongoing partnership.
Step one is a discovery of your business goals, compliance posture, and operational needs. We collect information, confirm priorities, and align expectations.
Part one involves mapping legal processes to the business, creating a plan for contracts, governance, risk management, and reporting.
Part two sets the scope, roles, and communication protocols for ongoing engagement, ensuring decisions are documented and accessible.
Step two focuses on implementation, including policy development, vendor reviews, and workflow integration across departments.
Part one of implementation covers operationalizing the plan with checklists, templates, and governance calendars.
Part two details how processes integrate with teams, ensuring consistent practice and timely updates.
Step three provides ongoing oversight, performance measurements, and periodic updates to leadership.
Part one focuses on monitoring outcomes, tracking milestones, and adjusting plans as needed.
Part two covers transparent reporting, dashboards, and regular reviews to keep leadership informed.
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 retained advisor who provides ongoing legal leadership for a company. It combines strategic guidance with practical support across governance, contracts, and compliance. This model offers continuity, scalability, and coordinated advice without the need to hire a full time in house legal team. You’ll receive steady access to counsel who understands your business and industry. It is an efficient way to manage risk and enable growth.
An outside GC offers long term partnership and integrated services, while in house counsel is a company employee with day to day presence. The outside model focuses on scalable support, cost predictability, and cross functional collaboration. Both approaches provide legal guidance, but an outside GC emphasizes continuity and strategic alignment with business goals.
An outside GC can handle governance, contract management, regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and procurement matters. They work with leadership to set policy, review agreements, monitor changes in law, and ensure consistent messaging across departments. This arrangement allows management to focus on growth while maintaining legal oversight and risk controls.
Costs vary by engagement, but many Hodgkins businesses prefer monthly retainers or defined project scopes with predictable fees. This model reduces unpredictable legal bills, offers budget discipline, and ensures regular access to counsel. We tailor pricing to fit your needs and provide clarity upfront.
We typically begin within a few weeks after discovery, once goals and scope are agreed. The initial phase includes a needs assessment, plan development, and onboarding of processes. Ongoing work then proceeds under a structured engagement with regular check ins and reporting.
Yes. For small businesses, the outside GC approach provides cost effective leadership and risk management without the overhead of hiring full time staff. It scales with growth, accommodates fluctuating workloads, and can adapt to evolving regulatory requirements in Illinois.
Absolutely. An outside GC collaborates with existing attorneys, in house teams, and external specialists. We focus on seamless integration, respect prior work, and establish clear roles so the entire legal function operates cohesively.
Confidentiality is maintained through standard attorney client privilege rules and robust internal policies. Access controls, secure communications, and documented procedures ensure sensitive information remains protected across all interactions.
We serve a range of industries in Hodgkins and the broader Illinois region, including startups, professional services, retail, manufacturing, and technology. Our approach is adaptable to varied regulatory landscapes and business models.
The first step is a brief consultation to understand your goals and current legal posture. From there we outline a recommended engagement, scope, and pricing, and begin the onboarding process once you approve.