Ongoing Counsel
Running a business creates legal questions long before it creates a lawsuit.
A new contract arrives. An employee issue develops. A customer refuses to pay. A partner proposes a change in ownership. A landlord sent a lease amendment. A vendor wants different terms. A business opportunity appears and a decision needs to be made quickly.
Those are the moments when having an established relationship with counsel matters.
We provide ongoing legal counsel to businesses throughout Buffalo and Western New York, giving owners and decision-makers a law firm they can turn to as legal issues arise in the ordinary course of business.
Rather than beginning a new attorney-client relationship every time a question comes up, Ongoing Counsel gives your business continuing access to attorneys who are familiar with your company and its operations, agreements, people, and objectives.
And with plans starting as low as $250 a month, reliable access to ongoing legal counsel doesn’t need to break the bank.
Legal counsel should not begin after something goes wrong.
Many businesses operate a space between two extremes. They’ve outgrown the point where every contract, employment question, ownership issue, or business decision can safely be handled without legal guidance, but they are not ready to hire a full-time in-house counsel.
Ongoing Counsel is designed for that space.
Whyte & Whyte, LLP serves as outside counsel to businesses that want an ongoing legal relationship without adding a full-time lawyer to the payroll.
That relationship allows businesses to involve counsel earlier, when there are still options — problems can often be prevented, and agreements can still be negotiated.
How can Ongoing Counsel help your business?
The legal needs of every business are different. Our role is to provide practical counsel across the issues that commonly arise while a business operates and grows.
Contracts and Agreements
Contracts define many of your company’s most important relationships.
We can assist with matters including:
Contract review
Contract drafting
Contract revisions and negotiation
Customer agreements
Service agreements
Vendor and supplier agreements
Independent contractor agreements
Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements
Payment terms
Indemnification provisions
Limitation-of-liability provisions
Termination provisions
Renewal provisions
Dispute-resolution provisions
Employment and Workforce Issues
Employers regularly encounter legal questions involving their workforce.
We can advise businesses concerning issues such as:
Hiring
Employee policies
Independent contractors
Employee handbooks
Discipline
Termination
Workplace complaints
Employment agreements
Confidentiality
Personnel decisions
Risk arising from employment-related disputes
Day-to-Day Business Decisions
Not every legal issue begins with a formal legal document. Business owners regularly make decisions involving legal rights, obligations, and risk.
Ongoing Counsel gives clients a place to bring those questions before acting. That may include questions concerning:
Customers and clients
Vendors and suppliers
Employees and contractors
Business policies
Payment disputes
Contractual obligations
Business relationships
Potential liability
Communications with another party
Changes in operations
New business opportunities
Commercial Leases and Business Transactions
Significant business decisions often come with significant contracts.
We assist businesses with matters involving:
Commercial leases
Lease amendments and renewals
Personal guarantees
Buying a business
Selling a business
Letters of intent
Business acquisitions
Business sales
Due diligence
Contract assignments
Ownership restructuring
Other commercial transactions
Business Ownership and Governance
As businesses grow, relationships between owners become increasingly important.
We counsel businesses concerning:
LLC operating agreements
Partnership agreements
Shareholder agreements
Buy-sell agreements
Ownership changes
Voting and management rights
Corporate and LLC governance
Business records and resolutions
Admission of new owners
Transfers of ownership interests
Owner departures
Internal disagreements
Business succession issues
Pre-Litigation Legal Issues
A disagreement does not automatically need to become litigation.
When a customer, vendor, business partner, landlord, employee, or other party creates a potential dispute, early involvement of counsel may provide additional options. We can assist with:
Breach-of-contract issues
Unpaid invoices
Demand letters
Responses to demands
Contract notices
Customer disputes
Vendor disputes
Ownership disagreements
Settlement discussions
Pre-litigation strategy
Explore Our Ongoing Counsel Plans (starting as low as $250/month)
How Ongoing Counsel Works
We learn your business. The relationship begins with understanding the company: its ownership, operations, key agreements, immediate legal needs, and objectives.
We identify the appropriate level of support. Together, we determine which Ongoing Counsel relationship makes sense based upon the frequency and complexity of the company’s anticipated legal needs.
You have counsel to call. When questions arise, your business already has an established attorney relationship. Instead of asking whether an issue is serious enough to begin searching for a lawyer, you can raise the issue while there is still time to evaluate it.
The relationship develops with the business. As we work together, we gain a better understanding of your company, its documents, its relationships, and the types of legal issues it encounters. When the company’s needs change, the relationship can change with them.
What Ongoing Counsel is – and what it is not
Ongoing Counsel is intended to provide continuing access to legal advice and defined legal services within the scope of the particular plan and engagement agreement. It is not unlimited representation in every legal matter for a fixed monthly fee.
Certain matters may require a separate engagement or fee arrangement, including substantial litigation, trials, major transactions, highly specialized legal matters, or work outside the scope of the applicable Ongoing Counsel plan.
If an issue falls outside the existing engagement, we will discuss that with the client before undertaking additional work and we will work with the client to develop solutions to those issues.
Ongoing Counsel may make sense if:
Your company regularly signs or receives contracts.
You employ or engage other people.
You have multiple owners or investors.
You operate from leased commercial space.
You frequently deal with customers, vendors, suppliers, or contractors.
Legal questions arise during normal business operations.
You are growing or adding locations, employees, or business relationships.
You are tired of searching for a lawyer each time something happens.
You want legal guidance before making important decisions.
You want an attorney who can become familiar with your business over time.
Is Ongoing Counsel right for your business?
Ongoing Counsel vs. hiring in-house counsel
For many small and midsized businesses, hiring a full-time attorney does not make economic or operational sense.
Operating without regular access to legal counsel, however, can create its own costs.
Outside counsel can provide a middle ground.
Your business receives an ongoing legal relationship without creating another full-time executive position.
For companies whose needs eventually justify internal legal staff, outside counsel can also continue to assist with litigation, specialized matters, overflow work, or other matters requiring outside representation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not necessarily. Legal needs fluctuate. The purpose of an ongoing relationship is not to manufacture legal work—it is to make counsel available when legitimate legal questions and matters arise.
The appropriate plan should reflect the company's anticipated level of legal activity.
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The terms are sometimes used interchangeably in ordinary conversation, but our Ongoing Counsel program is a defined continuing legal-services relationship governed by a written engagement agreement.
The particular services, availability, scope, and fees depend upon the plan selected and the terms of that agreement.
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Yes. Contract review is one of the core uses of an ongoing business-counsel relationship, subject to the scope and limitations of the applicable plan.
We can also assist with drafting, revising, and negotiating agreements where appropriate.
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Yes. That is one of the primary purposes of Ongoing Counsel.
A business does not have to wait until a dispute develops before involving its lawyer.
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As many as you need. All of our plans, from Attorney-on-Call to General Counsel, feature unlimited phone calls to counsel.
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Routine pre-litigation counseling may fall within the scope of a plan depending upon the engagement.
Substantial litigation, court proceedings, trials, or other major contested matters generally require a separate engagement or fee arrangement.
Having an existing relationship with Whyte & Whyte, LLP, however, means we may already understand the business and the history surrounding the dispute if litigation becomes necessary.
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Where appropriate and authorized by the client, yes.
Business legal issues frequently intersect with accounting, insurance, tax, financial, and operational considerations. We can coordinate with the company's other professional advisors while addressing the legal components of a matter.
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If anticipated work exceeds the scope of the company's plan, we will discuss the available options with the client.
Depending upon the circumstances, additional work may be performed at a discounted hourly rate, handled through a separate engagement, or the company may determine that a different Ongoing Counsel level better reflects its needs.
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No. Businesses change.
A company's legal needs may increase as it hires employees, adds locations, enters larger contracts, brings in new owners, or completes transactions.
The appropriate counsel relationship can be reevaluated as those needs change.
Your business lawyer — before you need one.
If your company has reached the point where legal questions are becoming part of doing business, it may be time to establish an ongoing relationship with counsel.
Talk with Whyte & Whyte, LLP about your company, the legal issues you regularly encounter, and whether an Ongoing Counsel relationship makes sense.
