General Counsel Services

General Counsel Services

Legal Services custom-tailored to your business needs. Gain the advantage of multiple talents and legal counsel on our Flexible & Predictable Fee Arrangement* that fits your business’s annual budget.

Our purpose is to provide cost-effective solutions for your legal concerns, whether you want additional support for your existing legal team or you have no in-house legal team and need outside general counsel. We focus on getting to know your business and take a proactive approach that diminishes risks and eliminates the issues that could lead to avoidable lawsuits.

Submit a confidential inquiry here to begin the discussion on how Gislason & Hunter LLP’s General Counsel Services can best serve your business.

Corporate Governance

  • Provide counsel regarding requirements of governance documents (e.g., bylaws, shareholders agreements, operating agreements, partnership agreements)
  • Prepare annual and special meeting notices
  • Participate in annual and special meetings
  • Prepare voting proxies
  • Prepare and/or review annual and special meeting minutes
  • Prepare written resolutions
  • Monitor and file annual business renewals and reports (domestic and foreign and including corporate farming law reports (as applicable)
  • Advice and counsel regarding the nature and scope of fiduciary duties

Employment Law

  • Provide Human Resources counseling and consulting
  • Draft, revise, and update employee handbooks, other written policies, and job descriptions
  • Advise and counsel regarding employee-policy enforcement, complaints and investigations
  • Draft employment and confidentiality agreements
  • Advice and counsel regarding ADA and FMLA
  • Conduct workplace training and investigations
  • Counsel on performance reviews, employee discipline, and termination decisions
  • Draft severance packages
  • Advice and counsel on wage and hour compliance
  • Advice and counsel on labor classification decisions (e.g., independent contractor v. employee; exempt v. non-exempt)
  • Perform audits for compliance with employment laws
  • Provide education, training, and advice and counsel regarding I-9 compliance
  • TN visa and H-2A program eligibility and compliance issues

Commercial Contracts

  • Review, revise, and draft commercial contracts, including:
    • Software, technology, and license agreements
    • Non-compete, trade secret, non-disclosure and non-solicitation agreements
    • Professional services agreement
    • Commercial leases
    • Vendor agreements
    • Other independent contractor agreements
  • Develop and update standard contract forms for internal use (e.g., ICAs, NDAs, hauling/transportation agreements)
  • Provide counsel regarding contractual requirements and interpretations
  • Prepare notices of default and demand letters

Regulatory and Compliance

  • Advice, counsel, education, and training regarding environmental, permitting, and other regulatory compliance
  • Monitor and provide updates, education, and training regarding regulatory changes

Litigation Readiness and Response

  • Develop document retention policies and procedures (standard and litigation holds)
  • Develop internal investigation procedures
  • Training and counsel regarding privilege and confidentiality protection and preservation

Micro Acquisitions and Divestitures (i.e., less than $10 million)

  • Provide counsel regarding terms and structuring of transactions
  • Draft transaction documents, including term sheets, purchase and sale agreements, and ancillary agreements

Other Business Matters

  • Coordinate with accountants and other professionals to advise regarding tax matters
  • General trademark maintenance and associated filings
  • Prepare cease and desist letters
  • Advice on the insurance limits, coverage, and review of insurance certificates
  • Prepare and submit insurance claims
  • Advice and counsel regarding lender relations and credit agreement covenants and requirements

*General Counsel Services may be provided on a fixed monthly fee, standard hourly fee, or combination of fixed and hourly fee rates. The fees and scope of services are tailored to each client’s business. 

To learn more or have Gislason & Hunter tailor a suite of services, call 507-354-3111.

Areas of Expertise

  • Commercial Contracts
  • Corporate Governance
  • Financing
  • Micro Acquisitions & Divestitures
  • Regulatory & Compliance
  • Labor & Employment
  • Human Resources Consulting
  • Intellectual Property
  • Litigation Readiness and Response

Insights

  • January 13, 2023General Counsel ServicesLabor & Employment+1

    The NLRB goes after handbooks . . . again.

    With the return of Democrat control of the National Labor Relations Board, the pendulum is swinging back so fast, it might hit some employers on the chin. In particular, the NLRB is undoing many of the changes made by the Trump NLRB as to employee handbooks. Before we get to the changes, let’s cover how...


  • December 30, 2022General Counsel ServicesLabor & Employment+1

    Interview Do’s and Don’ts for Employers

    There are many areas of a job applicant’s life that a person may be curious about, but an employer should steer clear of. This article identifies some of the questions employers should avoid (Interview Don’ts) and things employers you should remember and do when interviewing applicants. Interview Don’ts: Don’t ask questions about membership in protected...


  • December 16, 2022General Counsel ServicesLabor & Employment+1

    Employees Using THC – Legally? Navigating Employee Drug Testing In The Post-Legalization Era

    The Road to Legalization? The road to our current legal field began with the federal 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized the cultivation and sale of hemp at the federal level. Specifically, any hemp containing a maximum of 0.3% THC by weight was now considered “legal” at the federal level. Importantly to Minnesota, the Farm Bill...


  • May 14, 2021General Counsel ServicesEmployment & Human Resources

    Mitigating Employer Risk Through Documentation

    Documentation is one of the easiest ways for an employer to preserve evidence in a case. Ideally, employers should document every action and decision taken concerning incidents, complaints and disciplinary actions in the workplace, no matter how small the issue may seem. An employer’s documentation should build a timeline from when the incident was reported...


  • January 14, 2021Business & Corporate LawFinance & Banking+1

    Third Round of PPP Funding Open, Banks with Assets of $1 Billion or Less Start Friday, January 15, 2021

    Late Wednesday, January 13th, the SBA announced that banks with $1 billion in assets or less can start making Third Round PPP loans Friday, January 15th. Banks above that threshold will be able to start Tuesday, January 19th. CDFI institutions and minority-owned institutions started making loans the morning of Monday, January 11th. Thankfully, compared to...