Law Offices of Steven W. Hansen: Contract General Counsel

Many smaller companies do not have the budget or volume of work to justify hiring a full time in-house counsel. This firm acts as “outside” in-house counsel and claims coordinating counsel for a number of small to mid-sized companies (approx. $5-500 million per year in sales worldwide) giving them the same legal advantage and expertise that until now only larger companies (or their competitors) could afford. Coordination of litigation on a nationwide basis is usually a benefit for companies doing business nationally or globally and where particular claims repeatedly attack the core product or service of a business. We have previously and currently act as national coordinating counsel for many manufacturers/distributors in product liability related claims.

Because we have a higher degree of subject matter specialization and litigation knowledge in these areas than most other firms we focus on the important factors in less time, which further reduces costs. Because we usually handle claims well before litigation we have the opportunity to resolve them expeditiously and if not we can continue to handle matters seamlessly if they evolve into litigation with additional savings to the insurer and or client due to the fact that our office is already familiar with the details of the underlying claims handling. Outside California we sometimes utilize local counsel depending on the size or severity of the claim and the extent to which local procedural issues are a factor.

Not only do we focus on overseeing or directly handling the defense, we also conduct Product Liability Audits (to help determine your readiness to face a suit or claim) and Product Compliance or Product Development Services.

November 8, 2007

Contract General Counsel