I'm convinced that the established model of most large law firms is broken... and that its days are numbered. While the big name firms do employ some fantastic lawyers, I've found that they have bloated overhead and staffing structures that makes their effective rates outrageously high while simultaneously providing poor service levels.
By contrast, a new breed of small but capable firms like Outside GC are well poised to pick up a serious chunk of the smart business that will undoubtedly migrate away from the existing big firms. Their model is predicated on that same "the big firm model is broken" point I was making earlier, and goes something like this:
- We only hire people with 10+ years of relevant legal experience both as in-house attorneys and with the usual big name firms (i.e., you're not paying for our associates to learn on the job)
- We work from home or small offices (i.e., you're not paying for our regal downtown office)
- We assign one senior level person to your account (i.e., you get the partner attention you won't get at a big firm)
I was introduced to Outside GC a few months ago when we were in need of more support for Yelp's numerous contracts and miscellaneous other issues. We've had a terrific experience to date with faster turnaround times, far lower legal bills and legal advice every bit as good as that we've seen elsewhere.
PS, yes, they are in Boston and we are in California; the good news is that their attorneys are licensed in CA and NY - and that telephones & email work just fine for most of our legal needs. read more