In today’s complex legal landscape, law firms and organizations are constantly seeking innovative ways to enhance their efficiency, manage costs, and access specialized expertise. One valuable resource that has gained prominence in recent years is the utilization of legal secondees. Legal secondees are experienced lawyers who temporarily join a client’s organization to provide in-house legal support. This article explores the use cases for legal secondees and how they can bring substantial benefits to both law firms and organizations.
Interim assistance for overflow work or special projects
In-house legal teams often face situations where they may not have the capacity to handle sudden increases in workload due to complex transactions, litigation, or regulatory compliance matters, or even regular workload when there are staff on leave or lost due to attrition with no headcount budget to replace them
We recently assisted a client with standing up an entire product legal group while they conducted a search for permanent in-house counsel. In addition to managing workload and integrating the new group with the business, our attorneys ensured that new employees had a smooth onboarding experience. As in-house counsel settled in, our team adjusted schedule and scope to mentor and support critical work as most needed.
Specialized Expertise and Knowledge Transfer
We can offer invaluable specialized expertise in niche areas of law that may not be readily available within an organization. By working closely with in-house teams, secondees impart valuable skills and knowledge to the organization’s legal staff. This knowledge exchange creates a lasting impact by equipping the organization with enhanced capabilities even after the secondee’s departure.
Providentia currently supports open-source intellectual property projects for one of the largest businesses in the world. With 6 attorneys engaged, we have a massive amount of practical know-how in this area and can easily deploy and integrate to future projects.
Cost Management
Hiring full-time lawyers can be expensive, and hiring secondees from big law firms is even more so. Providentia is a virtual firm, so has no fixed costs to pass on to the client, and our secondees work from wherever they are most productive.
Our clients save significant amounts of money, currently as much as $1 million a year vs FTE cost and over $3 million v big law firm cost.
Conclusion
Legal secondees provide an opportunity for organizations to benefit from legal professionals who are not only knowledgeable but also accustomed to the industry-specific nuances and culture. Unlike external law firms, secondees work closely within the organization, allowing them to understand the internal dynamics, goals, and values. This facilitates seamless integration, leading to more effective collaboration with internal stakeholders and better alignment between legal advice and business objectives.
About Providentia
Providentia exists to help scaling tech companies foresee the regulatory requirements that shape their business, build compliance into their products and make access to quality, tech-experienced legal support a competitive advantage. Providentia’s rich experience in the Silicon Valley tech industry guides every aspect of what we do, from the practice areas we focus on to our startup-accessible fee structure. We understand the unique environment that rapidly scaling technology companies face and have oriented our services towards providing the most practical, actionable and tech-relevant counsel. To get in touch with the team at Providentia to help you navigate your company’s legal challenges, please contact us.
