Case Study - Software Start-Up

The Client

Software Start-Up

Executive Summary

Our client’s general counsel was the only employee managing legal and contract matters yet their SaaS and software licensing sales contracts were accumulating rapidly as the sales team was building the client base for their products and services. There was no approved budget for a full time hire so the GC considered interim support. The Interim Legal Talent team walked the GC through the budget, skillset and timing of a placement. We then provided several excellent candidates within a week of launching the requirement. A junior counsel with strong contracts and licensing experience was chosen and ultimately converted to a full-time employee.

The Challenge

Our client, a software startup, was growing rapidly and at the time only had one internal counsel—the general counsel. He was seeing contract needs growing rapidly as his sales team was increasing their client base for their products. He was very overwhelmed with the amount of contracts coming across his desk but did not want to slow down his sales team. However, he did not have budget approval to bring in a full-time counsel to support him. He did have budget approval for a three-to-six month temporary counsel.

The Approach

Meeting with the client, our Interim Legal Talent consultant gained a deep understanding of the client’s ultimate goal, which was to find the right candidate who could come in on a temporary basis as a supporting counsel, would be open to taking on increased responsibilities in supporting the legal team and may also be open to potential converting to a permanent role. We walked through the budget, his must-haves and a timeline for the role.

The Solution

Within a week of beginning the search, the Interim Legal Talent team was able to provide five candidates within his budget and that had the skill set he needed. Our client ultimately chose an experienced junior counsel candidate who had the right skills with strong SaaS and software licensing experience. The chosen candidate was an excellent fit for the need, providing excellent support in the contract management process and taking on greater responsibilities involving privacy matters and more complex legal issues.

The Results

By listening to our client’s needs and desires, we were able to provide a candidate who made an excellent fit as the first legal hire while also providing a temporary solution that has helped push the business forward. Our candidate was converted to a permanent employee several months later.