We get it—your in-house legal team is drowning in work, and all you want is for your CFO to approve interim legal services to ease the burden.
But as a GC, your job is more than just considering your legal team. A huge part of your role is managing your budget. Your CFO expects you to get the highest value for every dollar spent, just like every other department leader.
This mindset of being a strategic partner is the key to successfully pitching flexible legal talent services. Get a “yes” from your CFO by highlighting these interim counsel benefits.
If your in-house team struggles to keep internal clients happy, you’re not alone. In-house legal teams across industries are overwhelmed with work, while GCs struggle to hire more full-time employees because of headcount budget cuts.
Interim counsel saves the day for your team and your bottom line. You customize their hours based on the work you need, unlike employees who must work a full-time schedule no matter what.
Because they’re a dedicated resource, interim legal talent operates more effectively than outside counsel. Law firms charge increasingly expensive rates, and they often work less efficiently than in-house attorneys because they work outside your company.
An interim counsel accomplishes more with less oversight. They work directly with your in-house team and stakeholders, so they get to know the business model, risk tolerance, pace, and people. This knowledge empowers a flex attorney to operate more quickly and comfortably than an outsider.
Collect testimonials and case studies from the interim legal talent provider you’re considering. Ideally, find anecdotes from companies in your industry with similar in-house legal challenges.
In each case study, highlight what the interim attorneys accomplish and how they’re just as dependable as full-time employees. Consider the cybersecurity startup Synack. Its Paragon flexible attorney David oversaw all contract issues for the company, handled employment questions, and was even available during off-hours for calls.
“He was very responsive in terms of making sure that all of his work was timely and we weren’t missing any response time goals,” said Steve Soper, Synack’s Vice President of Legal.
Looking for ways to maximize profitability, your CFO will be happy to hear that interim talent is the most cost-effective labor solution for in-house legal teams. Flex talent fees are far lower than outside counsel fees, and companies don’t have to pay for the extra costs associated with hiring an FTE—like benefits, bonuses, equity, and onboarding expenses—because your interim agency covers them.
Outside counsel may be worth the higher cost when dealing with very high-risk matters requiring niche expertise. But when it comes to navigating your org and tackling the day-to-day work of your team, an interim attorney will fit the bill. They have the hard and soft skills needed at a far more reasonable price point than other talent solutions. This value is hard to overstate as in-house teams face increasing budget scrutiny.
Compare the costs of your prospective interim legal talent provider, outside counsel, and full-time hire expenses. The first two are relatively easy to compare since both have set hourly rates, while full-time hire cost breakdowns depend on the type of attorney you need.
Our recent ebook includes several cost comparison charts, including the one below. Download the resource for more cost breakdowns to share with your CFO.
We also recommend asking your prospective interim legal talent provider for examples of client cost savings. At Paragon, for example, one client saved $7M in 2023 alone by using flex talent instead of outside counsel.
The ebbs and flows of legal work are often unpredictable. Sudden business or economic changes can quickly create a busy or slow season for your in-house team. During these times, CFOs are reluctant to hire rapidly because headcount budgets are already strained. Sudden layoffs also aren’t ideal since they crush morale and leave you short-staffed when work peaks again.
Considering the uneven nature of in-house legal work, your CFO will be happy to hear that flex talent is a variable cost. You can increase or decrease your interim counsel’s weekly hours based on your team’s workload. For example, a company might have an interim attorney work 20 hours per week in Q3 and ramp up to 40 weekly hours in Q4 to help cover year-end reporting requirements and sales targets.
You can also adjust the duration of your interim counsel engagement to be as short or long as you like. This flexibility is critical for CFOs who want a buffer if the business’ needs change, whether that’s a workload increase or a drop in revenue.
What do we mean by variable and fixed costs? Variable costs are expenses that a business can adjust based on the products or services it produces, while fixed costs are constant regardless of the products and services produced.
While salaries and headcount are fixed costs, flex talent is a variable cost line item because you can turn it on or off as needed. Proposing a staffing option that keeps your CFO’s fixed cost base low will be music to their ears.
Ask your prospective flexible legal talent provider for examples of clients who regularly adjust their interim counsel workload.
At Paragon, we like to tell prospects about a 10-year client. Our flex talent makes up half of their legal staff, and the company adjusts their weekly hours based on their need for the attorneys’ specialties.
Along with pulling client stories, map out the ebbs and flows of your in-house team’s work from the last year to show when interim talent would’ve been a cost-saver or potential revenue-booster. Include predictions about work fluctuations over the next year to make the case for investing in flexible counsel now.
CFOs are under pressure from investors, capital allocators, and executives to keep headcount costs down. In EY’s 2023 report, 34% of CFOs reported that they planned to make short-term talent and culture budget cuts—the second most popular choice for cuts after ESG spending.
Likewise, CFOs are eager to keep revenue per employee (RPE) high to show stakeholders the company is productive. Investors increasingly value this metric after so many tech companies have struggled to grow profitably in recent years.
Flex legal talent helps CFOs look good on both fronts. Because interim counsel aren’t employees, their costs don’t increase headcount budgets or lower RPE. Instead, CFOs typically classify flex legal talent as variable cost line items.
Emphasize that hiring full-time attorneys will raise headcount costs. You’ll add base salaries, benefits, payroll, bonuses, hiring, and onboarding costs to your budget, and RPE will most likely be lower. Revenue will stay constant as you add more employees—legal typically generates little to no income—leading to a lower RPE.
Revenue per employee= company revenue / current number of full-time employees
If your team plans on allocating your outside counsel spend to interim talent, highlight this plan to your CFO. They’ll appreciate that you’re not asking for more funding and that using interim counsel won’t impact the overall budget. In fact, shifting your outside counsel budget to flex counsel will likely lower your team’s overall spend.
As you discuss hypothetical budgets, note that your goal isn’t just choosing the cheapest option. Your in-house team is getting the same talent level with flexible counsel as they do with outside counsel or a full-time hire at a fraction of the cost.
Over the last year, many in-house attorneys have struggled with unsustainable workloads. Some have even quit their jobs because they’re so burnt out. It’s a serious concern for CFOs, considering that turnover is expensive.
Interim talent releases the pressure valve on in-house teams by taking on existing work, so in-house attorneys have less on their plate. Even better, you get to design your interim counsel’s workflows. For example, you might assign a subset of IP transactions to your flex attorney so that your team can build experience on the complex strategic partnerships or IP transactions they love.
Interim counsel is also okay with moving from department to department as needed. One Paragon contractor, for example, has transitioned through four different teams at the same client over the last five years. This flexibility allows your in-house team to pursue meaningful growth in the organization instead of filling gaps.
One reason why interim counsel can successfully shift between departments is their institutional knowledge. GCs trust these attorneys to work across Legal because they know they have a lay of the land. This experience is also why in-house teams will often re-engage the same flex attorney multiple times.
Share external research with your CFO about in-house counsel job satisfaction. In this recent Bloomberg study, for example, a higher percentage of in-house attorneys reported heavy workloads as a challenge than law firm attorneys. This data highlights the seriousness of in-house teams’ workloads, helping CFOs understand the need for interim talent.
From there, present your CFO with data about how your in-house lawyers spend their time (you’ll need to ask team members to track their hours). Point out the high-stakes tasks that in-house attorneys need to complete along with the less important projects that interim counsel could handle.
Emphasize that completing this work with flex talent services offers two key benefits: it’s more affordable than hiring FTEs or outside counsel, and it helps you retain valuable in-house attorneys by taking low-level tasks off their plate.
As you build your case for flex talent, remember you’re not just a lawyer. Your CFO expects you to be a business leader who can explain interim counsel from a P&L perspective.
Use this post to make a persuasive pitch. Highlight how the variable cost structure of interim attorneys is a strong defense against unpredictable cycles without requiring your team to compromise on talent.
Interested in learning more about how you can build a business case for your in-house team’s needs? Check out our GC’s Guide to Rightsourcing.
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