Outside general counsel.
Retainer-based corporate counsel for UAE entities, founders, family offices and cross-border groups.
Not every company needs a full-time internal legal department. Many need reliable outside counsel who understands the structure, documents, tax context, shareholders, bank file and commercial priorities well enough to advise quickly when issues arise.
Moore Law provides outside general counsel support for selected UAE entities and cross-border groups, covering corporate decisions, contracts, governance, compliance, restructuring, bank queries and strategic questions.
Last reviewed:
Outside counsel engagements are scoped by engagement letter or retainer. Substantive work begins only after the scope and fees are agreed.
Good counsel already knows the structure.
One-off advice is useful. Ongoing counsel is different. It allows the adviser to understand the company, shareholders, bank position, contracts, tax assumptions and commercial direction before the urgent question arises.
For founders and family groups, this can be more efficient than repeatedly briefing new advisers. For international groups, it provides a UAE-facing counsel function that can coordinate with headquarters, local service providers, accountants, auditors and foreign lawyers.
Outside counsel is most valuable when the adviser is part of the operating rhythm.
Scope of support.
- Board and shareholder decisions
- Contracts and commercial documents
- Signing authorities and delegations
- Licence and authority questions
- Corporate tax and accounting coordination
- Bank KYC and structure explanations
- Shareholder changes and investor documents
- Employment or contractor interfaces where corporate issues arise
- Group-service arrangements
- Related-party and intra-group documents
- Real estate, residency or holding-structure coordination
- Periodic structure review
Engagement models.
| Model | Suitable for | How it works | Moore Law view |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | Clients with recurring UAE corporate questions | Agreed monthly access and defined scope | Best where continuity matters. |
| Quarterly review | Clients needing periodic governance and compliance oversight | Scheduled review of structure, documents and action list | Useful for family offices and holding structures. |
| Matter-based support | Clients with a defined corporate issue | Fixed or scoped workstream | Useful for restructuring, governance review or contract package. |
| Board-support mandate | Companies needing recurring decision support | Board materials, resolutions, minutes and reserved-matter review | Useful for founder-led or investor-backed companies. |
How outside counsel begins.
Initial fit review
Entity and document audit
Risk and priority map
Retainer or scope proposal
Communication protocol
Document and decision support
Periodic review
Renewal or scope adjustment
Common issues handled.
- Contract review before signature.
- Shareholder consent or reserved-matter questions.
- Signing authority and manager power questions.
- Bank asking for ownership or structure explanations.
- Group company charging another group company.
- Licence activity no longer matching the business.
- Investor entering the company.
- Founder relocating or stepping back.
- Family member joining the structure.
- Company needing periodic compliance clean-up.
Related: Corporate Consulting hub · Governance review · Group restructuring · Holding structures · Contact Corporate Services.
Common questions.
Is outside general counsel only for large companies?
No. It can be particularly useful for founder-led companies, family offices and international groups that need senior advice but do not require a full-time in-house lawyer.
Can the retainer include tax advice?
It can include tax-aware corporate advice and coordination with tax advisers. Detailed tax filings, accounting and specialist tax opinions may require separate scope or external specialists.
Can Moore Law review contracts under a retainer?
Yes, if included in the agreed scope. The retainer can cover routine contract review, corporate documents and recurring advisory questions.
Can Moore Law attend board meetings?
Where appropriate and agreed, Moore Law can support board preparation, reserved-matter review, resolutions, minutes and governance decisions.
Can the retainer be cancelled?
The engagement terms, renewal and termination mechanics are set out in the retainer agreement.