Hémistiches.Cadence
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CadenceOutsourced general counsel, by Hémistiches

For your outsourced legal function Hémistiches sets the cadence

Test your needs. Eleven questions on what a legal department does, and your result in days per month, with its price.

Take the test See the plans

Four minutesFreeYour answers stay in your browserPrices excluding VAT

The name

In music, a cadence is the rhythm that carries a phrase and leads it to its resolution.

For a company without a legal department, it is the legal time it actually needs, no more and no less: two days a month, one day a week, two days a week.

The test measures it. It does not ask whether you need a lawyer. It looks at what a legal department does, and at what, in your company, nobody does.

What a legal department does

A small or mid-sized company does not need a full-time lawyer. It needs each of these nine functions to be covered. The test reviews all of them.

  • ContractsReviewing, negotiating and securing what you sign, from up-to-date terms and conditions.
  • Corporate housekeepingApproval of accounts, statutory registers, share capital transactions.
  • Regulation and deadlinesTracking your sector’s rules and new obligations before they apply.
  • Data protectionRecord of processing, access requests, data protection officer.
  • Pre-litigationHandling disputes from the very first letter.
  • Outside counselChoosing law firms, keeping their fees in check.
  • Intellectual propertyRegistered trademarks, rights in what your staff and contractors create.
  • Risk and insuranceChecking that your policy covers what you sign.
  • Authority levelsWhat your teams may agree to on their own.

What cadence for your legal function?

Eleven questions, framed as real situations. The test adapts to your sector and size.

Plans

The test gives you your cadence and its exact price. Here is the starting point of each plan.

Part-time general counsel

From

€1,500 excl. VAT per month

Your legal function covered at your pace: two days a month, one day a week or two days a week.

  • Monthly fee, with a time report
  • Six-month commitment, then one month’s notice
  • Management of litigation counsel included

Corporate secretarial services

From

€1,200 excl. VAT per year

Your corporate housekeeping covered over the year: approval of accounts, statutory registers, one routine transaction.

  • Or per transaction, on quotation
  • Registry and legal notice fees extra
  • Included in every part-time plan

Interim general counsel

From

€800 excl. VAT per day

A departure, an absence or a vacant position, a transaction under way: I take over the legal function immediately, for a fixed term.

  • Rate depends on the length of commitment
  • Usually three to four days a week
  • Assignment with a defined purpose

Once agreed, the chosen plan is set out in a signed fee agreement before any work begins. It specifies the monthly volume in hours, the scope and its exclusions, response times, the time report attached to each invoice, what happens to unused hours and how the cadence may be revised. It is preceded by a conflict-of-interest check. Exceptional transactions (fundraising, sale, acquisition) are quoted separately. All amounts exclude VAT.

Portrait of François Césure

Who keeps the cadence

“I spent more than ten years as general counsel in industry before becoming a lawyer. I know what a legal function has to hold, and what it costs when nobody holds it.”
François Césure
  • AvocatParis Bar, since 2012
  • General counselmore than ten years, healthcare industry
  • Regulated sectorshealthcare, defence, energy, aeronautics, electronics

Terms

What is settled before any assignment

  • The test is not legal adviceThe result is an indicative pre-assessment, based solely on your answers. Advice begins with the lawyer, under a fee agreement.
  • A volume of work, not attendanceThe cadence sets the time devoted to your legal function, not mandatory days on site. I act independently, with no reporting line.
  • One contact, one rhythmA designated contact person on your side, a single channel, a monthly priorities review and a time report with each invoice.
  • A price confirmed in writingScope, exclusions and what triggers a quotation are written down before work starts. No additional work without your agreement.
  • Conflict-of-interest checkBefore any assignment. If there is a conflict, you are told, and the matter is not opened.
  • Your answers stay with youThe questionnaire runs in your browser. Only your email address and the summary of your result are sent to me.