Hire an Interim General Counsel · Interim GC Jobs UK
Interim General Counsel Jobs · hire an interim GC
for the gap, or hire a general counsel
Hire an interim General Counsel — a senior in-house lawyer, full-time on a fixed-term assignment — to lead legal through a vacancy or parental leave, a transaction, a regulatory programme or a dispute. Also an interim head of legal. Or browse live interim General Counsel jobs below.
- £800–£1,100 a day contract (Robert Walters)
- Full-time, fixed-term
- GC and Head of Legal
- Shortlist of 3–5
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
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim General Counsel
Tell us the situation and the start date. We come back with interim General Counsel candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the assignment and the start date
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
Interim General Counsel jobs · last 3 months
Live Interim General Counsel jobs
No live Interim General Counsel roles in the last three months. Showing live fractional General Counsel roles instead.
01/ definition
What is an interim General Counsel?
An interim General Counsel is the senior in-house lawyer, full-time for a fixed term — the person accountable for legal risk, the legal team and outside counsel until the job is done or the permanent GC returns or arrives.
01 · cadence
The General Counsel seat, five days a week.
An interim General Counsel takes the role in full — legal risk, the legal team, the board and outside counsel — rather than advising from outside it.
02/ scope
What an interim General Counsel owns
The interim carries legal accountability for the term; lawyers, paralegals and outside counsel keep the matter work.
- Legal strategy and risk register
- Board and company secretarial advice
- Transactions and commercial terms
- Regulatory and compliance oversight
- Disputes and litigation strategy
- Outside counsel selection and budget
- Legal team structure
- Handover to the permanent GC
- Routine contract review
- NDAs and templates
- Filing and admin
- Document review
- Billing checks
- Matter management admin
03/ alternatives
Interim General Counsel vs fractional, law firm and permanent
The same seat, four ways of filling it.
→ Interim covers the whole seat for a period; fractional covers part of it indefinitely.
04/ rates
Interim General Counsel day rates, UK 2026
Published figures only, each with its source. Robert Walters’ contract rate is quoted PAYE; many in-house legal contracts are assessed inside IR35.
- Contract GC, London (PAYE)£800–£1,100Robert Walters
Six months full-time (about 130 working days) at £800–£1,100 is roughly £104,000–£143,000 — our arithmetic on the Robert Walters band.
05/ calculator
What an interim General Counsel costs
Model a fixed-term interim General Counsel against a permanent General Counsel over the same period.
£950 a day is within the published Interim GC, London band (£800–£1,100, Robert Walters).
Interim cost for the term
£123,500
130 working days · 5 d/wk · 6 mo · before tax
Interim costs less over 6 months£16,500
Book a 15-minute call →Our arithmetic, indicative. Permanent = a £160,000 salary, the bottom of Robert Walters’ London GC band pro rata for the same months, plus 15% employer NI, plus a 30% search fee on the annual base (UK retained search runs 25–35%, Headhunters.co.uk). Excludes pension, bonus and equity.
06/ tax
Is an interim General Counsel tax-deductible?
General position under UK rules, with the HMRC source for each point. Not tax advice — check your own case with your accountant.
01 · DEDUCTIBLE
The fees are a business expense
An interim General Counsel’s fees, like a salary, are deductible against profits when incurred wholly and exclusively for the trade (HMRC BIM37000). At the 25% main rate, each £1,000 of fees costs a profitable company £750 after relief.
02 · EMPLOYER NI
Employer NI follows IR35 status
A permanent General Counsel carries employer National Insurance at 15% (gov.uk). An interim engaged through their own company carries none when the engagement is outside IR35; inside IR35, the fee-payer deducts tax and NI and pays employer NI. Status depends on how the engagement runs in practice.
03 · WHO DECIDES
IR35 status, by company size
Medium and large clients determine the interim’s status themselves; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company decides (HMRC off-payroll guidance).
07/ decision
When to hire an interim General Counsel
Four situations where companies hire an interim General Counsel.
Which sounds like you?
The GC goes on parental leave or leaves, and the board still needs legal advice every week.
- → Continuity
- → Board support
- → Team
A sale, acquisition or fundraise that needs an in-house lead on the legal workstream.
- → Due diligence
- → Disclosure
- → Completion
New rules, a regulator’s review or a licence application with a deadline.
- → Gap analysis
- → Policies
- → Sign-off
Significant litigation or a contract dispute that needs an owner inside the business.
- → Strategy
- → Outside counsel
- → Settlement
08/ guide
Hiring an interim General Counsel: what to get right
Start with the outcome: cover through a period of leave, a transaction completed, a regulatory programme signed off, a dispute resolved. Put it and a date in the brief.
Decide between interim and fractional. If legal needs a full-time head for a period, hire an interim General Counsel. If a growing company needs its first senior lawyer a day or two a week, a fractional General Counsel fits better.
Budget from published figures. Robert Walters puts London contract GC and Head of Legal rates at £800–£1,100 a day (PAYE), and Barclay Simpson reports £1,000+ as the most-cited day rate for in-house legal contractors. A permanent London GC is £160,000–£330,000 (Robert Walters).
Think about IR35 early. In-house legal roles embedded in a business are often assessed inside IR35; many interim GC contracts are therefore PAYE or fixed-term. Medium and large clients make the determination.
If you are looking for interim General Counsel jobs or interim head of legal roles rather than hiring, the live board below lists current roles; fractional General Counsel jobs cover the part-time market.
08.1/ professional regulation
Hire an interim General Counsel: practising certificate and professional duties
An in-house solicitor brings professional obligations with them, and they matter when you hire an interim General Counsel. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, which regulates solicitors in England and Wales, explains in its guidance for employers that in-house solicitors are personally accountable for meeting its Principles and Code of Conduct. In practice that means they will tell you if they believe the organisation is breaching, or at risk of breaching, its legal obligations. The same guidance suggests discussing those obligations early and considering whether in-house solicitors are covered by the company’s directors’ and officers’ insurance (SRA guidance for employers of in-house solicitors).
Check whether the role needs a practising certificate. That depends on the work: the SRA’s practising certificate guidance sets out the tests, including whether the lawyer carries on reserved legal activities such as the conduct of litigation. Agree the position in the brief and check the candidate’s status with the regulator before the assignment starts.
We send a shortlist of three to five interim General Counsel, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. For part-time legal leadership, see fractional General Counsel; if a transaction also needs finance leadership, hiring an interim CFO.
09/ contract
Interim General Counsel jobs: how the assignment is contracted
Interim General Counsel jobs are contracted in more than one way. Parental-leave cover is often a fixed-term salaried contract; project and transaction work more often runs through the lawyer’s own limited company on a day rate. Either way, the agreement should set out the scope, the term, the days a week and notice on each side, and the scope is the outcome from the brief.
IR35 status turns on how the assignment runs in practice, not on what the contract calls it. HMRC looks at substitution, control and whether either side must offer or accept further work. Medium and large clients make the status determination; for a small private-sector client, the interim’s own company does (HMRC off-payroll guidance). See the IR35 guide.
TEST 1
Substitution
Whether the interim’s company could send a suitably qualified substitute, and whether that right is genuine in practice.
What HMRC looks atTEST 2
Control
Who decides how the work is done, as distinct from what the assignment must deliver.
What HMRC looks atTEST 3
Mutuality
Whether either side is obliged to offer or accept work beyond the agreed assignment.
What HMRC looks at10/ process
How to hire an interim General Counsel with us
What we undertake on every brief.
- 01
Brief
A 30-minute call on the assignment, the start date and what the interim General Counsel must have delivered by the end of the term.
DAY 0 - 02
Search
We search and screen against that brief: track record at your stage and in your situation, and references we take ourselves.
SCREENING - 03
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5 - 04
Start
You interview and choose. The interim you choose contracts with you.
YOU CHOOSE
11/ questions
Interim General Counsel FAQ
Hiring an interim General Counsel, or looking for interim General Counsel jobs.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Hiring an interim General Counsel? Start with the brief.
Book 15 minutes.
