Hire a Fractional General Counsel · Fractional General Counsel Jobs UK
Fractional General Counsel Jobs · Hire a fractional GC, or hire a general counsel
Hire a fractional general counsel — senior legal leadership for growing companies, from strategic counsel to compliance oversight. Access senior legal capability without full-time GC cost. Fractional General Counsel jobs across the UK for senior lawyers building portfolio careers.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
In the press
Law Society Gazette (Ireland) Fractional legal roles grow in appeal – US survey · 28 Sep 2026
The Law Society Gazette reports a US survey of lawyers moving from the partner track into flexible and fractional legal work, and of legal departments already using it. The same shift is why senior in-house counsel is now available part of the week.
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional GC
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with GC candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Live roles · last 3 months
Live Fractional General Counsel jobs
Live Fractional GC Job Opportunities
Fractional recruitment works differently from a permanent search — shorter, scoped by days a week, and priced on the engagement. Send a GC brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates.
01/ the role
What is a fractional General Counsel?
A fractional General Counsel is a senior in-house legal leader who provides part-time legal leadership on a days-a-week basis.
Companies hire a fractional General Counsel when they need strategic legal cover but cannot yet justify (or don't need) a full-time GC.
Unlike outside counsel (who advise on discrete matters and bill by the hour) or a consultant (who recommends and exits), a fractional GC is embedded in the leadership team: they own legal strategy and risk, build the contract and compliance infrastructure, manage outside counsel, and advise commercially — not just on the law.
They often work across several companies simultaneously, or for one business on a retainer.
The SRA Standards and Regulations 2019 removed the previous restriction on in-house solicitors practising for non-employer clients, which is why a deep fractional/portfolio legal market has developed in the UK — and why providers like Axiom, Lawyers On Demand (LOD), Peerpoint and Vario have scaled here.
This makes "fractional GC" not a workaround but an established, regulated career and resourcing model in the UK.
02/ scope
Core Responsibilities
Strategic legal leadership: legal risk management, contract lifecycle management, compliance frameworks, commercial negotiations, dispute resolution strategy, board reporting, and cross-functional advisory.
Fractional GCs typically own the legal function design, outside counsel panel management, and regulatory compliance oversight.
Technical expertise spans corporate governance, employment law, data protection (GDPR), commercial contracts, intellectual property strategy, and regulatory compliance.
Many fractional GCs specialise in specific sectors (fintech, healthcare, SaaS) or transaction types (fundraising, M&A, corporate restructuring).
How to hire a fractional General Counsel
Define your legal priorities and risk exposure, decide whether you need strategic counsel or operational legal management, agree days per week and rate in writing, and check sector fit — many fractional GCs specialise in fintech, healthcare or SaaS.
Whether you want to hire general counsel London-based, with set days in the office, or working remotely across the UK, the engagement model is the same.
03/ rates by stage
GC rates by PQE and seniority
Day rates scale with Post-Qualification Experience — as published in the Taylor Root 2026 UK In-House Salary Guide
04/ timing
When to hire a fractional GC
Common scenarios where fractional legal leadership delivers strategic value without full-time commitment
Scenario 01
Scaling past first commercial contracts
ownership, not ad-hoc outside counsel — strategic legal framework and contract lifecycle
Scenario 02
Fundraise or M&A in flight
scaled for the deal — transaction experience without permanent hire
Scenario 03
Compliance/data-protection exposure
— need a risk framework and governance structure, not just reactive advice
Scenario 04
Managing spiralling outside-counsel spend
and manages the panel — strategic oversight of legal spend and priorities
05/ vetting
How vetting and shortlisting work
Our five-stage process for matching you with the right fractional GC — structured, thorough, and focused on long-term strategic partnership
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify GC tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
06/ the regulated route
Fractional lawyer — who can do the work, and on what terms
A fractional lawyer is a qualified lawyer working part of the week for a business that is not their employer — as a fractional general counsel, a part-time legal counsel, or a specialist for a transaction. The route most solicitors use is the SRA's freelance model: since the Standards and Regulations 2019, a solicitor can practise on their own account without their business being authorised, provided they meet the conditions in the SRA's guidance for freelance solicitors.
Two lines matter to a buyer. First, reserved legal activities — rights of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate, notarial activities and administering oaths, as listed in section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 — can only be offered by a freelance solicitor who meets the SRA's extra conditions, including adequate indemnity insurance. Most fractional in-house work — advice, contracts, governance — is not reserved. Second, a freelance solicitor still follows the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors in full, including its rules on conflicts of interest — worth checking when your lawyer also advises other companies.
Ask any fractional lawyer three things: how they are regulated (SRA freelance, through an authorised firm, or engaged through a provider), what insurance covers the advice they give you, and how they manage conflicts across clients. Sector experience counts too: a fractional lawyer for media businesses — publishing, broadcast, content — should be able to show work on IP licensing, rights clearance and defamation risk, not only commercial contracts. If the work is running the legal function rather than one area of law, you are hiring a fractional general counsel; if it is regulatory compliance or financial crime, see fractional MLRO and part-time compliance jobs.
07/ the engagement
Fractional GC — how the engagement is set up
A fractional GC is the company's senior lawyer for a set number of days a week: the person the board asks, the owner of the contract and compliance framework, and the manager of any outside counsel. What makes the arrangement work is written into the engagement letter before the first day — the scope of the legal remit, who in the business can instruct the GC, the reporting line to the CEO or board, the days a week, and the matters that will still go to outside counsel.
Three points are specific to legal work. Records: agree how the GC holds company documents and how legal advice is recorded. Conflicts: a fractional GC who advises several companies should confirm, as the SRA Code requires, that none of their other work conflicts with yours, and tell you if that changes. Standards and support: in-house solicitors, including those working part-time, can draw on the Law Society's In-house Network for guidance on risk and compliance questions.
When you hire a fractional general counsel through us, the brief sets out the remit, days a week, PQE level and sector, and we come back with a shortlist of 3–5 candidates taken through our five-stage vetting, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. If you need full-time cover for a fixed period instead, see hire an interim general counsel.
08/ part-time
Part time general counsel — a seat in the team, or a part-time general counsel service
A part time general counsel is the same senior lawyer as a fractional GC, described by the hours rather than the model: the company's legal lead for one to three days a week, either on the payroll part-time or engaged through their own company. Some providers sell a similar arrangement as fractional legal services or a virtual general counsel — legal cover from a team, often remote, on a retainer. The difference that matters is who owns the work. A named GC who sits in leadership meetings and answers to the board is a seat; a pool of lawyers answering questions as they arrive is a service.
A part-time general counsel service can suit a business whose legal needs are occasional and predictable. Once contracts, disputes and regulation need one person's judgement across all of them, hire the seat. Either way, check how the lawyers are regulated and insured — the fractional lawyer section above lists the questions to ask — and write the remit, the days and the reporting line into the engagement letter.
We take fractional, interim, part-time and permanent general counsel recruitment briefs, and come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or pay, availability and IR35 position set out.
09/ questions
Fractional GC FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional GC.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
