General Counsel
Program
Most companies call a lawyer once the decision is already made. This is the arrangement that gets you the call before it — a standing seat, a fee agreed in advance, and no meter running while you think.
Complimentary 15-minute consultation
Why A Retainer
The billable hour bills you for hesitation
When every question starts a new invoice, the rational move is to ask fewer questions — so the call gets made without counsel, and the problem surfaces a year later in diligence. Most firms are built for transactions and disputes: work that arrives already broken. This program is built for the decisions before that, with a counsel who already knows your contracts, your cap table, and your plan.
Dedicated Hours
Reserved counsel time each month. No scrambling for availability when issues arise.
Priority Response
Urgent matters move to the front of the day, not the back of the month. Everything else, within one business day.
The Standing Call
A recurring session that looks at what’s coming — the financing, the renewal, the hire — not what’s already signed.
Problems, Caught Early
We read your contracts before they renew and flag the issues while they’re still cheap to fix.
Team Integration
Your leadership team gets the same direct line you do — no relaying legal answers secondhand.
Board Support
Attendance at board meetings, preparation of materials, and governance guidance.
One Program, Three Doors
Built for the way you work
Your legal department, without the headcount.
Founders and executives get a standing counsel relationship that already knows the cap table, the contracts, and the plan — so legal stops being the bottleneck.
- Contracts reviewed and negotiated before they become problems
- Governance kept current — consents, minutes, and equity housekeeping
- Fundraising and hiring decisions vetted while they’re still decisions
- A counsel who already has context when something urgent lands
What five hours looks like
- 1A customer or vendor agreement reviewed and negotiated
- 2An employment offer with IP assignment prepared for a key hire
- 3A board consent drafted and a cap-table question resolved
- 4A strategy call on the financing you’re planning next quarter
What we handle
Formation & equity
Entity structure, founder vesting, 83(b) timing, option-pool sizing, and the 409A cadence your board expects.
Commercial contracts
MSAs, SOWs, order forms, DPAs, and vendor paper — plus negotiation playbooks so sales stops waiting on legal.
Fundraising
SAFEs and priced rounds reviewed, term sheets marked up, diligence requests answered, investor consents prepared.
Hiring & IP
Offer letters with IP assignment, contractor and confidentiality agreements, and the invention paper trail diligence will ask for.
Governance
Board consents, minutes, annual filings, and equity housekeeping kept current instead of reconstructed under deadline.
Product, privacy & AI
Terms of service, privacy policies, state privacy obligations, and practical AI-use policies for what you actually ship.
Your counsel is general counsel to more than twenty companies across eight sectors — and has sat in the principal’s chair for every decision he will be advising you on. The entity architecture, the vendor paper, the board records: run at scale, from both sides of the table.
Counsel on retainer for working artists and creators.
Actors, models, musicians, fine artists, designers, and content creators — anyone whose career runs on deals, rights, and reputation gets the same standing counsel a company would have. Built for actively managed careers: counsel coordinates with your manager and team rather than working in sequence.
- Every deal reviewed before you sign — representation, brand, licensing, appearance
- Your rights and royalties watched across all of it
- Business formation and structure for your career as an enterprise
- A lawyer who already knows your catalog, contracts, and team
What five hours looks like
- 1A brand or endorsement deal reviewed and negotiated
- 2A management, agency, or gallery agreement marked up
- 3A royalty statement or licensing question run to ground
- 4A strategy call before your next negotiation
What we handle
Deal review
Brand and endorsement deals, appearances, touring and performance agreements, features and collaborations — read before you sign.
Representation agreements
Management, agency, label, publishing, and gallery agreements, with the term, commission, and sunset clauses actually negotiated.
Rights & royalties
Masters and publishing splits, synch and mechanical licensing, work-for-hire versus license, and royalty statements read closely.
Name, image & likeness
Publicity rights, usage windows and exclusivity, and AI likeness and voice terms — the clause most contracts now get wrong.
Your career as an enterprise
Loan-out and entity structure, agreements with the people on your team, and the paperwork that makes a career a business.
Reputation & escalation
Infringement and takedown matters and contract breaches triaged early, with disputes scoped as a separate engagement if they escalate.
Entertainment and media is one of the firm’s three core practice areas, and your counsel has founded ventures in talent management and the performing arts — so the deal gets read by someone who has also sat on the other side of it.
Governance and compliance, handled on a budget you can plan.
Executive directors and boards get ongoing counsel that keeps the organization compliant, the board protected, and the mission moving — at a predictable monthly cost.
- Board governance kept current — resolutions, minutes, and policies
- Grant, sponsorship, and partnership agreements reviewed
- Compliance questions answered before the filing deadline
- Employment and volunteer matters handled with care
What five hours looks like
- 1A grant or sponsorship agreement reviewed
- 2A board resolution and meeting minutes prepared
- 3A conflict-of-interest or gift-acceptance policy updated
- 4A compliance question answered ahead of a state filing
What we handle
Board governance
Resolutions, minutes, committee charters, bylaws amendments, and onboarding materials new board members actually read.
Required policies
Conflict-of-interest, gift acceptance, whistleblower, document retention, and executive compensation review — the set your Form 990 asks about.
Funding agreements
Grant terms, restricted gifts, corporate sponsorships, and fiscal sponsorship arrangements reviewed before the money moves.
Compliance calendar
State charitable registration and renewals, annual filings, and Form 990 governance questions worked through with your accountant.
Earned revenue & UBIT
Program fees, licensing, and corporate partnerships structured with unrelated-business-income exposure considered up front.
People
Employment, volunteer, and independent-contractor matters, including classification questions before they become assessments.
Your counsel founded a 501(c)(3) while in law school and has chaired its board for twenty years, founded a philanthropic services firm for grantmakers, and serves as board president of an 89-residence self-managed cooperative. He has sat in the executive director’s chair and the board chair’s.
Choose your access level
Essential Access
For early-stage companies, working creatives, and lean organizations that need consistent legal guidance.
What’s included
- 5 hours of dedicated counsel monthly
- 48-hour response time
- Quarterly strategy sessions
- Contract review & negotiation
- Email & scheduled call access
- Monthly usage summary
$1,499/month
Book a ConsultationProfessional Access
For growing companies, established talent, and organizations with regular legal needs and strategic priorities.
What’s included
- 10 hours of dedicated counsel monthly
- Same-day response for urgent matters
- Monthly strategy sessions
- Full contract lifecycle support
- Direct Slack/phone access
- Team member access included
$2,950/month
Book a ConsultationFractional General Counsel
A working general counsel seat — for companies, talent enterprises, and nonprofits that need counsel in the room every week.
What’s included
- 20 hours of dedicated counsel monthly
- Same-day response, priority line
- Weekly working sessions
- Board & investor materials, memos, and minutes
- Vendor, employment & commercial paperwork run end-to-end
- Direct Slack/phone for your leadership team
- Quarterly legal-operations review
$5,500/month
Book a ConsultationFlagship General Counsel
Your general counsel of record — named in the governance documents, in the room for the decisions. For funded startups, established talent with teams, and mid-sized nonprofits. Offered in limited seats.
What’s included
- Named as your general counsel of record
- Set by the role, not an hour count
- Board meeting attendance
- M&A and financing support
- Crisis management protocols
- Full leadership team access
- Annual Legal Health Check refresh
$7,500/month
Request an IntroductionAttorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Every plan begins with a conflict check and a written engagement agreement — no work starts before both are complete.
Plans are month-to-month. Cancel anytime with 30 days’ written notice; fees are prorated through the effective date.
Unused hours do not roll over. Additional hours are available at preferred member rates, confirmed with you before the work begins.
Published plan fees are effective as of July 6, 2026 and will be honored for at least 30 days from that date.
Compare Plans
Every plan, side by side
Show the full comparisonHide the full comparison
| What you get | Essential Access$1,499/month | Professional Access$2,950/month | Fractional General Counsel$5,500/month | Flagship General Counsel$7,500/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dedicated counsel hours | 5 hours / month | 10 hours / month | 20 hours / month | Set by the role, not an hour count |
| Response time | Within 48 hours | Same-day for urgent matters | Same-day, priority line | Same-day, priority line |
| Strategy sessions | Quarterly | Monthly | Weekly working sessions | On demand |
| Communication channels | Email & scheduled calls | Direct Slack & phone | Direct Slack & phone | Direct line to your attorney |
| Who can reach us | Founder or principal | Your leadership team | Your leadership team | Full leadership team |
| Board & governance support | — | Board materials & governance guidance | Board materials, memos & minutes | Board meeting attendance |
| Onboarding Legal Health Check | Included | Included | Included, with quarterly reviews | Included, with annual refresh |
Essential Access
$1,499/month
- Dedicated counsel hours
- 5 hours / month
- Response time
- Within 48 hours
- Strategy sessions
- Quarterly
- Communication channels
- Email & scheduled calls
- Who can reach us
- Founder or principal
- Board & governance support
- —
- Onboarding Legal Health Check
- Included
Professional Access
$2,950/month
- Dedicated counsel hours
- 10 hours / month
- Response time
- Same-day for urgent matters
- Strategy sessions
- Monthly
- Communication channels
- Direct Slack & phone
- Who can reach us
- Your leadership team
- Board & governance support
- Board materials & governance guidance
- Onboarding Legal Health Check
- Included
Fractional General Counsel
$5,500/month
- Dedicated counsel hours
- 20 hours / month
- Response time
- Same-day, priority line
- Strategy sessions
- Weekly working sessions
- Communication channels
- Direct Slack & phone
- Who can reach us
- Your leadership team
- Board & governance support
- Board materials, memos & minutes
- Onboarding Legal Health Check
- Included, with quarterly reviews
Flagship General Counsel
$7,500/month
- Dedicated counsel hours
- Set by the role, not an hour count
- Response time
- Same-day, priority line
- Strategy sessions
- On demand
- Communication channels
- Direct line to your attorney
- Who can reach us
- Full leadership team
- Board & governance support
- Board meeting attendance
- Onboarding Legal Health Check
- Included, with annual refresh
The Arithmetic
The same hours, bought better
10 hours, billed hourly
$4,260
At $426/hour — the average New York lawyer rate — and only for the hours you were willing to spend asking.
Professional Access
$2,950/month
The same 10 hours, plus same-day response, monthly strategy sessions, direct access for your team — and no reason to hesitate before asking.
Hourly figure: Clio Legal Trends Report, 2025. Shown for comparison only — actual hourly fees vary by lawyer and matter, and your own costs will depend on the work you need. Plan fees are set out in your engagement agreement.
How It Works
From first call to standing counsel
Complimentary consultation
A 15-minute call to understand your needs and confirm the program is the right fit.
Conflict check
We run a conflict check before any engagement — standard practice for every client we take on.
Engagement agreement
A plain-English written agreement defining your plan’s scope, response times, and terms.
Legal Health Check
An onboarding review of your key documents and obligations, with a prioritized 90-day roadmap.
Ongoing counsel
Your monthly cadence begins — dedicated hours, strategy sessions, and priority response.
Included
Where the work lives
A retainer that runs over email eventually becomes a search problem. Every engagement here comes with a private workspace instead — your matters, your documents, your invoices, and a direct channel to your attorney, in one place that outlasts the thread.
You always know where your matter stands
A milestone rail for each matter, in plain language rather than docket shorthand, updated as the work moves.
Your documents live in one place
A private vault scoped to you. Not an email thread, and not a shared drive with a link that outlives the engagement.
Signing is tamper-evident
Documents are rendered and hashed on our server before they reach you, and the signing page shows that hash. If the text changed after it was sent, the system refuses the signature rather than recording it.
Billing is never a surprise
Invoices, what they cover, and what has been paid — visible before they are due.
Messages stay privileged
A direct channel to your attorney inside the portal, rather than email that fans out across devices and inboxes.
Access is protected
Row-level database isolation per client, and mandatory two-factor authentication on every firm-side account.
Your Counsel
Counsel who has sat on your side of the table
You are not buying a platform or a pool of associates. You are buying one attorney’s judgment — so it is worth knowing whose.
Anthony Clemenza
Founding Partner
Replies within one business day — usually much sooner.
Anthony Clemenza has practiced law in New York for nearly twenty years. He is the managing partner of The Clemenza Law Group and the general counsel of more than twenty operating and philanthropic companies across eight sectors.
That second seat is what makes the first one different. Across those companies he has done exactly what a general counsel does — entity architecture, commercial and vendor agreements, intellectual property, employment, governance, and risk — while also sitting in the principal’s chair when the invoice came due. He has negotiated the technology stack from the buyer’s side, built the intake, approval, escalation, and board-record systems those companies run on, and decided in each case what stayed in-house and what went to outside counsel. Most lawyers argue one side of that table. He has had to win both.
The three tracks in this program are not marketing segments — they are three things he runs. He founded The Legacy Foundation while in law school and has chaired its 501(c)(3) board for twenty years, and founded Meridian Philanthropic to serve grantmakers. He has been a licensed New York real estate broker since 2010 and board president of an 89-residence self-managed Florida cooperative since 2016. Entertainment and media is one of the firm’s three core practice areas, backed by founded ventures in talent management and the performing arts.
He read comparative constitutional law at the University of Vienna School of Law in a course taught by U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., took his Juris Doctor at Hofstra University’s Maurice A. Deane School of Law as Business Editor of the Hofstra Law Review, and holds a B.B.A. in finance and marketing from Loyola University Maryland. He also ships production software and AI systems — so when the question is AI governance, the answer comes from someone who has built the pipeline, not just read about it.
Credentials
Bar Admission
New York — admitted 2009, active and in good standing
Experience
Nearly twenty years in practice; general counsel across more than twenty companies in eight sectors
Education
J.D., Hofstra University (Maurice A. Deane) — Hofstra Law Review, Business Editor
International Study
Comparative constitutional law, University of Vienna School of Law — taught by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr.
Board Leadership
Founder and board chairman of a 501(c)(3) for twenty years; cooperative board president since 2016
Writing
Published author on legal and governance subjects
Also
Licensed New York real estate broker; builds production software and AI systems
“I used to save up legal questions until they were worth an invoice. Now I just ask. Half of what Anthony does for us never shows up as a document — it’s the call before the call, the ‘don’t sign that yet.’ Our board treats him as part of the company, because he is.”
“Our board meetings used to have a permanent agenda item called ‘legal questions we can’t afford to ask.’ Retiring that line item changed how we govern. He treats a $2M nonprofit with the same seriousness as his companies, and he bills like he actually wants us to call.”
“A decade in, he’s read every contract I’ve signed. There’s a kind of speed that only comes from that … I forward an email with no context and get back ‘this is fine’ or ‘call me.’ Both answers are worth the retainer.”
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
General Counsel plan questions
Joining the program
Let’s discuss if the program is right for you.
Fifteen minutes to talk through what’s on your desk and whether a retainer actually makes sense for it. If it doesn’t, we’ll say so.
Complimentary 15-minute consultation