By: Jordan Gerheim, CEO – Outside Chief Legal LLC
A recent piece in Today’s Managing Partner, “How Law Firms Can Win More Outside Counsel Work,” makes a number of observations about what in‑house counsel and companies want from their outside legal counsel today. Reading it was encouraging because it largely confirms that we are asking the right questions and building the right habits in how we serve clients. At Outside Chief Legal LLC, everything starts with a central question: What is in the best interests of our client?
Starting from the client’s decision
The article stresses that clients need practical, business‑oriented guidance anchored in the decisions they must make, rather than purely theoretical legal analysis. It emphasizes beginning with the client’s objectives and then tailoring the legal work and format of advice to support those decisions clearly and efficiently. That aligns with our focus on understanding the decision, the context, and what “success” looks like before we start drafting or researching, so that our work product is truly usable in the client’s world.
Clarity on value and cost
Another key theme is the importance of predictability and discipline around fees and value, instead of relying on discounts or accepting billing surprises as inevitable. The article highlights client expectations for clear scoping, intelligent staffing, and proactive spotting of cost‑saving opportunities. This supports our ongoing efforts to define scope early, talk openly about budgets and assumptions, and structure work in a way that balances cost, risk, and outcome with the client’s best interests front and center. Consistent with that, our subscription‑style plans are designed to give clients a predictable, budgetable way to access ongoing counsel, rather than treating every question as a separate, one‑off matter. That structure only makes sense if we start from what is in the client’s best interests, financially and operationally, and build around that.
Calibrating advice to risk and reality
A further point is the need to calibrate advice to the client’s actual risk tolerance, business model, and resource constraints, rather than defaulting to a “zero‑risk” posture. The article notes that clients value outside counsel who narrow their advice to the company’s reality and distinguish between directional guidance and deep analysis. This confirms the importance of our focus on explaining trade‑offs clearly, helping clients take the right risks with eyes open, and tailoring the depth and format of our work to the real‑world decision in front of them.
Sharing tools and capacity
The article also encourages firms to share tools, templates, and training that clients cannot easily justify building themselves, such as checklists, policy templates, and technology‑enabled outputs. These “extras” help lean in‑house teams and business owners manage recurring issues more efficiently and reserve outside counsel for higher‑value questions. That perspective aligns with our direction toward offering not just answers, but frameworks and resources that make it easier for clients to prevent problems and handle routine matters internally when that is in their best interests.
Long‑term partnership mindset
Finally, the article describes “real partnership” as sharing costs and risks, setting shared expectations on format and depth of advice, and playing the long game instead of maximizing any single month’s billings. It notes that this approach tends to create both more stable external relationships and healthier internal firm dynamics. For us, that reinforces the idea that consistently starting with the client’s best interests is not only ethically grounded, but also aligned with how sophisticated business owners and in‑house leaders want to work with outside counsel over the long term.
Our Corporate/Business Counsel Services
Outside Chief Legal LLC is a modern, forward-thinking law firm serving as fractional chief legal officers and outside general counsel for businesses and their owners. With over 200 years of combined litigation, in-house, general counsel, and administrative legal experience, the firm delivers approachable, comprehensive counsel that blends legal expertise with practical business insight to help clients navigate ownership complexities with confidence. OCL is a trusted partner for founders, business owners, and leadership teams nationwide. Learn more about our firm, meet our team, or schedule a Risk-Free Strategy Session to talk with an attorney about how we can help your company.
