Strategic Counsel to the CEO — John H. Snyder PLLC
For problems that cannot be delegated internally and require legal judgment and the authority to act.

A senior operator embedded directly with the CEO to resolve issues that resist conventional processes.

Snyder engages directly with the situation — rapid immersion, direct stakeholder engagement, and execution without committee — on matters where legal risk, business reality, and human factors are entangled.

Role
Direct to CEO
No intermediary layer.
Structure
Monthly Retainer
Ongoing. Calibrated to the situation.

The issue is important. The internal team is capable. But nothing is moving.

Most organizations have capable people. The breakdown is not competence — it is authority, discretion, and the combination of legal judgment with business execution that most internal structures cannot provide simultaneously.

The CEO needs a trusted operator with full visibility and genuine authority: someone who can engage directly, move without committee, and be trusted with the full picture.

The objective is not analysis. It is movement.

Delegated judgment. Full visibility. Full accountability.

Snyder operates as a direct extension of leadership — engaged by the CEO, given full visibility into the situation, and empowered to coordinate across functions and stakeholders without a separate approval layer.

Rapid immersion into the facts and people involved. Direct engagement with key stakeholders. Clear framing of decisions and consequences. Work is done quietly, without unnecessary process or visibility.

The CEO Retains
Strategic direction and final decisions
Vision and institutional direction
Board and investor relationships
Public positioning and communications
Final approval on resolution terms
Organizational culture and leadership
Snyder Owns
Execution of what cannot be delegated internally
Direct engagement with counterparties and stakeholders
Legal risk assessment and strategy sequencing
Sensitive conflict and dispute resolution
Cross-functional misalignment and stall removal
Matters requiring discretion and authority simultaneously

Special situations that require resolution across legal, business, and human dimensions.

Sensitive Conflicts
Internal disputes and leadership breakdowns
Matters that cannot be handed to HR or outside counsel without creating additional exposure. Require discretion, authority, and speed simultaneously.
High-Stakes Negotiations
Where dynamics matter as much as terms
Counterparty negotiations where relationship, psychology, and timing are as important as the legal framework.
Cross-Functional Stalls
Problems blocked by misalignment
Initiatives stalled by internal misalignment, competing interests, or the absence of a figure willing to drive them to resolution.
Legal & Business Entangled
Exposure requiring integrated judgment
Matters where legal risk and business strategy cannot be addressed independently.
Board & Stakeholder Dynamics
Managing the full principal landscape
Situations requiring careful coordination between the CEO, board, investors, and other principals.
Matters Requiring Discretion
Control without visibility
Issues the CEO cannot route through ordinary channels — where the act of routing creates exposure.

A direct extension of leadership. Litigation judgment in a business context.

John H. Snyder
Founding Principal · Strategic Advisor to CEOs & Principals
John H. Snyder
Harvard Law School
Brown University · Phi Beta Kappa
Federal Clerkship · Proskauer Rose
Founder, Agnes Intelligence

The same qualities that make Snyder effective at trial — clarity under pressure, rapid prioritization, and willingness to make decisions — make him effective as a CEO-level operator. 25+ years of federal trial practice. Former Proskauer Rose litigator. Federal judicial clerk.

Founder and CEO of Agnes Intelligence, which placed 4th among more than 1,000 entries in the IBM Watson Build competition.

Corporate & Structural Counsel
Thomas C. Sima
Duke Law (J.D. & LL.M., cum laude) · Shearman & Sterling, NY & HK · NY · FL · SDNY · EDNY
Extensive experience in corporate governance, M&A, employment agreements, equity structures, and board-level dynamics. The problems CEOs cannot delegate often implicate ownership agreements, governance documents, option plans, or investor rights. Sima ensures those dimensions are handled with the same rigor as the strategic work.

Engagements begin with a focused discussion of the situation.

Targeted intervention by a senior operator working directly for the CEO. Litigation is one tool among many — where legal action is required, it is integrated into a broader strategy.

Engagements begin with a direct conversation about the situation, followed — where appropriate — by immediate integration into the CEO's operating cadence. Initial discussions are confidential.

An Early Conversation
Costs Nothing.

We engage when the problem cannot be delegated internally and requires legal judgment and the authority to act. Briefly describe the situation. Do not send privileged or confidential information.

Email inquiry@jhs.nyc
We Are a Fit When
The issue requires discretion and authority simultaneously. Existing teams are capable but blocked. Legal, business, and human factors are entangled.
We Are Not a Fit When
The matter is routine legal work, or a capable internal or external team is already executing effectively.
The Engagement
$25,000–$50,000 per month, flat. Monthly engagement calibrated to the situation.