Your Business Attorney on Call — Without the In-House Price Tag

Outside general counsel gives Michigan small businesses access to experienced, ongoing legal support at a predictable cost, so you're never making a significant decision without a lawyer in your corner.

What Outside General Counsel Actually Means for Your Business

Most small businesses don't need a full-time in-house attorney. They need a lawyer who knows their business, understands their contracts, and is available when something important comes across the desk. That's the outside general counsel model — and for growing businesses in Michigan, it's often the most cost-effective legal structure available.

 

As your outside general counsel, we function as your ongoing business attorney: reviewing and drafting contracts, advising on entity and governance questions, flagging risk before it becomes liability, and handling the legal side of day-to-day business decisions. You get experienced counsel without the overhead of a salaried hire.

Who Outside General Counsel Is Built For

Outside general counsel works best for businesses that have moved past the startup stage and are generating enough activity — contracts, vendors, employees, or growth decisions — to need regular legal input, but not enough volume to justify a full-time hire.

 

The businesses that benefit most include:

 

  • Established LLCs and corporations with active vendor or client contracts
  • Companies with two or more owners who need governance and buy-sell structures in place
  • Businesses going through a growth phase — new hires, new markets, or new partnerships
  • Owners who want a single attorney who understands their business across all legal matters, rather than a different firm for every question
  • Entrepreneurs who've been operating without legal support and want to build a more structured foundation going forward

Why Michigan Business Owners Work With MBRE

We've built this practice around transactional work because that's where we can deliver the most consistent value to business clients. Our outside counsel relationships are built on knowing your business well enough to give you useful, specific advice — not generic guidance that could apply to anyone.

 

Our credentials include Peer-Reviewed Super Lawyers recognition and a Martindale-Hubbell Client Champion designation, earned through demonstrated performance and client feedback. We serve businesses throughout Oakland County and Southeastern Michigan, with a primary office in Rochester Hills.

 

If you're looking for outside general counsel for your small business in Michigan, the starting point is a conversation about what you're working on and what level of ongoing support makes sense for your situation.

What We Handle as Your Outside Counsel

Working with MBRE as your fractional general counsel means you have a consistent legal resource across every area of your business operations — not a different attorney every time a new issue surfaces.

 

The work we handle on an ongoing basis includes:

 

  • Contract review, drafting, and negotiation — vendor agreements, service contracts, NDAs, independent contractor agreements, and client-facing terms
  • Business entity maintenance — operating agreement updates, annual governance, member or shareholder matters
  • Buy-sell agreement drafting and review to govern ownership transitions before they become disputes
  • Legal review of major business decisions — acquisitions, new partnerships, significant vendor relationships
  • Risk identification in existing agreements and business practices
  • Coordination with your accountant, financial advisor, or other professionals on transactions with legal components

Contracts Before They Become Problems

Most business disputes trace back to a contract that wasn't reviewed carefully enough before it was signed. As your outside counsel, we read every significant agreement before it's executed — not after something goes wrong. That review catches ambiguous terms, missing protections, and one-sided provisions that could cost you far more than the cost of legal review.

Corporate Governance Without the Complexity

LLCs and corporations have ongoing governance obligations that owners often overlook until they matter — a dispute with a co-owner, a financing event, or a sale. We keep your operating agreements current, document major decisions properly, and make sure your entity structure continues to match how your business actually operates.

On-Demand Legal Support When You Need It

The value of outside general counsel isn't just what we do proactively — it's knowing that when a question comes up, you have someone to call who already knows your business. No intake process, no background briefing from scratch. We're already familiar with your contracts, your structure, and your priorities.

A Transactional Focus That Fits Your Business

MBRE is a transactional firm. We draft deals, review documents, and advise on structure — we don't lead with litigation. That focus means our outside counsel work is oriented toward keeping your business out of disputes, not preparing for them. When a matter does require litigation, we'll tell you clearly and connect you with the right resource.

Frequently Asked Questions About Outside General Counsel

  • Can I hire a lawyer on retainer for my company instead of bringing someone in-house?

    Yes — that's exactly what outside general counsel is. Rather than employing an attorney as a staff member, you engage an outside firm to serve in an ongoing counsel role. You get consistent legal support at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, with the flexibility to scale the engagement as your needs change.

  • What's the difference between outside general counsel and just calling a lawyer when I need one?

    The difference is familiarity and continuity. When you have an outside general counsel relationship, your attorney already knows your business, your contracts, and your ownership structure. That context makes every conversation more efficient and more useful. Calling a new attorney each time means re-explaining your situation from scratch and getting advice without that background.

  • How does pricing work for outside general counsel in Michigan?

    Pricing structures vary by firm and by the scope of work involved. MBRE's approach emphasizes cost-predictable arrangements suited to small business budgets. The right structure depends on how frequently you need legal input and what types of matters are most common in your business — we discuss that directly during an initial consultation.

  • Does outside general counsel cover business formation, or just ongoing matters?

    It can cover both. If you're forming a new entity and want ongoing counsel from the start, we can handle the formation and transition directly into an ongoing relationship. If your business is already established, we work with your existing structure and update it where needed.

  • What areas of Michigan do you serve for outside general counsel work?

    We serve businesses throughout Oakland County and Southeastern Michigan, with a primary office in Rochester Hills. Because outside general counsel work is largely document- and communication-based, we're also able to serve clients elsewhere in Michigan for transactional matters.