Let’s be honest: lawyers often get a bad rap—often portrayed as expensive roadblocks armed with jargon, lengthy memoranda and a penchant for overcomplicating what should otherwise be straightforward. But what if there were a better way—a legal approach that puts a business at the center of the strategy?
It is more than just providing legal advice, but about playing an integral role in helping drive a client’s business forward.
It’s what I call “Lawyering By Design,” and here’s how it works:
1. Provide Clear, Responsive Communication
Clients deserve clear, direct and prompt communication. Full stop. In business, time is money, so waiting for answers (or requiring subtitles to understand them) are not acceptable options. We understand this because we’ve sat in your seat as former GCs and senior legal and business executives. Whether it is a quick clarification or a detailed strategy session, we focus on providing timely, understandable advice—not cryptic legalese.
2. Build Solid Relationships
A lawyer should be viewed as a legal co-pilot, not just the person to call when something breaks. Getting to this point comes from taking the time to understand a client’s goals, strategy, and risk tolerance, building relationships and earning trust.
Investing time to learn the client’s business— the industry, market competition, and key drivers behind their success—is key to this approach. Cookie-cutter legal advice will always fall short, the same way that an off-the-rack suit will never fit like one that custom tailored. By putting the business first, the lawyering becomes an integral part of the overall strategy.
4. Seek Regular Feedback and Adjust As Needed
As a business evolves, so too should its legal strategy. Regular check-ins with clients ensure alignment with their goals, and an opportunity to make adjustments as necessary. Think of it as software maintenance (correcting bugs and making upgrades)— but for contracts, partnerships, governance, IP strategy, and risk management.
5. Turn Risk into Strategic Advantage
With this approach, risk mitigation isn’t about playing defense 24/7. While protecting a client’s interests is essential, it’s equally important to help identify opportunities and implement a legal approach that facilitates desired outcomes. For example, rather than burying a client in long memos that cover every possible permutation and reasons why they can’t do something, consider crafting practical “here’s how you can” solutions. Risk management should be practical and empowering—never paralyzing, and part of broader approach of strategically helping clients achieve their goals.
6. Invest in A Client’s Success
When you understand your client’s business (#2) and choose to approach risk as opportunity (#5), you are primed for strategic thinking. You understand the client’s long-term goals and objectives and tailor your legal advice to help them achieve those goals. A good lawyer is as invested in the client’s business success as they are, and should be proactively thinking about how to help get them there.
7. Prioritize Transparency, Value and Predictability
Surprises are for birthday parties, not legal services. Predictability and transparency are key—from timelines to costs to challenges to outcomes, clients should be kept in the loop every step of the way – the good the bad and the ugly. It should never be about CYA, but real collaboration and trust.
8. Deliver Services with Efficiency
Nobody has time for unnecessary work. Legal services should be delivered with a laser focus on specific needs, cutting out the fluff and zeroing in on what really matters. This is where a lawyer’s experience can really make a difference, whether as a former GC, in-house lawyer, business executive, board member, or founder. Any experience that offers insight into the client’s perspective translates into efficiency, enabling advice and approaches to services that are practical, to the point, and more quickly accomplished.
Let’s Sum it Up – Anything Worth Saying, is Worth Emphasizing!
At the heart of Lawyering By Design is a commitment to legal services that work for the business, not the other way around. It’s about experience, clarity, practicality, and collaboration—and yes, maybe even a having a little fun along the way. Dealing with your legal team should not be viewed as a necessary evil that makes operating your business or pursuing your mission a chore, but about trust, collaboration and getting things done.
