Every organization can benefit from a formal relationship with general counsel. (To learn more about why, see the rest of this article.)

But how do you know what type of general counsel to get? Are they all the same? Should they be staff or on retainer?

What about personality: should they be the same or serve as checks and balances to the team? Here are three tips for hiring general counsel.

Show me the money

Legal costs are a concern regardless of the size of the organization. The important thing to remember is that, like our own health, the health of the organization can benefit from a proactive, preventative investment.

Thus, the best thing to do when engaging counsel is to truly understand and be clear about budget.

To do so, consider the following: how much has the organization spent on legal in the past two years? What do the current and upcoming years look like? Are there significant organization transitions, product launches, or other changes expected?

Do you have an HR team? What kinds of legal costs has the organization incurred — personnel, lawsuits, intellectual property?

Getting clear on costs and potential changes will help clarify whether general counsel should be on staff or on retainer.

Define purpose

With an understanding of cost and budget in mind, consider the temperament of the people with whom the general counsel will work. Couple that with the organization’s goals for hiring counsel.

Is it to handle an upcoming change? Serve as a liaison and manage costs for multiple legal avenues in which the organization is active? Is it for checks and balances?

Understand the differences between the personality of an attorney focused on checks and balances verses one hired to assess risk and validate business decisions.

Would the organization benefit from someone strong in compliance or comfortable with creative interpretations? Does the job requiring reading through a variety of legal documents as the course of business or that the attorney have a background in intellectual property?

A general counsel can be someone who understands the business and provides strategic advice; someone who understands a specific component of the business and manages the outside expert costs associated with it; or she could be a subject matter expert that reduces external legal costs by bringing the expertise in-house.

Understand the risks

Lawyers are great at talking details, making compelling cases and justifying things — thus interviewing attorneys for a general counsel spot should be a thorough process.

Yet, just like any other executive position, it is critical to properly vet the person to ensure they can and will serve the purpose and meet the cost benefit expected.

The bottom line is, regardless of the industry or size of the organization, all companies can benefit from having general counsel. Getting clear on the reasons it is good for the organization, the purpose the attorney will serve, and the associated costs are necessary steps to ensure a proper vetting process and a successful partnership going forward.