Practice Areas
Fractional General Counsel
A strategic legal partner for technology and national security innovators. Sophisticated legal and strategic counsel without the overhead of a full-time in-house team.
The Thesis
For innovative companies, the need for sophisticated legal and strategic counsel often outpaces the resources of a lean organization. The firm serves as embedded general counsel, integrating legal counsel, national security advisory, and specialist outside counsel where appropriate.
Daniel (DJ) Rosenthal leads the legal, regulatory, and CFIUS work. Melchior Baltazar leads market entry and operating advisory where an engagement calls for it. Client engagements are handled directly by 77 Meridian's principals and senior professionals, bringing firsthand government, legal, executive, and operational experience to each matter.
Navigating Growth and Risk
The innovator's pain points, solved
Leadership-focused efficiency
Leaders get pulled into legal minutiae. The firm carries the legal and regulatory burden so leadership stays on the business and on innovation.
Embedded strategic partner
Reactive counsel leads to costly fixes. The firm works as part of the team, offering proactive counsel that identifies and mitigates risk early.
A singular, trusted advisor
Separate lawyers for corporate, regulatory, and national security work leave gaps. A trusted senior legal advisor who coordinates corporate, regulatory, and national security matters, engaging specialist outside counsel when appropriate.
Proactive risk management
National security and emerging technology carry regulatory terrain that is easy to overlook. The firm helps manage institutional risk without sacrificing agility or focus.
Core Advisory Services
Strategic counsel in the national security ecosystem
Success in the national security space requires more than a great product. It demands a sophisticated understanding of a complex landscape.
Government engagement and go-to-market
Refining offerings and business development for the U.S. government as a customer, engaging the defense and intelligence communities, and planning facility clearances, sponsorship pathways, and DCSA engagement.
Regulatory and compliance readiness
Proactive counsel on national security regulation, foreign investment, export controls, and international trade, with compliance frameworks that satisfy government and enterprise customers.
Advanced threat and risk partnership
Partnering with leadership on cybersecurity resilience, foreign and insider threats, and sensitive data protection, bringing seasoned judgment where business meets security.
AI trust and safety
Counterterrorism and intelligence experience applied to AI safety, model integrity, and misuse prevention, plus guidance on responsible development and emerging AI policy.
Managing Complexity
Four stages of the engagement
Align
Identify priorities and exposures.
Assess legal needs, governance, contracts, business goals, and national security risks. Set a focused, workable advisory scope.
Embed
Bring senior counsel onto the team.
Advise founders, executives and boards directly on decisions, commercial terms, corporate integrity, and emerging issues.
Protect
Anticipate sensitive risks.
Address foreign investment, export controls, cyber and insider threats, protected data, and AI trust and safety as applicable.
Advance
Support execution and growth.
Align legal strategy with government engagement, contracting, partnerships, and expansion. Coordinate specialists when needed.
Why 77 Meridian
The 77 Meridian difference
Truly independent, discreet, bespoke
Unbiased counsel free of organizational influence, rigorous protection of privileged and confidential data, and an approach tailored to each company.
Senior-led, direct engagement
Senior policy and operational experience in and out of government, with direct senior-level involvement throughout.
Fixed-retainer predictability
A fixed retainer provides budget certainty and encourages the open communication a true partnership requires.
Collaborative first line of defense
The embedded role lets the firm manage day-to-day issues while engaging specialized outside counsel seamlessly when needed.
Go Deeper
The full brochure details each core advisory service, the four stages of the engagement, and the team behind it.
Get in Touch
Discuss your matter with a principal.
Initial conversations are confidential and carry no obligation.