WHY YOU NEED US
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INVESTORS
With Investors seeking better returns, investment strategies are shifting to complex investment products and with increasing focus on ESG, sustainability and impact investing and ever-evolving technology solutions, investment strategies are also evolving to accommodate these changes.
These changes highlight the need for specialist lawyers.
With leading law firms that have expertise in investment products representing the banks that structure and sell the investments, it leaves investors to be represented by law firms that are conflict free, however, they are conflict free as the banks do not retain them as they lack the requisite expertise in investments.
There are also limitations with conventional methods for legal coverage.
PSG Consult Counsel Ltd offers Investors, Investment Legal Services.
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Not only do we work seamlessly with your law firm and fill the gap in product knowledge by providing seasoned, specialist in-house lawyers, but we also bring unique insights by having worked on both sides of investments and in the offshore market, which benefits investors, who we now exclusively represent.
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See Investment Legal Services and Our Specialisms.
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Our Investment Legal Services also address the limitations with conventional methods for legal coverage and offer a compelling alternative option to manage your legal coverage.
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See Investor Client Corner and How We Compare and How We Are Different.​
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HOW WE COMPARE
We are Cost-Effective:
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A permanent hire may cost up to 2.5 times the base salary when you add in benefits, overheads and administration and that is exclusive of recruiter fees. With investments being made opportunistically and, thereby, periodically, a specialist permanent hire is on the payroll even when he/she is not needed or fully utilised. By contrast we are only paid when you need us e.g. when you invest, when a lifecycle event arises, or a restructuring or a dispute arises and we are not paid otherwise. We are cost-effective in comparison.
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When hiring freelancing interims, there may be recruiter fees or placement fees due to the law firms offering consultants from the platforms, adding to the cost. If you approach us directly, you save on costs as there are no recruiter or placement fees.
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Law firm fees can go unchallenged if you have no specialist in-house lawyer to manage these costs. Often law firms charge hourly rates. We can agree fixed fees upfront, so you know what your costs will be.
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Secondee loyalties lie with their law firm not you and they may not advocate to save you fees. We have operated as Managing Directors and Heads of Legal at investment banks and are experienced at managing legal budgets and saving money without compromising the relationships with law firms.
We Provide Access When You Need:
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We eliminate the delays of long interview processes and notice periods that apply to permanent hires. We can provide access to our services as we have pre-vetted lawyers available to start when you need.
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Freelancing interims often work part of the year and their availability may not coincide with when you need in-house legal cover, as they may be on another assignment or taking time off.
We Provide Flexibility and Consistency:
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Unlike a permanent hire, who may not be utilised fully if there is downtime between investments yet stays on the payroll, we operate flexibly to provide cover when you need, such as when you invest, when lifecycle events occur on investments, for restructurings and for disputes.
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Instead of using different freelancing interims each time you need in-house cover, we offer consistency by returning for repeat assignments creating efficiencies as we hit the ground running, we learn about your operations and we embed ourselves in your culture to build a report as your trusted advisors.
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We are also available post-assignment to answer any questions you may have about assignments we have done with you, as we see this as part of our service, unlike freelancing interims that may not be incentivised to assist as they are not being paid to answer post-assignment questions. They may also have moved onto other assignments or may be taking time off. Our consultants continue to be available.
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We have the flexibility to offer back-ups and can scale as we have pre-vetted lawyers that can step in if needs be, unlike a sole freelancing interim.
We are Specialists:
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We are specialists in structured investments in Capital Markets, Derivatives, Structured Products, Structured Finance and Alternative Investments including Commodities, Sharia Islamic Products and Digital Assets as examples and are experienced in-house lawyers that have been integral to the structuring of these investments, unlike secondees or freelancing interims that come from private practice backgrounds, who see the investments after they are structured or see only ad hoc aspects during the structuring process.
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We have experience with working with Investment Banks, Asset Managers, Hedge Funds, Private Equity Firms, and Venture Capital Firms.
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We have experience in direct investments and M&A as well as ESG and sustainability focussed investments and impact investing.
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We offer pre-vetted, in-house legal specialists. Recruiters cannot vet for technical knowledge and have no experience of working with the candidates they offer you as freelancing interims or permanent hires. If your in-house lawyers are not specialists in investments either, they face the same limitations as recruiters when it comes to vetting on technical skills. Our lawyers are vetted by and known to the founder as we appreciate technical knowledge is not enough and integrity, soft skills and work ethic etc. are equally important to ensure they are a fit.
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With law firms that operate platforms to provide access to freelancing interims, the leading law firms may prioritise sending their best consultants to the banks given the banks provide significant pipelines of work to the leading law firms and may need to consider their bank relationship before having their consulting platform arm assist investors.
​Unique Insights and Strong Advocacy:
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We have worked on both sides of investment deals, as permanent in-house lawyers in investment banks and now representing investors exclusively.
With experience of working as an independent board director of funds and special purpose vehicles in the Cayman Islands, we also have experience in other offshore markets. These insights provide a valuable advantage in negotiations.
Unlike secondees, our loyalty lies with you, not the law firm, and we ensure the legal advice from law firms are robust and that the law firm's legal fees are managed and challenged if necessary, without compromising the relationship.
Staying Current with Market Trends:
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The specialist knowledge of a permanent in-house lawyer may get stale given that investments may be opportunistic and, thereby, only made periodically, which limits their exposure to deal flow. With some investors like family offices, holding investments long-term, this may also impact the deal flow a permanent hire sees.
We stay current by working on multiple investments with different clients and we benefit from the exposure to the most up-to-date legal knowledge through our industry networks and leading law firm connections, which we share with our clients.
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Protecting Your Interests:
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Leading law firms with expertise in investments tend to represent banks that structure and sell you investments. They may not want to jeopardise the relationship they have with the banks by switching sides and representing investors, as the banks provide leading law firms with a pipeline of work. As banks regularly structure investments to sell, whilst investors invest periodically, investors cannot match the pipeline of work banks offer, which means even above market fees may not lure leading law firms away, as longer term, the banks offer more lucrative fees by virtue of volume.
This leaves investors being represented by law firms that may be less experienced in investments (hence they are not retained by banks and are conflict free), leading to investors potentially investing unknowingly, without the best legal protections.
We appreciate some investors have the long-standing relationships with their law firm and we handle the sensitivities around any gaps in product knowledge by working seamlessly with your law firm to maintain the relationship, all the while ensuring you have the right legal protections.
Alignment with Values:
We have an alignment of values with investors that understand the importance of ESG and sustainability focused investing and impact investing.
We also prioritise confidentiality and discretion as well as loyalty. We aim to work with a set number of clients over a given period of time to ensure we are not too thinly spread. Our business model is not driven by volume, but by quality and relationships.
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HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT
WE ADVOCATE FOR YOU
LEADING LAW FIRMS REPRESENT THE BANKS THAT SELL INVESTORS PRODUCTS. THIS LEAVES INVESTORS WITH LAW FIRMS THAT HAVE LESS EXPERTISE ESPECIALLY IF INVESTMENTS GET CONTENTIOUS. STRONG ADVOCACY WITH STRONG EXPERTISE IS VITAL.
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We exclusively work for investors when they invest, through the lifecycle and if restructurings or disputes arise. We fill the gap as specialist in-house lawyers that work seamlessly with your law firm and challenge advice and fees to protect you.
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IN-HOUSE EXPERIENCE
FREELANCING INTERIMS MAY NOT HAVE WORKED IN-HOUSE WITH MANY ESCAPING PRIVATE PRACTICE FOR LIFESTYLE REASONS. A LAW FIRM PARTNER'S EXPEREINCE OF IN-HOUSE IS TYPICALLY FROM A SECONDMENT EARLY IN THEIR CAREER. SECONDEES ARE KEPT PERIPHERAL AND DO NOT HAVE TRUE IN-HOUSE EXPERIENCE.
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We have seasoned lawyers with extensive in-house experience. We are closer to transactions, explain legal issues to non-lawyers regularly and are more commercial as a result.
SPECIALIST LAWYERS
WITH INCREASINGLY COMPLEX INVESTMENTS IN A FAST-EVOLVING INDUSTRY WITH A FOCUS ON ESG, SUSTAINABILITY AND IMPACT INVESTING AND TECHNOLIGICAL DRIVEN CHANGES COUPLED WITH TALENT SHORTAGES, ACCESS TO SPECIALIST LAWYERS WHO STAY CURRENT IS A NECESSITY.
We are specialist in-house lawyers who have switched sides to exclusively represent investors and bring a wealth of knowledge and insights in a flexible offering.
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CONTINUITY
FREELANCING INTERIMS WITH PORTFOLIO CAREERS FOR LIFESTYLE REASONS MAY NOT WORK FOR PART OF THE YEAR OR BE WORKING AND BE UNAVAILABLE. HAVING DIFFERENT FREELANCING INTERIMS EACH TIME AN INVESTMENT IS MADE, LIFECYCLE EVENT OCCURS, A RESTRUCTURING OR DISPUTE ARISES, LEADS TO INEFFICIENCIES AND LACK OF RAPPORT.
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We are career consultants and available all year round. We can return when needed providing continuity, efficiencies and enabling us to understand your operations and
culture.
COST-EFFECTIVE
ACCESS WHEN YOU NEED
FREELANCING INTERIMS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE WHEN YOU NEED AND ATTRACT RECRUITER OR PLACEMENT FEES. LAW FIRMS OFTEN HAVE HOURLY RATES AND TARGET BILLABLE HOURS MAKING THEM INFLEXIBLE. PERMANENT HIRES COST SEVERAL TIMES BASE SALARY WHEN PERKS ARE ADDED AND THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS FULLY UTILISED AND HIRING TAKES TIME.
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We are not constrained by fixed hourly rates or billable hours and we are cost-effective relative to permanent hires as you only pay for when you need us and we provide access when you need, unlike interim freelancers.
PLATINUM SERVICE
LAW FIRMS MAY NOT OFFER PLATINUM SERVICE UNLESS CLIENTS PROVIDE SUFFICIENT CHARGEABLE WORK TO THEM. FREELANCING INTERIMS MAY WORK FOR A VARIETY OF OTHER CLIENTS.
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We aim to work with a select group of investors at a given time. We are not driven by target billable hours like law firms and our business model is not reliant on volume business, but on quality and relationships.