Outside General Counsel in Tampa & St. Petersburg

Contract review and drafting is the most consistent, high-frequency legal need for growing businesses. Every vendor agreement, client contract, employment document, NDA, and partnership agreement carries risk if not reviewed by counsel. As your outside GC, we review all incoming contracts before you sign and draft outbound agreements that protect your interests and limit your liability.

Specific contracts we handle: vendor and supplier agreements, client service agreements, master service agreements, independent contractor agreements, non-disclosure agreements, non-compete agreements, partnership and joint venture agreements, licensing agreements, and letter of intent documents. We also review contracts presented by the other side and negotiate more favorable terms before execution.

Our contracts and agreements practice is one of the core pillars of every OGC engagement. You get ongoing contract support as part of your retainer, not at $300-$500 per hour each time a new agreement arrives.

Outside general counsel (also called fractional GC or outsourced GC) is an experienced attorney who serves as your company's ongoing legal advisor on a retainer basis - covering all business legal needs without the cost of a full-time hire. Instead of a $150,000-$300,000+ salary, you pay a predictable monthly retainer and get priority access to a senior attorney who learns your business, advises proactively, and handles legal matters across all practice areas. FL Patel Law provides outside general counsel services for Florida businesses in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and across the state.

Fractional general counsel is priced as a monthly retainer based on your business size, complexity, and the level of engagement you need. The retainer is significantly less than the cost of an in-house general counsel ($150,000-$300,000+ per year in salary alone, before benefits and overhead). It is also more cost-effective than ad-hoc legal work at $250-$500+/hour, because you get consistent legal attention without surprise invoices. Call (727) 279-5037 to discuss the right retainer structure for your business.

Your business likely needs outside general counsel when you regularly deal with contracts, have multiple owners or investors, are growing and hiring employees, are in a regulated industry, or find yourself spending increasing amounts on ad-hoc legal work. If you are making strategic decisions - new markets, partnerships, acquisitions, investment rounds - without legal input, that is a clear signal. Outside general counsel is best suited for businesses generating $500K-$20M+ in revenue that have outgrown one-off legal help but are not yet large enough to justify a full-time hire.

The key difference is the nature of the relationship. A traditional law firm relationship is reactive - you call when you have a problem, get billed hourly, and may deal with different attorneys across matters. Outside general counsel is proactive - your attorney is embedded in your business decisions, learns your company over time, charges a predictable monthly retainer, and provides strategic legal guidance before problems arise. With OGC, you have one attorney who knows everything about your company and is available when you need them. With a traditional firm, you are a client number.

An outside general counsel covers all business legal needs: contract review and drafting, corporate governance and compliance, employment law guidance, regulatory compliance monitoring, risk assessment and management, business strategy legal input, dispute prevention and resolution, and entity management. Rather than hiring separate specialists for each area, your outside GC coordinates everything and brings in additional expertise when needed. FL Patel Law's OGC service covers 8 service areas under one monthly retainer.