06Practice area

Retainer Counsel.

Outside general counsel. Acting as outsourced in-house counsel — providing continuous legal advisory to companies without a dedicated legal department. Fixed monthly fee under an agreed scope.

Practice lead: Lê Hồng Quân
Partner · Hanoi
Team size: 3 lawyers · 2 associates
Languages: VI · EN

01 — Scope of work

What we do.

Updated Jun 2026

Many small and medium enterprises — including foreign group subsidiaries — lack the budget for a full in-house legal department but still need continuous, consistent legal support.

BLF provides ongoing retainer counsel under a fixed monthly fee model, with a clearly agreed scope and a single responsible lawyer — giving companies reliable legal support without additional headcount.

Scope of work

Day-to-day legal advisory: Responding to everyday legal questions — from contracts and compliance to legally sensitive business decisions.
Management board & executive support: Preparing legal documents for board meetings, advising on fiduciary duties and management decision risks.
Quarterly risk assessment: Periodic legal risk reports — early identification of compliance issues arising from new regulatory changes.
Internal compliance training: Organising internal workshops for non-legal staff — HR, finance and commercial teams.
Regulatory authority liaison: Representing the company in periodic dealings with tax, customs and licensing authorities.
24/7 legal hotline for leadership: An emergency advisory line for senior management — response within 2 hours for urgent legal situations.

02 — Common engagements

Three typical transaction types.

Anonymized

Use case · Retainer

Outsourced in-house counsel for a SaaS company.

An 80-person Vietnamese SaaS company needed ongoing legal support but was not ready to hire an in-house lawyer. BLF provided a retainer service with a fixed fee — covering client contracts, internal policies and data protection compliance.

Saving~60% vs full-time in-house lawyer

Use case · Retainer

Legal support for a foreign representative office.

A German group representative office needed ongoing advice on Vietnamese law compliance, periodic reporting and immigration documents for foreign staff. BLF took on the full scope under a retainer.

Engagement length4+ years · renewed annually

Use case · Risk management

Quarterly legal risk assessment for a retail chain.

A 45-outlet retail chain needed periodic assessment of legal risks from changing commercial, labelling and consumer protection regulations. BLF delivers quarterly reports combined with urgent advisory as needed.

FrequencyRisk report · every quarter

03 — Lead lawyer