outside gc for saas companies

IDEAL FOR PRE-IPO / SERIES B AND C COMPANIES, OR THOSE THAT ARE READY NOW TO USE OUR SERVICES TO GET AN EDGE AND UNLOCK A CHANNEL FOR GROWTH

SaaS companies are focused on developing a strong market position, substantial revenue, and a clear plan for significant expansion. Because information privacy concerns are not revenue-generating projects, fast-growing SaaS companies will tend to ignore them or do the minimal amount of work necessary… until one day they grow up and realize that they are subject to heightened regulations, which previously did not apply. This can be because of the SaaS company’s revenue amounts (California’s CCPA applies to a company with $25 million annual revenue, regardless of whether that company is based in California) or because of their customer size (e.g., processing the data of over 100,000 consumers in a given state). Once SaaS companies close their Series C funding round, they begin thinking more about data privacy, and this is when they will typically make their first full-time, in-house legal hire, if they have not already done so. Unfortunately, that Senior Legal Counsel or GC has a lot on her plate. Often with a corporate background, she may not have familiarity with the information privacy laws, and, even though she is a brilliant attorney, she likely does not have the time to get up to speed (nor is it easy to do so, as these laws are a patchwork of state and federal laws, with frequent amendments).

In addition, the product and engineering teams at SaaS companies often consist of technically sophisticated employees. They are pragmatic, and if a new technology can make them more efficient, they won’t hesitate to incorporate it. But this is tricky, because today’s new technologies are increasingly AI-powered, and these AI vendor agreements need to be carefully reviewed. Some require licenses to user-provided inputs (so that they can further develop and train their models), which clearly implicates the SaaS company’s proprietary and confidential information. Others are trained on proprietary (infringing) data, which can in turn damage the SaaS company’s ability to secure the IP of the code that is generated.

Our outside general counsel program is ready to help.

How We Can Help You

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    AI Governance
    We don't just understand data privacy and AI governance – it's our focus. We can create an AI contracting playbook (tailored to your company’s use cases) so that your team knows what to look out for when engaging AI vendors (particularly if the AI model will get access to our confidential or proprietary information, including code). We can also work with your product teams to advise on how to launch a new feature using AI, in a way that keeps you in compliance with current laws, but also gives you an edge on the competition. Your GC (if you have one) does not have to do this alone; we will get her up to speed.

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    Data Privacy
    Many SaaS companies assume that data privacy laws do not apply to them, because they are B2B and do not sell directly to consumers. (That is not necessary true because a lot of service software sold to businesses is then used to process the information of consumers.) Regardless of your customer profile, if you use SMS marketing, you are also subject to federal privacy laws, and there are rules around e-mail marketing too. Moreover, once you hit $25 million AR, you are automatically subject to California’s privacy laws, and you will want to make sure your website (and any tracking technologies or use of pixels) is in compliance. We conduct privacy impact assessments and craft data privacy policies and procedures, as well as advise on your current privacy program (data retention and deletion), to help you ensure you are not overlooking any unncessary risks.

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    Copyright & Trademark

    Your marketing team may be pushing to leverage vendors that offer great and cheap content. But do they use gen AI to do it? We bring our passion about intellectual property to help you secure yours. We provide strategic counsel on copyright and trademark ownership, licensing, and infringement issues.

An Integrative and Collaborative Approach

Our founder, Yelena Ambartsumian, Esq. has served in all of the following roles: external counsel (complex commercial litigation and investigations at a big law firm), startup founder & CEO, and general counsel. This unique combination of experiences gives us a nuanced understanding of the different and competing concerns within an organization, and how in-house lawyers can get the most value from working with external counsel. This means we deliver advice that is realistic and thus more likely to be implemented by your teams. Our approach is integrative and collaborative. By embedding ourselves into your existing legal and operations teams, we deliver in-depth, responsive support to help you navigate challenges and achieve your business objectives. We are right there with you—in the arena—offering strategic counsel and practical solutions tailored to your organization’s needs.

Oh, and did we mention that we do all this for $1,000/hour LESS than the large Midtown Manhattan law firms just a few blocks away from our NoMad office? Read on to see our block hours pricing…

program highlights

outside general counsel / fractional general counsel

module 1
20 hour block

Ideal if you need light or as-needed support (reviewing your existing privacy policy and suggesting improvements, reviewing a handful of vendor agreements or marketing features) or if your existing Senior Legal Counsel needs someone to take a few items off his plate, day to day.

  • $7,000, calculated as $350/hour

  • With up to 2 unused hours rolling over to the next month

  • Estimated 5 hours/week of support.

module 2
40 hour block

This is a great option for helping your team launch a new feature that touches on privacy, AI, or IP issues (or all three). 40 hours a month is also a good pace for creating a new privacy program, assisting with data subject rights requests (deletion, modification, etc.) or getting your existing website in compliance with emerging state and federal privacy laws (which have changed quite a bit even in the last year) .

  • $12,000, calculated as $300/hour

  • With up to 4 unused hours rolling over to the next month

  • Estimated 10 hours/week of support.

module 3
60 hour block

Is your in-house legal team feeling under-resourced? Do you have a team member going away on leave, or are you considering making a new hire but are unsure of what you need? Our 60-hour block of outside general counsel services is structured to feel like you have a new part-time hire. You can use this time to assist you in making a big overhaul in your privacy program or marketing practices, or simply for routine, day-to-day support that your existing legal team can lean on.

  • $16,500, calculated as $275/hour

  • With up to 6 unused hours rolling over to the next month

  • Estimated 15 hours/week of support.

  • Because of the intensity of this commitment and the importance of being highly responsive and available to all of our clients, utilizing Module 3 (60 hour block) entails a 3-month commitment on your end.

our promise

our promise

With AMBART LAW, you gain more than an outside GC—you gain a dedicated partner invested in your success. Our fractional general counsel services empower your team to tackle both day-to-day operations and complex legal challenges with confidence.

Let’s work together to bridge the gap in your legal NEEDS.

Contact us today at info@ambartlaw.com to discuss how we can support your business.