TLT LLPSyndicatedInterim
Interim General Counsel – Infrastructure & Energy ProjectsInterim interim lawyer · hiring brief
Hire an Interim Lawyer
Hire an Interim Lawyer: list the matters the interim lawyer covers, the sign-off authority they hold, and how work returns to the permanent team.
Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 1 November 2026 · 4 sources linked below
- 3–5on every shortlist
- 5stages of vetting
- IR35set out on every brief
On the board · last 90 days
Which roles are on the board now?
Interim interim lawyer roles first, then the seat in any engagement and the wider function when the board runs short.
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Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.
In the press
- Financial TimesThe executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance
- International FinanceRenting the C-suite, and why the fractional executive era has arrived
The brief
Hire an Interim Lawyer: what must the role own?
Leave cover, a vacancy, a transaction or a backlog.
- 01ReasonLeave cover, a vacancy, a transaction or a backlog.
- 02MattersContracts, disputes, employment or regulatory work in scope.
- 03AuthorityWhat they may sign or approve without the general counsel.
- 04HandoverWhat the permanent team receives at the end.
Role reference: SRA: in-house solicitors’ professional obligations. The SRA sets out the professional obligations of in-house solicitors to their employer, which apply to an interim lawyer in your team.
Interim legal cover
Hire an interim lawyer or instruct a firm?
The choice turns on whether the work is a seat or a matter.
Hire an interim lawyer when you need someone in the seat: answering the business daily, sitting in meetings, running the contract queue. Instruct a firm when you need specialist advice on one matter.
Many companies do both: the interim covers the day-to-day and instructs external solicitors on the specialist work.
The working pattern
What changes when the interim lawyer is interim?
An interim lawyer joins your in-house legal team for a defined period. They advise the company as their employer or client; they are not a law firm instructed on a matter.
The illustrative brief: general counsel on parental leave. A two-lawyer team loses its general counsel for nine months in a busy contracting year.
The appointment owns: An interim lawyer covers commercial contracts and board support for the period.
Another owner retains: Litigation stays with external solicitors; the CFO signs high-value contracts.
The case is illustrative; it does not describe a Fractional Quest placement.
From brief to start
How do you hire an Interim Lawyer, step by step?
Hire an Interim Lawyer, in practice: the first three steps are ours; the last four are what has to be true before the first day. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date.
- Day 001The 15-minute callWhat the interim lawyer must own, the working pattern, the start date and the budget.You and us
- Week 102Scope agreed in writingThe outcome the seat exists for, the days, and how the engagement will run for IR35.Us
- Weeks 1–303Search, references, shortlistWe approach people who aren’t looking, verify tenure, take references ourselves and return three to five.Us
- Week 404Matters listOpen matters, owners and deadlines.You
- Before day one · 205AuthoritySigning limits in writing.You
- Before day one · 306StatusConfirm practising status and professional indemnity arrangements.You
- Before day one · 407HandoverA weekly matter log from day one.You
Assessment
How should you assess each candidate?
Hire an Interim Lawyer on evidence: put the same work in front of each candidate before comparing answers.
- Comparable workAsk for in-house work in your sector and the matters they ran alone.
- AuthorityTest a request from a director that exceeds the agreed authority.
- TeamAsk how they worked with a junior lawyer or legal assistant.
- HandoverAsk how they recorded open matters for the returning lawyer.
Acas recommends a consistent, fair selection process: choosing who to interview.
Vetting
What happens before anyone reaches your shortlist?
Five stages before a candidate reaches a shortlist of three to five.
- Pedigree screenTenureWe verify prior tenure in the seat, at the scale and stage you need. No consultant presenting as an executive.
- Mandate fitFitFit to your stage, sector and the problem the seat exists to solve, not a CV keyword.
- Reference deep-diveVerifyWe take references ourselves, from recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.
- ShortlistShortlistThree to five candidates, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
- Kick-offStartScope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.
The full process is on how we vet.
The right pattern
Does this hiring pattern fit the work?
Test the amount of the week, the expected end and the continuity needed before writing the contract.
Questions
Hire an Interim Lawyer: questions, answered
A brief to hire an Interim Lawyer begins with reason: Leave cover, a vacancy, a transaction or a backlog. Then a stated working pattern and the evidence you will ask every candidate to show.
An interim lawyer joins your in-house legal team for a defined period. They advise the company as their employer or client; they are not a law firm instructed on a matter.
Comparable work. Ask for in-house work in your sector and the matters they ran alone. Authority. Test a request from a director that exceeds the agreed authority. Team. Ask how they worked with a junior lawyer or legal assistant. Handover. Ask how they recorded open matters for the returning lawyer.
Matters list. Open matters, owners and deadlines. Authority. Signing limits in writing. Status. Confirm practising status and professional indemnity arrangements. Handover. A weekly matter log from day one.
Brief us on what the role must own, how it will work and when it must start. We come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
Sources
Where does every reference on this page come from?
- sra.org.uk
- HMRC
- legislation.gov.uk
- 1
- 2Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRCStatus depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
- 3
- 4Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.ukThe law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.