General Counsel and Family Office
General Counsel and Litigation Consulting
Jim serves as an affordable and accessible outside, part-time or interim in-house counsel on an as-needed (transactional) or on-going basis for domestic and offshore companies, businesses and family offices. He can effectively and efficiently address and manage a business’s legal affairs, specific projects or litigation so management can focus on running the business. Jim can act as corporate counsel on a project basis, monthly retainer basis or hourly basis.
Jim has overseen or helped to manage billions of dollars of litigation throughout the United States and Latin America. He can provide an independent, candid analysis of existing or threatened litigation from the perspective of an experienced trial lawyer who carries no baggage with respect to past business or strategy decisions. He can also help to oversee outside litigation counsel and negotiate a settlement of ongoing disputes before or after commencement of litigation, thereby reducing the time, expense and uncertainty involved in the litigation process. He is particularly talented in developing strategy to end litigation early, either through case dispositive motions or settlement.
Jim has worked with lawyers throughout the United States, the Americas and Europe. One value added benefit of working with Jim is that he can use his personal relationships and experience to help clients choose lawyers with particular areas of expertise, negotiate or structure fee arrangements and oversee counsel to provide the highest quality of service in the most cost-effective manner.
Services include:
- Advising in connection with retention of outside counsel
- Negotiation of outside counsel fee arrangements
- Negotiating and structuring complex commercial transactions
- Negotiating contracts, leases, licenses and other agreements
- Corporation, LLC and partnership law
- Work-outs, restructurings and bankruptcies
- Structuring and negotiating joint ventures
- Counseling boards of directors
- Advising on shareholder and partnership issues
- Handling select transactions
- International law
- Opinions and second opinions
- Litigation oversight
- Acting as “local counsel” on select transactions and litigations
Family Offices and Family-Owned Businesses
Most businesses have a general counsel who advises on routine legal matters, oversees outside counsel on more complex work, and coordinates with management to create opportunity while limiting risk. Wealthy families have many of the same issues as businesses, with the added complexities of family politics, succession and other planning issues. Every family business owner also ultimately faces the same decision—whether to keep the business’s ownership and operation in the family or sell all or part of it to non-family members.
Jim will become a partner in the investment, wealth accumulation and preservation process, working with the family’s other advisors to help clients take advantage of effective tax, investment and personal planning strategies and provide family leadership with a level of comfort knowing that one primary conflict-free legal advisor is protecting them at all times. As an experienced business lawyer, Jim can also evaluate business, real estate and complex investment opportunities from a different perspective than other family advisors.
As general counsel to a family office or family-owned business, Jim will: