Chicago Outside General Counsel
CLO-level judgment.

Outside GC is structured as a monthly flat-fee retainer in three productized tiers: Founder GC starting at $3,000/month for early-stage founders, Growth GC starting at $8,000/month for scaling businesses, and Enterprise GC starting at $20,000/month for PE-backed and mid-market companies. Each tier is a starting point; the engagement scope and exact fee are tailored at intake and documented in writing before any month is invoiced.

A law firm on retainer provides access to attorneys who bill by the hour on specific matters. Outside GC embeds legal leadership in the business — attending management meetings, participating in strategic decisions, managing outside counsel on specialized matters, and building the legal infrastructure the company operates on. The difference is strategic engagement versus transactional service. Adam serves as the company's CLO-equivalent: the attorney who knows the business and acts as a member of the leadership team.

The retainer scope is agreed at engagement and typically includes: attendance at management and board meetings, review of material contracts and vendor agreements, employment law guidance, commercial lease review, regulatory compliance monitoring, outside counsel management, and on-call availability for routine legal questions. The specific scope is documented in the engagement letter. Extraordinary matters — litigation, M&A, specialized regulatory work — are handled by outside specialists Adam selects and manages.

Growing companies with 10 to 250 employees and revenue from $1M to $50M typically benefit most. At this stage, recurring legal needs exceed what ad hoc counsel can handle, but volume and predictability typically do not justify a full-time GC, where the costs usually are $250,000 to $400,000 all-in. Outside GC provides CLO-level judgment at a fraction of the cost. PE-backed portfolio companies are the most common client: the GP needs legal coverage, the management team needs support, and the company needs an attorney who can navigate all three.

Adam has served as CLO or senior legal counsel in telecommunications, real estate, technology (SaaS), healthcare, manufacturing, retail, food, financial services, and professional services. The practice of general counsel is fundamentally about legal infrastructure and leadership, which translates across sectors. AI-intensive industries benefit additionally from his AIGP credential and operational AI governance experience.

The process starts with a 5-minute triage call. If outside GC is the right fit, Adam conducts a legal profile review — a structured assessment of existing contracts, employment agreements, compliance status, and outstanding exposure. From that review, he proposes a specific retainer scope and monthly fee. The legal profile review is billed at a flat fee applied against the first month's retainer if the engagement proceeds.