Fractional General Counsel Services

15 minutes · video or phone

Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional general counsel

Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Fractional General Counsel Services 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

Prefer email? Use the booking page →

Pick a day that suits · live availability

Open the booking calendar →

01/ the role

What fractional general counsel services cover

A fractional general counsel holds the general counsel seat on a standing weekly commitment, usually alongside a small number of other clients, and owns outcomes rather than hours.

A fractional general counsel gives a business a senior in-house lawyer on a standing weekly commitment, reviewing contracts and directing external firms.

The service covers commercial contracts and negotiation, legal risk, disputes and litigation strategy, regulatory compliance and governance, and company secretarial and board matters and managing external law firms and legal spend.

If you are weighing the options, the same seat is also bought as interim general counsel services, part-time general counsel services, outsourced general counsel services, or permanent general counsel search.

What the seat does day to day is set out in the general counsel role explained; executives looking for this work can see current general counsel roles.

02/ scope

What is in scope — and what is not

In scope

Commercial contracts and negotiation; legal risk, disputes and litigation strategy; regulatory compliance and governance; company secretarial and board matters; managing external law firms and legal spend.

Not in scope

Specialist advice in niche areas and court representation usually come from external firms, directed by the general counsel.

General counsel or a neighbouring seat?

An in-house general counsel knows the business and directs the work; an external firm brings depth on a specific matter.

Most businesses need both.

The scoping test: write down the three decisions you need the general counsel to own in the next ninety days. If you cannot, you are not ready to brief.

03/ the week

How a week divides.

Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.

Days a week for your company2 days

Your companyAnother clientA third client

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Illustration only: one way a fractional general counsel’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.

04/ the route

Fractional, interim or permanent?

Four taps. The answer names the route for the seat and the page that covers it.

How much of the week does the work fill?

Is there a fixed end or a programme?

Does the seat sit on the board for years?

Is the need now, or can it wait for a search?

The route · Fractional

A fractional general counsel services.

The work fills part of the week, so buy the days it needs.

A fractional general counsel services holds the seat on agreed days for as long as the seat is needed, and works for other clients on the rest.

The fractional general counsel services route Talk it through

05/ comparison

Four ways to buy a general counsel fractional, interim, part-time or permanent

The same general counsel seat can be filled four ways. The difference is commitment, contract and how long you need it.

FractionalInterimPart-timePermanent

CommitmentDays a week, ongoingFull-time, fixed termSet days each weekFull-time, open-ended

Usual contractContract for services, often via the executive’s companyDay-rate contract for the mandateOften pro-rata employment; sometimes a contractorEmployment contract

Clients at onceA small portfolioOneOneOne

Best whenYou need general counsel judgement every week, not every dayYou need full-time cover or a change led nowYou want the same person on the same days for the long termThe seat is full-time work for years

ExitNotice period, or convert to permanentHand-over at the end of the mandateEmployment noticeResignation or redundancy

06/ timing

When fractional general counsel services are the right call

Three situations where the fractional shape beats the alternatives.

Scenario 01

Before full-time

General counsel judgement, not general counsel hours

You need someone to own commercial contracts and negotiation and legal risk, disputes and litigation strategy, but the work does not fill five days a week yet.

Scenario 02

Signals

The trigger has arrived

External legal bills rising, contracts signed without review, a regulator taking an interest, a transaction ahead, or a board needing a legal voice in the room.

Scenario 03

Alongside a team

Senior direction for a capable team

The team can deliver; it needs someone senior to set direction on regulatory compliance and governance and hold the standard.

07/ vetting

How we vet the shortlist

Five stages: qualification, mandate fit, reference deep-dive, shortlist and analysis, kick-off.

01
Qualification screen
Verify Fractional General Counsel Services 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

08/ how it runs

How a fractional general counsel engagement runs from brief to hand-over

Brief.

You tell us the scope, the days each week and the start date, and what success looks like in the first ninety days.

A clear brief names the decisions the general counsel will own.

Shortlist.

We come back with 3–5 fractional general counsels against the brief, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

Cadence.

A fractional general counsel works best with fixed days, a standing slot with the CEO and a seat at the board.

Review the commitment each quarter: days go up before a big moment and down once the machine runs.

Hand-over.

If the seat grows into full-time work, the fractional general counsel can help recruit the permanent successor, or convert themselves.

09/ before you sign

Before you buy fractional general counsel services three checks

Standing.

Check professional standing and references before you sign: regulates solicitors in England and Wales, including those working in-house; see the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Status.

Agree how the engagement will run in practice, because that decides its IR35 status; HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the status determination.

Scope.

Write down what is out of scope.

Specialist advice in niche areas and court representation usually come from external firms, directed by the general counsel.

10/ questions

Fractional General Counsel services FAQ

The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional general counsel.

The general counsel seat’s full scope: commercial contracts and negotiation; legal risk, disputes and litigation strategy; regulatory compliance and governance; company secretarial and board matters; managing external law firms and legal spend. Specialist advice in niche areas and court representation usually come from external firms, directed by the general counsel.

It depends on scope, sector and days. We do not publish a band for this seat because no source we can verify publishes one; each candidate on our shortlist states their own rate, so you compare like with like.

An interim general counsel works full-time for a fixed term, usually to cover a gap or lead a change. A fractional general counsel works a standing number of days each week, often for several clients, for as long as the business needs it.

External legal bills rising, contracts signed without review, a regulator taking an interest, a transaction ahead, or a board needing a legal voice in the room. Fractional is the right shape when the seat needs senior judgement every week but not every day.

It depends on how the engagement runs in practice — control, substitution and whether the general counsel is part and parcel of your organisation. For medium and large private-sector clients, the client makes the status determination. Each candidate on our shortlist states their IR35 position.

You brief us on the scope, the days and the start date. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5 fractional general counsels, each with day rate or salary, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.

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.

Book a call →Submit a brief

11/ related

Keep exploring

Adjacent roles and reading.

/general-counsel-servicesAll general counsel services

Fractional, interim, part-time and permanent, side by side.

/interim-general-counsel-servicesInterim General Counsel Services

Full-time for a fixed term.

/part-time-general-counsel-servicesPart-Time General Counsel Services

Set days each week.

/what-does-a-general-counsel-doThe general counsel role explained

What the seat does day to day.

/vettingHow we vet

The five-stage process behind every shortlist.

Executive servicesGeneral Counsel services hubThe general counsel seat, fractionalIR35 guide

Fractional General Counsel Services · Fractional Head Of Legal Services