Tim McCunn has seen enough in his long career to appreciate when the typical law firm retainer model is not the right fit for a business in certain situations.
Today, McCunn is senior counsel with the Business Law Group at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall LLP/s.r.l. Over his 35-year career with two other national law firms and also as an in-house counsel, he has worked with clients of all sizes – entrepreneurs to mid-market companies and public companies, crown corporations to not-for-profits.
Through it all, he has learned one critical lesson:
“Success as a business lawyer is all about relationships,” he said. “A client will stick with a lawyer who will work to understand how their organization ticks, appreciates the relevance of a legal issue to the business, and whom they can trust to always protect their interests.”
One size doesn’t fit all
But the practice of law is also about billable hours. On most days, the conventional law firm retainer model may suit the needs of a client just fine. Then there are the situations where it doesn’t. The reason why is about more than just the cost.
“It’s about working smarter,” McCunn said. “One size does not fit all.”
That’s why he has spearheaded the launch of Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall’s new Alternative Legal Services practice.
Instead of the traditional retainer model, the Alternative Legal Services team is available to parachute in as needed. A sliding scale of fees for services draws on the full range of corporate law expertise found at the law firm.
“There are many situations where Alternative Legal Services may be more appropriate for a client organization,” McCunn said. “For example, covering a temporary leave of absence by an in-house counsel, helping with the transition from a private company to a public company when building an in-house legal team, or providing the expert guidance for a merger or acquisition.”
Lawyers with parachutes
Alternative Legal Services is about providing embedded in-house counsel – legal support delivered on-site on a temporary basis for a defined period and billed at a per-day rate.
“We are making it easy for you to ‘borrow a lawyer’ for as long as you need,” McCunn said. “I personally love the idea of being part of a client’s team in this way. The chance to work with an exciting team that’s doing something impactful is what gets me out of bed.”
And if you are an executive looking to hire an in-house counsel, or staff up an internal legal department, who better to lead that recruitment process than a senior business lawyer accustomed to mentoring and guiding other lawyers? This is another area where Alternative Legal Services can help.
“Anyone who has ever built or managed a team appreciates how expensive and disruptive a bad hire can be,” McCunn said. “We can help you avoid that kind of disaster in your legal department.”
Learn more
Need corporate or business law help, but don’t want to engage a law firm with a retainer? Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall’s new Alternative Legal Services team may be just what you need.
Learn more at www.perlaw.ca/alternative-services.
The full scope of corporate law
Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall’s new Alternative Legal Services practice draws on the firm’s expertise in:
- Mergers and Acquisitions
- Corporate and Securities
- Commercial Agreements
- Regulatory and Compliance
- Privacy
- Procurement
- Financing
- Fintrac Compliance
- Cross-Border Transactions
- Construction Law
- Insolvency and Restructuring
- Not-for-Profit, Charities and Institutions
- Private Equity
- Public Companies and Corporate Governance
- Technology
- Taxation
