We have a broad expertise. (See "Our Services.") The idea of outsourced general counsel is that we will focus on avoiding issues that can lead to regulatory, criminal, or civil liability. When issues arise – as inevitably they do even in the best-managed nonprofit organizations or educational institutions – we will be there to handle them.
Sometimes, though, a matter requires that we bring in another professional or firm. As your organization's general counsel, a big part of our role is to know when other professionals are needed, and to help you retain them.
If we believe that a situation calls for another professional, we'll help you to locate the professional, and we'll help in keeping an eye on things. That's a common role for general counsel, and one with which we are well-experienced.
Over the years, we've established an extensive network of colleagues in a number of professions who have an expertise with nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Our network includes accountants, certified fraud examiners, litigation attorneys, media relations (including crisis media relations) experts, planned giving consultants, nonprofit management experts, and more.
As an example, we have years of litigation experience. However, these days our focus is on helping our clients to avoid mistakes that can lead to litigation (or regulatory action or even criminal liability). If litigation does occur, we help our clients to locate and retain litigation counsel, and then we help to monitor the progress of the case, review the litigation firm's billings, and so on. In other words, we serve as YOUR general counsel.
As another example, we have broad experience in dealing with the media in crisis situations. However, we can also bring in a crisis-communications professional to make sure that your organization's leaders are properly advised and, if appropriate, coached to deal with the media, that the messaging is carefully crafted, and the that messaging is vetted from a legal perspective.