The offer

The EBi Vanguard Retainer.

Speed protected by structure. Legal services do not change a company's trajectory. A system does. The Vanguard Retainer is one strategist with a law licence, retained monthly, accountable for the whole position: the daily legal load, the structures that decide whether the business is allowed to grow, and the protection of its name when it matters.

The operational base

Contract review and drafting to a defined turnaround standard, agreed in writing and kept. Debt collection that actually runs. Day-to-day commercial counsel from someone who knows the business, not a rotating panel. The predictable utility that justifies the month.

The strategy engine

B-BBEE ownership and transaction structuring treated as a market opening instrument: licence applications, empowerment transactions built for genuine participation and genuine shareholder return, deal and negotiation support, and governance designed so that the founder moves faster, not slower. The work that decides what the business is allowed to become.

The shield

Reputation protection, crisis counsel, media response strategy, regulator-proofing and dispute pre-positioning, built before the event. After the event is too late to start.

How it works

A fixed monthly fee. Inclusions scoped transparently, in writing, before engagement begins. Quarterly strategy reviews that are working sessions, not billing reconciliations. Preferential rates for work outside the retainer. The alternative is a fractional general counsel, a structuring adviser and a crisis consultant, purchased separately, at multiples of the price, answering to no one in common.

Questions this raises

What does the Vanguard Retainer include?

Three layers under one fixed monthly fee: an operational base (contracts, debt collection, day-to-day commercial counsel), a strategy engine (B-BBEE and transaction structuring, deal support, governance design), and a shield (reputation, crisis and regulatory risk). Scope is agreed in writing before engagement.

Who is it for?

Founder-led and family businesses in regulated and politically exposed markets, where empowerment credentials gate licences, contracts or market access, and where decisions are made by people rather than committees.

How is the fee structured?

A fixed monthly fee with transparently scoped inclusions and quarterly strategy reviews, with preferential rates for work that falls outside the retainer. Scope, fee and boundaries are settled in writing per client before any work begins.