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Find a product attorney
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What Does Product Counsel Do?

Product counsel embeds with product management and engineering teams to proactively identify legal issues, ensure compliance with applicable laws, and help launch products confidently. Their work often involves close collaboration with other in-house counsel and business partners to reduce legal risk while supporting innovation.

When To Bring in Product Counsel

Product counsel is most effective when engaged early — but they can also step in at critical inflection points throughout the product lifecycle.

Common triggers for bringing in product counsel include:

Early-stage product ideation.

To embed compliance and privacy by design from day one.

Knowing when to bring in a product counsel can help you avoid costly legal missteps and move faster with confidence.

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Key Traits To Look for in Product Counsel 

Product counsel plays a critical role in guiding innovation, so it’s essential to choose attorneys with the right mix of experience and mindset.

Look for these key traits when evaluating talent:

In-house experience.

Attorneys who’ve worked inside legal departments understand the pace, expectations, and collaboration needed to support product teams effectively.

Hiring product counsel with these traits ensures that your legal support keeps pace with your business and doesn’t slow down innovation.

How Our Product Counsel Can Help

According to our 2024 in Review report, product counseling was the second most highly requested practice area, which speaks to the priorities of many companies, focusing on regulatory compliance and product innovation. Our legal attorneys specialize in product development counseling and offer hands-on support across a wide range of practice areas:

Data security and privacy by design.

From day one, we help teams incorporate data protection principles to stay compliant with global privacy laws and regulations.

200+

Vetted and available product attorneys

9.2

average satisfaction rating from our clients, out of 10

90%+

of our clients have in-house experience

Why Paragon for Product Counsel

We offer contract-based legal talent solutions that allow companies to quickly access top-tier legal professionals with relevant product experience. Here’s what sets Paragon apart when you’re looking for experienced, reliable product counsel on demand:

How We Help

Deep network of legal professionals.

Our network includes over 200 vetted product attorneys, many former in-house lawyers or law firm alumni with backgrounds in technology, biotech, and consumer goods.

“Paragon has been an extremely effective solution for us. Over the years they’ve provided us with flexible, experienced attorneys across a wide range of practice areas. To be able to pick-up the phone and get the level of attorney we do from Paragon has been invaluable in helping us execute on initiatives and keep our business clients happy.”

AUTODESK

Real-World Examples of Product Counsel at Work: Medical Devices Company Streamlines Legal Functions

A fast‑growing medical devices company had a lean legal team struggling across multiple fronts: clinical trials work was bottlenecked, commercial contracts (including procurement, data processing agreements, and IT agreements) were overwhelming their existing workflow, and the privacy team needed deeper expertise to ensure compliance with U.S. and EU privacy laws.

Paragon deployed a multi‑step, embedded support model:

  1. Contract manager/attorney. Brought in to fix inefficiencies in contract lifecycle management (CLM), integrate legacy templates, and negotiate new agreements.
  2. Experienced product/regulatory attorney. Embedded to assist on product commercialization, R&D, licensing, and marketing compliance issues.
  3. Privacy specialist. Integrated with the team to flag privacy risks and advise on EU and U.S. data protection matters.

Paragon deliberately phased in the team, first addressing structural bottlenecks (CLM) and then layering in subject matter expertise. 

The outcome of Paragon’s work resulted in:

  • The client realized over $2.3 million in net legal cost savings compared to hiring an external law firm team
  • Internal legal bandwidth was freed up, helping the in‑house team focus on strategic priorities
  • The client benefited from a flexible, high‑caliber talent model rather than rigid hires

Our product counsel has supported tech companies during high-stakes product launches involving user privacy compliance, helped startups structure commercial contracts for new offerings, and advised on intellectual property challenges tied to rebranding and product redesigns. 

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Hire Seasoned Product Counsel on a Contract Basis To Guide Your Product Development.

Whether you’re launching a new product, scaling an existing platform, or phasing out a legacy system, Paragon provides experienced product counsel attorneys on demand. These attorneys deliver tailored legal advice in step with your business roadmap and strategic legal insight that supports innovation and business growth.

Danny J.

Attorney
Years of Experience: 10+
Practice Areas: Product, Regulatory & Compliance
Industries: Business Services, Technology
Admissions: CO
Recent Projects: Renewed a one-year project with a prominent tech company assisting with challenging and novel regulatory compliance issues.
Specialization: Compliance, product counseling, commercial law
Interests: Live music, podcasts, running, chess
Learn more about this attorney

Mark H.

Attorney
Years of Experience: 20+
Practice Areas: Commercial & Transactions, Corporate & Securities, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, M&A, Privacy, Litigation, Product, Regulatory & Compliance
Industries: Business Services, Consumer Packaged Goods, Media & Entertainment, Technology
Admissions: CA
Specialization: Contract drafting and negotiation, corporate governance, privacy (CIPP-US certified), employment, public company securities filings, and board management
Interests: Skiing, beach volleyball, tennis, hiking, travel, fine wine
Learn more about this attorney

Gayle G.

Attorney
Years of Experience: 20+
Practice Areas: Commercial & Transactions, Corporate & Securities, Intellectual Property, International, M&A, Privacy, Product, Regulatory & Compliance
Industries: Management Consulting, Business Services, Consumer Packaged Goods, Hospitals & Healthcare, Cybersecurity, Technology, AI
Admissions: NY
Recent Projects: Gayle recently completed a three-month project with a healthcare company, focusing on privacy and AI compliance strategies.
Specialization: Complex contracts, technology transactions, SaaS, international compliance, board advisory, AI governance, privacy
Interests: Foreign travel, cooking, golf
Learn more about this attorney

Linsey L.

Attorney
Years of Experience: 15+
Practice Areas: Commercial & Transactions, Advertising, Intellectual Property, Privacy, Product, Regulatory & Compliance, Marketing
Industries: Media & Entertainment, Technology
Admissions: NY
Specialization: Marketing and advertising, privacy and commercial contracts
Interests: Tennis, food
Learn more about this attorney

Esther S.

Contract Management
Years of Experience: 10+
Practice Areas: Commercial & Transactions, Corporate & Securities, Product
Industries: Biotech & Life Sciences, Business Services, Financial Services, Hospitals & Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Technology
Specialization: Contracts management and administration
Interests: Yoga, marathons, travel, local community services
Learn more about this attorney
pierre z headshot

Pierre Z.

Attorney
Years of Experience: 10+
Practice Areas: Commercial & Transactions, M&A, Product, Regulatory & Compliance
Industries: Business Services, Financial Services, Technology, SaaS, Blockchain/Crypto
Admissions: CA, DC
Recent Projects: 6 month project with a fintech company working on complex and bespoke commercial agreements with lending and brand partners.
Specialization: Regulatory and compliance, contract negotiations (buy and sell), developing and implementing internal legal policies and procedures, data and corporate governance, ESG
Interests: building personal computers and configuring networks, hiking with my dog, skiing, serving the community through the San Mateo County Sheriffs Office Emergency Services Bureau
Learn more about this attorney
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Ready to get started? We’ll connect you with the best product counseling for your business needs.

FAQs About Product Counsel 

These frequently asked questions can help clarify what product counsel attorneys do and how they can support your team.

A product counsel attorney advises on legal issues across the entire product lifecycle, from concept to launch to sunsetting. They work closely with product and engineering teams to identify legal risks early, ensure regulatory compliance, and help bring products to market confidently.

While general in-house counsel may handle a broad range of legal matters, product counsel attorneys specialize in advising product teams. They bring focused expertise in areas like data privacy, consumer protection, and IP — and often embed directly with product stakeholders to provide real-time guidance.

Product counsel attorneys provide support across a wide range of legal areas, including data privacy, advertising and marketing compliance, product liability, consumer safety, intellectual property, and emerging technologies like AI. They ensure legal requirements are integrated into product design and development from the start.

Industries that develop, launch, or manage complex products, such as technology, healthcare, biotech, and consumer goods, benefit greatly from product counsel support. These sectors face fast-changing regulations and high compliance stakes, making specialized legal guidance essential.

Paragon offers on-demand access to experienced product counsel attorneys who’ve worked in-house and understand fast-moving product teams. We tailor placements to your needs, ensuring cultural fit, specialized expertise, and a flexible model that supports both innovation and cost control.

Product Counsel insights from Paragon

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