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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARY 5, 2024 15 Jack H. Sousa is a partner at law firm Wiggin and Dana, and co-founder of goldilo(x), which provides outsourced general counsel services to startup companies. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Managing The Extremes Wiggin and Dana launches general counsel outsourcing services for cash-strapped startups Some Connecticut accounting firms, for example, offer outsourcing services for certain business func- tions like payroll. Broad brush Wiggin and Dana has 170 attor- neys, spread among offices in Stamford, Hartford, New Haven, Westport, Madison and Greenwich, along with New York City, Wash- ington, D.C.; Palm Beach, Florida; and Philadelphia. Its focus areas include employment law, compliance, intellectual property, commercial real estate, among many others. Rather than having to find a full-time general counsel with broad experience, goldilo(x) clients can lean on Wiggin and Dana's range, Sousa said. "You get a full team dedicated to the client through the goldilo(x) platform," he said. "It's not just one person. You get a broad brush." Typically, clients are matched with By Andrew Larson alarson@hartfordbusiness.com Y ou're the CEO of a fledgling tech or life sciences company. You're short on cash, and even shorter on time. Your business is starting to grow, but your finances are tight. Maybe you only have enough cash on hand to survive a few months because you're funneling most of your resources into developing a product or drug. You have legal needs, but you can't afford the $200,000 to $300,000 salary for an in-house general counsel. What can you do? Law firm Wiggin and Dana recently launched a new service aimed at helping early-stage companies navigate the hot and cold extremes of starting a new business. The new offering, goldilo(x), provides outsourced general counsel services tailored to each client's legal needs and budgetary constraints. It's part of Wiggin and Dana's emerging company practice, called wiggin(x). Instead of paying hourly rates, goldilo(x) clients pay monthly fees that are customized based on the level of service a company requires. "A lot of times, clients just can't predict what they'll have in the hopper, in terms of what's going to be coming in for the next six to 12 months," said Jack H. Sousa, co-founder of goldilo(x) and a partner with Wiggin and Dana. Sousa, who is based at the firm's Stamford office, said he saw an opportunity with goldilo(x) to serve emerging businesses that weren't yet ready to hire a full-time legal team. "We have a lot of companies that are not quite ready to afford that price tag (of a general counsel), but also want more than just one attor- ney's worth of knowledge," Sousa said. "So, it turns into a really good thing for us, that we can offer a full suite of what we call 'general coun- sel-type services.' To a company, you get maybe less cost, but also more people." Professional service firms have increasingly looked to offer outsourced services as a way to generate new clients and revenues. Typically, they cater to smaller or startup companies that don't have the deep pockets of larger, more established businesses. WIGGIN AND DANA'S CT OFFICES New Haven: 265 Church St. Stamford: 281 Tresser Blvd. Hartford: 20 Church St. Greenwich: 30 Milbank Ave. Westport: 60 Church Lane Madison: 23 Woodland Road