The Company Comes First

Lessons from the Frontlines of Corporate Law

Here’s something few people outside the legal industry truly understand:

When you hire me as your company’s corporate lawyer, my client isn’t you. It’s the company. Even if you’re the founder, the CEO, or own 90% of the equity.

My duty — legally, ethically, and morally — is to the entity. Not the individual.

This might surprise you, but when someone asks a lawyer: “Is this confidential?” The answer might not always be “yes.” In classic lawyer speak - it depends. It depends on who, exactly, is the client.

This distinction matters more than most realize. And it has real-world consequences — consequences I’ve seen play out again and again over the course of my career.

I’ve had to tell powerful CEOs “no.”

Early in my career, I served as general counsel for a company. The CEO was also the majority owner. In practice, that meant he signed my paychecks and gave me my marching orders. But from a legal standpoint, I didn’t work for him. I worked for the company.

There were moments when he would ask me to draft agreements for his personal side projects, transactions that weren’t directly tied to the company’s core business.

On the surface, it seemed harmless. He even argued that proceeds from these deals might be invested back into the company.

But legally, ethically, it was a landmine.

Mixing personal transactions with corporate resources could have exposed the company — and its investors — to unnecessary liability. It blurred the corporate veil that protects businesses and founders alike, and it constantly made me question whether my work on the deal would put me at odds with my duty to safeguard the company’s future.

So I pushed back.

Because representing a company well sometimes means disappointing powerful individuals — even when it’s uncomfortable.

I’ve sacrificed personal gain to protect corporate integrity.

In another case, I held an equity stake in a company I represented. When that company faced bankruptcy, I had to make decisions that benefited the company’s creditors — not myself.

It would have been easy, even tempting, to find a way to prioritize my own payout.
But legal ethics doesn’t allow for that. My fiduciary duty — my required loyalty to the entity — demanded otherwise.

I had to operate at arm’s length, prioritizing fairness, transparency, and legal compliance over personal profit.

Was it frustrating?

Absolutely.

But it was the right thing to do.

And in law, doing the right thing isn’t optional.

Why this distinction matters for founders and leaders:

When you hire a corporate lawyer, you’re hiring someone to protect the entity — its mission, its structure, and its future. Often, this protection may align with your personal ambitions.
But, other times, they don’t.

And when they don’t, you want a lawyer who knows where their loyalty lies.

Because in moments of tension, clarity saves companies. Integrity preserves futures. And founders who respect that line set themselves — and their businesses — up for long-term success.

If you’re a founder or CEO, here’s what you should expect from good corporate counsel:

● They will advise you in the best interests of the company, even when it’s not personally convenient.

● They will tell you “no” when needed, not just rubber-stamp your plans.

● They will separate your personal goals from the company’s legal needs — protecting both in the process.

If you’re hiring a lawyer, ask yourself:

● Are they clear about who their client is?

● Are they willing to protect the company’s integrity even if it means hard conversations?

● Will they prioritize stewardship over short-term appeasement?

See, the best founders don’t fear these boundaries. They welcome them. Because they know a company built on integrity is a company built to last.

Final Thought:

In a culture obsessed with personal brands, personal gain, and personal platforms, it’s easy to forget that organizations, communities, and our futures matter.

Corporate law, at its best, reminds us of a larger truth:

We are stewards, not owners. And stewardship demands sacrifice, discipline, and unwavering clarity about who — and what — we’re called to serve.

When you find a lawyer who understands that, you don’t just protect your business. You honor the people, the dreams, and the futures that business represents.

And that’s a foundation worth building on.