General Counsel Services
Legal issues are a fact of business life. They can occur at any time. The one constant – when a legal issue pops up it needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Major corporations, of course, have internal law firms that are there to handle every issue as they occur. For companies that aren’t headed for the Fortune 500, however, that’s not practicable.
What is more than practicable, though, is having a smart, nimble law firm a text or phone call away that will respond to your every need.
Hopkins Centrich, The Woodlands'- premier business law firm, acts as general counsel for medium-sized companies and closely held businesses.
Over the years we have been the primary outside general counsel (and chief compliance officer) for a variety of privately-owned companies from tech to software developers, healthcare providers, architectural firms, real estate developers, retailers, restaurants, breweries, CPA firms, and others.
Hopkins Centrich has been the “go-to” legal advisor to start-up ventures and more mature closely held and family-owned businesses, and national enterprises for over two decades.
What an Off-Site General Counsel Means
When asked about how Hopkins Centrich acts as a ‘General Counsel’ service we tend to answer with this: it means acting as an outside lawyer for all business-related law issues and occasional chief compliance officer to a variety of privately owned companies, tech companies, healthcare providers, architectural firms, among others . . . as well as advisor to start-up ventures.
Summarizing what we do as outside General Counsel for mid-cap sized (among others) companies is not easy: our services are too wide-ranging and involve so many areas of the law that it’s rather difficult to sum up in a few sentences.
And, once we start using examples, the discussion tends to focus too much on one area of the law at the expense of others – all of which can and probably will pop up throughout any business life.
Here, though, are a few of the areas we cover for our business clients:
Contract law - Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating commercial contracts with customers, vendors, partners, etc.
Corporate law - Guidance on corporate governance, compliance, mergers & acquisitions, capital raising, etc.
Employment law - Advising on employment contracts, policies, termination decisions, and compliance with state/federal labor laws.
Intellectual property - Protecting trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, and patents.
Real estate law - Assistance with property leases, purchases, or disputes.
Regulatory compliance - Ensuring compliance with industry-specific regulations as well as general regulations covering data privacy, environmental issues, workplace safety, etc.
Litigation - Managing any litigation such as breached contracts, employment disputes, intellectual property infringement, etc.
Securities law - Counsel on securities filings and compliance if the company plans to go public or raise private capital.
Tax law - Strategic guidance on federal and state tax matters.
Franchise law - For companies with multiple franchise locations.
Insurance law - Reviewing insurance policies and assisting with coverage matters.
International law - For companies with international operations or relationships.
About Hopkins Centrich
Hopkins Centrich PLLC provides cutting-edge, high-quality, creative legal solutions for business and business owners in Texas.
Our attorneys and staff have decades of experience in virtually every aspect of business law in The Woodlands and Texas. We have designed and incorporated businesses, managed their every legal concern, engaged in litigation on their behalf, aided with mergers and acquisitions, managed mergers, acquisitions, and sales.
Hopkins Centrich knows Texas business law. We are uniquely positioned to help business owners from startup to merger or sale or transfer to family members.
When we work with a client, our sole focus is on them. We take advantage of everything technology has to offer to optimize how we work. That gives us more time to spend with you, more time to understand the issues, and more time to negotiate and prepare for trial.
We get that no one wants to contact a law firm unless they feel they absolutely have to. When they do, it almost always means that ‘things have reached a head.’
The attorneys and staff of Hopkins Centrich understand business. We understand business owners. We will make any legal process understandable; you will know what is happening with your case every step of the way, and you will never have to track us down for answers.
Some Primary Duties of a General Counsel
Here are a few of the primary duties a law firm would typically have serving as general counsel to a medium-sized companies:
Review and draft contracts - Reviewing and drafting various commercial contracts like vendor, customer, NDAs, leases, etc.
Provide legal advice - Advising senior management and executives on legal matters impacting operations, growth plans, and new initiatives.
Guide compliance - Ensuring legal and regulatory compliance in areas like employment law, safety, data privacy, environmental regulations, etc.
Manage litigation - Overseeing any litigation such as commercial disputes, IP infringement, employee claims, etc. Hiring and managing outside counsel as needed.
IP counsel - Protecting intellectual property through patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
Support corporate governance - Drafting bylaws, policies, and board resolutions. Providing guidance on shareholder and director matters.
Manage corporate records - Maintaining corporate records and ensuring necessary filings and disclosures are made.
Advice on financing - Assisting with legal matters if the company seeks loans, lines of credit, or equity investments.
Guide on mergers/acquisitions - Providing counsel if the company pursues potential mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures.
Assess risks - Identifying key legal risks facing the business and working to mitigate them.
There are, of course, many more. Every day in business brings the possibility of a different legal matter that must be addressed. We will always be there to help and see that you are able to move on and do what you do best – run a successful business.
How We Work
Hopkins Centrich is a team with a deep bench. All our attorneys have extensive litigation experience which they fully use when called for.
Hopkins Centrich’s attorneys all have ‘big firm’ backgrounds. They formed our firm with the goal of keeping the best of those firms while employing far more personal experience for our clients.
We do this by using technology to its fullest. We will make use of every cutting edge legal and business technology and methodologies to ensure that we will continue to deliver the highest quality legal services to our clients while allowing us to respond promptly and efficiently to client needs, exceed project requirements, operate effortlessly with narrow timeframes, and develop innovative and flexible legal solutions at competitive fees.
We are creative. We are agile. We quickly adapt to rapidly changing circumstances, including changes in the law.
Our vision statement may sum it up best. We will deliver highly skilled, ethical, and aggressive legal representation to every client by:
Responding promptly to our clients’ needs;
Anticipating business and legal trends that may affect our clients;
Managing our clients’ matters in an efficient, caring, and proactive manner;
Communicating regularly and clearly with our clients