Business Law · Retainer Service

Sub-PracticeOutsourced
General Counsel.

Permanent legal support for businesses that need an experienced legal partner on a steady basis — from day-to-day contracts and corporate governance through to regulatory requirements and employment matters.

GC-level advice
Steady legal support from an experienced lawyer who gets to know your business and understands its commercial priorities.
Contract review and drafting as a core service
Commercial contracts, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), supplier contracts and collaboration agreements all sit within the agreed scope of the fixed fee, with no unexpected extra charges for each individual contract.
Familiarity with Greek and English law
Handling cross-border commercial issues, particularly where a transaction or dispute is connected with more than one jurisdiction.
International business experience
Eleven years as General Counsel of a Fortune 50 technology group, with responsibility for eight countries and four business divisions. Real experience of supporting a business from the legal side.
Interested in a standing arrangement?
Tell us about your business and your legal needs. We will propose a retainer structure built around your business — in English, Greek or Italian.
Request Consultation
Overview What's Covered Retainer Options How It Works FAQs

Outsourced Legal Department

Steady legal support without the need for an in-house legal department.

Most growing businesses — whether Greek companies expanding internationally, foreign companies entering the Greek market, or SMEs facing increasing legal needs — reach a point where occasional legal advice is no longer enough. Contracts get signed without the legal review they need. Decisions about staff are taken without legal guidance. Regulatory obligations are tracked informally. And legal risk accumulates without being immediately visible. An effective legal function is judged by how many problems it prevents — not by how many it has to deal with after the event.

Hiring a full-time General Counsel looks like the obvious answer. For many businesses, though, it is not necessarily the right choice at that stage. An experienced in-house lawyer carries a significant salary and operating cost, creates fixed employment obligations and may not offer the breadth of expertise a growing business needs. That is where the outsourced legal department comes in: steady legal support, for a fixed monthly fee and with access to an experienced legal partner, without the need to build a full in-house legal department.

The outsourced legal department model gives you the knowledge and judgement of an experienced lawyer who knows your business, for a fixed monthly fee and without the cost and employer obligations of an in-house hire. Businesses choose this kind of arrangement when their legal needs are continuous but do not yet justify building an in-house legal department.

Pantazis & Associates offers a dedicated outsourced legal department service for a fixed monthly fee. You get an experienced lawyer — not a junior — who learns your business, attends your meetings when needed, reviews your contracts, advises your management and handles the full range of day-to-day legal issues that arise. We act as your legal department.

Who it is for
Businesses without an in-house legal department
SMEs and mid-sized companies with steady legal needs, for which occasional legal advice is no longer enough but hiring an in-house lawyer is not yet necessary. It is also a solution for foreign companies operating in Greece that need steady local legal support without setting up their own legal function here.
The alternative
Why not simply hire a lawyer?
An experienced GC costs a great deal — and many businesses do not need that support every day or on a full-time basis. With a retainer, you get senior legal experience when you need it, at a stable, predictable cost that can be adjusted to your needs.
What you get
A lawyer who knows your business
Unlike one-off instructions to external lawyers, a retainer relationship means your lawyer builds a deep familiarity with your business, your contracts, your people and your risk profile — and advises in that context.
Our background
Fortune 50 level GC experience
This service is led by Dionysis Pantazis, who served for eleven years as General Counsel of a Fortune 50 technology group, covering eight countries and four business divisions. That in-house instinct, commercial pragmatism and cross-border experience is what we bring to your retainer.

Scope of Service

The work of a legal department, handled from outside.

Commercial Contracts
Reviewing, drafting and negotiating all commercial contracts — supply agreements, services agreements, distribution agreements, NDAs, framework arrangements and specialist commercial documentation.
DraftingReviewNegotiation
01
Employment Law & HR
Legal support for HR across the whole employment lifecycle — from hiring and contracts through to dismissals, disciplinary matters and relations with employee representatives.
ContractsTerminationCompliance
02
Data Protection & GDPR
GDPR compliance, privacy policies, data processing agreements, DPO support and the handling of data breaches, including dealings with the Hellenic Data Protection Authority — led by our certified lawyer.
GDPRDPA
03
Regulatory Compliance
Ongoing legal support on sector licences, corporate governance, anti-corruption, export controls and the other regulatory requirements that apply to your business.
RegulatoryLicensingGovernance
04
Disputes & Formal Demands
Early management of disputes, formal demands and the negotiation of settlements, aimed at resolving the matter before it reaches court. Where required, we conduct or coordinate the litigation or arbitration.
DisputesLitigationSettlement
05
Cross-Border & International Matters
For businesses operating across borders — Greek law, English law, private international law questions, referral to and coordination with foreign jurisdictions. Dual qualification (Greece & England/Wales) and in-house experience across 8 jurisdictions.
Cross-BorderPrivate International LawMulti-Jurisdiction
06

Retainer Options

Three retainer tiers. The same senior legal support.

Hours are allocated per month and do not roll over. Retainer terms are agreed following a scoping conversation.

Essential
Standing Legal Support
Up to 20 hours / month
allocated according to your needs across one or more of the following services:
✓  Contract review (up to 3 / month)
✓  Employment law queries
✓  GDPR compliance checks
✓  Formal demand letter drafting
✓  Monthly check-in call
✓  Priority response within 48h
Enterprise
Full Legal Department
Bespoke
allocated according to your needs across one or more of the following services:
✓  Everything in the Legal Department Retainer
✓  Board-level legal advisory
✓  M&A and transaction support
✓  Full cross-border coverage
✓  Multi-jurisdiction coordination
✓  Subsidiary / group structure advice
✓  Same-day priority response
✓  Bespoke service level agreement (SLA)

How It Works

A simple set-up for a lasting arrangement.

STEP 01
Initial Assessment
We talk about your business, the volume and nature of the legal issues you face, and any particular areas of concern.
STEP 02
Retainer Proposal
We propose a retainer structure — tier, monthly hours and a defined scope — built around your business. We agree the terms, the dedicated lawyer and the communication protocol.
STEP 03
Getting to Know the Business
Your lawyer gets to know your business, its contracts, corporate structure, key commercial relationships and regulatory obligations, together with any legal matters already outstanding. From day one, the legal support is grounded in your actual business context.
STEP 04
Continuous Legal Support
Your people take legal questions to your lawyer as they arise. Each month you receive a report of the hours used, the work carried out and any significant issues identified.

Why Pantazis & Associates

In-house legal experience — available on a retainer.

In-House Legal · Fortune 50
We know what a legal department needs, from the inside
Dionysis Pantazis served for eleven years as General Counsel of a Fortune 50 technology group, with responsibility for four business divisions across eight countries. That experience — from handling regulatory and commercial matters through to complex disputes at scale — shapes the way we support businesses as outside general counsel.
Greece · England · International
Cross-border legal experience
Many outward-looking businesses face legal issues that cross borders — from contracts governed by English law and counterparties in different jurisdictions through to transactions and disputes with both Greek and UK aspects. Our experience in both legal systems makes such matters easier to coordinate and manage.
Data Protection
GDPR and EU data protection compliance
With a specialisation in data protection law and extensive GDPR advisory experience across multiple jurisdictions, we give data protection advice that is both legally sound and commercially practical — not simply a compliance box-ticking exercise.
Regulatory · Technology Law
EU AI Act, NIS2, DSA and emerging legislation
For technology businesses and digital platforms operating in a fast-moving regulatory environment, we provide ongoing legal support on the EU AI Act, NIS2, the DSA and the new regulatory requirements affecting their activities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about the retainer model.

What size of business is this service designed for?+

The outsourced legal department service is aimed at businesses for which occasional legal advice is no longer enough, but for which building an in-house legal department or hiring a full-time lawyer is not yet the right option. In practice, that can cover a wide range of businesses — from a technology start-up facing its first complex commercial contracts through to a 200-employee company managing a significant volume of employment, regulatory and commercial matters without a legal department of its own. We also support foreign companies operating in Greece without an establishment here, as well as the Greek operations of international groups that have a central legal function but need steady local legal support in Greece.

What is not covered by the retainer?+

The retainer covers ongoing legal advice, contract work, regulatory compliance matters and dispute management, within the agreed monthly hours. Large, one-off transactions or contracts above a set financial threshold — such as M&A, financings, major commercial agreements or property acquisitions — and litigation requiring extensive court work are normally handled alongside the retainer, with the fee agreed separately. Matters that exceed the monthly allocation of hours are charged at a preferential hourly rate, agreed in advance.

Can you attend our meetings and negotiations?+

Yes — for the Legal Department and Enterprise tiers, attendance at meetings, negotiations and board meetings is included in the monthly hours. This is one of the features that most closely resembles having an in-house GC. Your lawyer can attend in person (in Athens and the wider Greek area) or by video call for international matters.

Do you work with companies outside Greece?+

Yes. The service is aimed both at foreign companies operating in Greece, with or without a Greek establishment, and at Greek companies with international activity and counterparties abroad. We handle cross-border matters drawing on our experience in Greek and English law, together with our network for other jurisdictions. The arrangement can work entirely remotely, with no need for the client to be physically present in Athens.

What is the minimum commitment?+

The minimum term is 12 months. That reflects the time your lawyer needs to get to know your business properly and to advise within the right context — rather than treating each issue in isolation as a new instruction.

Ready to have a General Counsel?
Let's talk about your legal needs.

An initial conversation to understand your business, your legal needs and the real volume of work, and to propose the right retainer structure. No commitment. The arrangement is built around your actual needs — not around a standard package.