When growing sales and new product development efforts and increasing business opportunities stretched the capacity of Varian Medical Systems’ in-house legal department, they faced a classic dilemma – build versus buy. Varian could immediately increase headcount in the legal department, taking the risk of overstaffing if growth slowed or needs changed. Or they could send work typically addressed in-house to high-priced outside counsel, greatly increasing their legal expense.

By selecting VLP, Varian was able to achieve a better outcome. Former in-house attorney and Chair of VLP’s Technology Transactions Practice Group, partner Brian Swanson was brought on to act as an outsourced component of the Varian in-house legal team. Brian’s in-house experience and knowledge of the medical device industry allowed him to seamlessly integrate with the in-house team. He immediately began to provide Varian’s business functions with efficient, results-driven advice.

The Outcome: Several years later, Varian continues to use Brian as an extension of its in-house legal team to cost-effectively bridge the gap between its short-term legal needs and long-term hiring plans.

“Brian provides our legal department with an invaluable resource that we can use as required to address capacity issues at a price that makes sense. Brian is extremely responsive, and provides prompt, efficient support to our business functions with the understanding of our company and industry that they expect. I would not hesitate to recommend Brian and VLP’s technology transactions practice to any company looking for first rate, business-oriented legal services.”

— Andy Motozaki, Sr. Corporate Counsel, Varian Medical Systems, Inc.