Outside General Counsel Services in Oklahoma City
Providing businesses with practical, experienced outside general counsel services shaped by years of in-house legal and business experience.
Outside General Counsel Services in Oklahoma City
For many growing businesses, the need for experienced legal counsel arises well before it makes sense to hire a full-time attorney. Contracts need to be reviewed. Business relationships need to be documented. Risks need to be evaluated. And sometimes an owner or executive simply needs a lawyer who understands the business and can help work through an issue before it becomes a larger problem.
I provide outside general counsel and fractional general counsel services to businesses in Oklahoma City and throughout Oklahoma. My goal is to offer clients many of the benefits of having an experienced in-house attorney without the expense or commitment associated with adding a full-time general counsel.
My approach to outside general counsel is shaped by my own career. Before entering private practice, I spent approximately seven years working as in-house counsel for a small Oklahoma City energy company. Before that, I spent approximately eight years working as a field landman with Antero Resources. Those experiences taught me that businesses rarely need legal advice in a vacuum. They need practical advice that accounts for the realities of operating a company, managing relationships, completing transactions, controlling costs, and getting things done.
A Different Perspective on Outside General Counsel
I grew up in Oklahoma City, graduated from Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School, and later attended the United States Naval Academy. I have been licensed to practice law in Oklahoma since 2019.
My professional background has also given me experience on both the business and legal sides of transactions.
As a field landman, I worked in an environment where contracts, ownership, negotiation, deadlines, and relationships all mattered. Later, as in-house counsel for a small energy company in Oklahoma City, I experienced firsthand what business clients actually need from their attorneys.
In-house lawyers do not have the luxury of simply identifying every conceivable legal issue and handing the problem back to the client. They are part of the business. They have to understand the risk, identify practical solutions, work with management, and help the company move forward. That experience continues to influence how I practice law today.
When I serve as outside general counsel, my objective is not simply to answer isolated legal questions. I want to understand how the company operates, what its owners and management are trying to accomplish, and where legal counsel can help the business operate more effectively.
What Is Outside General Counsel?
An outside general counsel performs many of the functions traditionally handled by an in-house lawyer while remaining an independent attorney. The arrangement is sometimes referred to as fractional general counsel, outside corporate counsel, or part-time general counsel.
For many privately held businesses, hiring a full-time attorney does not make economic sense. At the same time, a company may have enough recurring legal work that calling a different lawyer for every contract, transaction, or problem becomes inefficient. Outside general counsel can bridge that gap.
By developing an ongoing relationship with the company, I can become familiar with its ownership structure, contracts, employees, vendors, customers, real estate, business practices, and long-term goals. That institutional knowledge can make legal representation more efficient and allow counsel to identify issues that may not be apparent when each legal matter is handled independently.
Fractional General Counsel for Oklahoma Businesses
Businesses encounter legal issues constantly, even when they are not involved in litigation or a major transaction.
A customer may send over a new contract. A vendor may request changes to payment or indemnification provisions. The company may be considering a commercial lease, purchasing property, bringing in a new owner, restructuring an existing entity, hiring a key employee, or acquiring another business. Sometimes the question is much simpler: “Can you take a look at this before I sign it?”
Having an established outside general counsel gives owners and management a lawyer they can contact before a manageable issue becomes a significant problem.
My outside general counsel services may include assistance with:
Commercial contract drafting, review, and negotiation
LLC formation, operating agreements, and corporate governance
Vendor, supplier, and customer agreements
Commercial real estate leases
Purchase and sale agreements
Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements
Independent contractor and consulting agreements
Business acquisitions and dispositions
Ownership changes and business succession matters
Entity restructuring and related-party transactions
Contract management and risk identification
Demand letters and pre-litigation matters
Coordination with accountants, lenders, insurance professionals, and other advisors
When a matter requires expertise outside the scope of my practice, I can also help the company identify and coordinate with appropriate specialized counsel.
Practical Advice From an In-House Perspective
One of the biggest lessons I learned working as in-house counsel is that identifying a legal risk is only the beginning of the analysis. Business owners and executives need context.
How significant is the risk? Is the provision unusual, or is it common in the industry? Is it worth spending time and money negotiating? Is there another way to structure the transaction? Can the risk be insured against or otherwise managed? Most importantly, does the legal concern actually justify walking away from an otherwise worthwhile business opportunity?
Those are often more useful questions than simply asking whether a contract provision favors one side or the other.
My approach is to explain legal issues clearly, identify meaningful risks, and help the client evaluate available options. The ultimate business decision belongs to the client. My role is to make sure that decision is an informed one.
Contract Drafting and Review
Contracts are at the center of most businesses.
Companies regularly enter agreements with customers, vendors, employees, contractors, landlords, tenants, lenders, and business partners. Those agreements allocate risk and establish rights concerning payment, performance, termination, indemnification, insurance, confidentiality, liability, and dispute resolution.
As outside general counsel, I can help clients develop a more consistent approach to contracting rather than treating every agreement as an entirely new project.
For companies that routinely enter similar transactions, this may include developing standard agreements, preferred contract language, negotiation positions, and internal procedures for determining which agreements require attorney review. That type of system can improve consistency, reduce unnecessary legal expense, and make the contracting process more efficient.
Corporate Governance and Business Transactions
Outside general counsel can also help maintain the legal foundation of the business itself.
As companies grow, their legal structures often become more complicated. New entities may be formed. Owners may enter or leave the business. Assets may be transferred between affiliated companies. New investors may be admitted. Businesses may acquire property, enter new markets, or purchase competitors.
I assist clients with LLC formation, operating agreements, corporate governance, ownership transfers, commercial real estate matters, acquisitions, sales, and other business transactions.
Because an ongoing outside general counsel relationship allows me to understand the company before a major transaction begins, less time may be required to get up to speed each time a new issue arises.
Legal Counsel Before a Problem Becomes a Lawsuit
One of the greatest benefits of having an ongoing relationship with a business attorney is the ability to involve counsel early.
Many expensive legal problems begin as relatively small issues.
A poorly drafted contract is signed. A disagreement with a vendor goes unanswered. An ownership issue is never properly documented. A lease provision receives little attention until the parties disagree about what it means.
Outside general counsel gives business owners and management a legal resource they can involve before positions become entrenched and problems become substantially more expensive to resolve.
Sometimes a fifteen-minute conversation at the right time can be more valuable than hours of legal work after something has gone wrong.
Oklahoma City Outside General Counsel
I have spent much of my professional career working with and inside businesses rather than viewing them solely from the perspective of outside counsel. That background informs how I approach the practice of law today.
For Oklahoma City businesses that need regular access to experienced legal counsel but do not need a full-time attorney, an outside general counsel or fractional general counsel arrangement can provide a practical alternative.
The relationship can be tailored to the needs of the business, whether that means recurring contract review, assistance with transactions and corporate matters, periodic consultation with ownership and management, or serving as the company's primary point of contact for legal issues as they arise.
If your company has outgrown an entirely ad hoc approach to legal services but is not ready to hire a full-time in-house attorney, I would be glad to discuss whether an outside general counsel relationship makes sense for your business.
Mailing Address
5300 N. Shartel Ave., #18622
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone