TLT LLPSyndicatedInterim
Interim General Counsel – Infrastructure & Energy ProjectsLegal Consultancy · fractional, interim and permanent legal leaders
Legal Consultancy · fractional general counsel or head of legal, briefed and shortlisted
legal consultancy from Fractional Quest means a fractional general counsel or head of legal working in your business on a fractional, interim or permanent basis. Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find a fractional general counsel or head of legal for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly.
Reviewed by Fractional Quest · updated 23 October 2026 · 4 sources linked below
- 3–5our shortlist
Fractional seats our founder has held
Climatise
One Up Productions
CK Delta
In the press
- Financial TimesThe executives going ‘fractional’, not freelance
- International FinanceRenting the C-suite, and why the fractional executive era has arrived
The agency
What a legal consultancy covers
This page sets out what a legal consultancy engagement covers, how fractional, project and interim compare, how it runs. The board below shows current legal leadership roles.
Legal consultancy at leadership level is about ownership, not advice. The general counsel is the company’s senior lawyer: contracts, disputes, regulation, governance and the management of external lawyers.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find a fractional general counsel or head of legal for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly.
At leadership level a legal consultant is usually a fractional general counsel consultant — a senior in-house lawyer on a standing commitment. See fractional general counsel and fractional legal counsel.
The seat in more depth: general counsel services · General Counsel recruitment agency · legal consultants.
On the board · last 90 days
Current legal leadership roles on the board
From our jobs feed. Where a posting states no rate, “est” is our estimate from the seat’s published band; ◆ marks days a week the posting states.
11 of 11 roles
Function
Engagement
- Twenty-Nine Palms EntertainmentSyndicatedFractionalBusiness Affairs Executive (Fractional / Per-Project)
- FfernSyndicatedFractionalFractional General Counsel
- LRO Financial ConsultancySyndicatedFractionalFractional Financial Controller
- Confidential clientOur mandate · available nowFractionalFractional SDR
- Unity AdvisorySyndicatedFractionalReward Lead (Fractional- 12 month FTC)
- Reg Advantage LtdSyndicatedFractionalProduction Lead and Fractional CTO
- Confidential clientOur mandate · available nowFractionalFractional Executive Assistant
- PHIXSyndicatedFractionalPart time / Fractional Finance Director
- CivSec GroupSyndicatedFractionalAcquisition CFO / Finance Director (Fractional)
- Algorithmiq OySyndicatedFractionalFractional Chief Operating Officer (COO)
Every fractional role in the UK is on the fractional jobs board.
Three seats
What does a fractional seat look like in practice?
Three fractional seats our founder has held. Real companies, named with their permission; we state only what the seat covered.
Fractional seats our founder has held
ClimatiseFractional · go-to-marketA carbon-reporting software company that needed go-to-market leadership before a full-time hire.
- Seat
- Fractional go-to-market lead
- Days
- Two days a week
- Scope
- Go-to-market
One Up ProductionsFractional · go-to-marketA production company that needed both the go-to-market strategy and its execution.
- Seat
- Fractional go-to-market: strategy and execution
- Days
- Two days a week
- Scope
- Go-to-market
CK DeltaFractional · technologyTechnology work: tech stack implementation.
- Seat
- Fractional technology lead
These are seats our founder has held, not placements.
The scope
What an engagement covers — and what it does 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. Court representation and specialist advice on a single matter come from external firms, directed by the general counsel. Legal consultancy here means in-house legal leadership, not a substitute for a law firm.
The neighbouring seats. 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.
When companies look for legal consultancy: 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.
The process
How does a brief become a shortlist?
Six steps, one accountable person at each. We don’t promise a shortlist by a date; the weeks below are what a well-scoped brief usually takes.
- Day 001The 15-minute callThe seat, the engagement shape, the days or hours, the start date and the budget. No account needed; a call or a written brief.You and us
- Week 102Scope agreed in writingThe outcome the seat exists for, which days, and how the engagement will run for IR35. A brief that describes a person rather than a job, we rewrite with you.Us
- Weeks 1–203Search and approachWe approach people who aren’t looking and verify prior tenure in the seat at your scale and stage.Us
- Weeks 2–304References, taken by usFrom recent clients and boards: what they delivered, not what they titled it.Us
- Week 305Shortlist of three to fiveEach with day rate or salary, availability and IR35 position set out. You interview and decide.You
- Week 406Kick-offScope, first-month outcomes and the contract agreed before day one.You, them and us
Against the alternatives
Four ways to buy legal expertise fractional, project, interim or permanent
The same legal problem can be bought four ways. The difference is who does the work, for how long, and who is accountable afterwards.
| Fractional legal leader | Project consultancy firm | Interim executive | Permanent hire | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you buy | A fractional general counsel or head of legal, days a week | A defined deliverable | A leader full-time for a fixed term | A full-time leader for years |
| Who does the work | One named senior person | A team, often with a partner who sold it | One named senior person | Your employee |
| Accountable after | Yes — they stay | No — the project ends | Until the hand-over | Yes |
| Best when | You need senior judgement every week, not every day | The work is a one-off with a clear output | You need full-time cover or a change led now | The seat is full-time work for years |
| Usual contract | Contract for services, often via the leader’s company | Statement of work | Day-rate contract for the mandate | Employment contract |
The decision
When legal consultancy is the right call
Three situations, and the shape that fits each.
- Legal billsExternal legal spend is climbingEvery contract goes to a law firm. A fractional general counsel reviews the routine work in-house and directs external firms on the rest.
- TransactionA deal aheadAn acquisition, sale or financing needs senior legal leadership in-house. An interim general counsel runs it with the external advisers.
- BoardNo legal voice in the roomA fractional head of legal joins the board conversation on risk, governance and regulation.
Vetting
How do we vet a legal consultant?
Five stages before anyone 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.
how it runs
How our legal consultancy works from brief to the first ninety days
Brief. A scoping call on the problem, the shape (fractional days, an interim mandate or a permanent seat), the start date and what success looks like in the first ninety days. A good brief names the decisions the legal leader will own.
Shortlist. We search for your brief and come back with a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate or salary, availability and IR35 position set out, assessed through our five-stage vetting.
Contract. You choose; the consultant contracts with you directly, usually through their own company for fractional and interim work. Agree how the engagement will run in practice, because that decides its IR35 status — HMRC’s guidance for clients sets out who makes the determination.
Cadence. A fractional legal leader works best on fixed days with a standing slot with the CEO. Review the days each quarter. An interim works to a written mandate with review points and a hand-over date.
fractional or firm
Fractional legal consultant or a legal consultancy firm? who stays accountable
Legal work on a specific matter — a dispute, a transaction, specialist advice — is bought from a law firm. Fractional Quest is not a law firm and does not give legal advice; we find the in-house legal leader who directs that work.
A fractional legal consultant is a different purchase: one senior person who holds the brief week after week and answers for the outcome. A fractional general counsel gives a business a senior in-house lawyer on a standing weekly commitment, reviewing contracts and directing external firms.
Out of scope either way. Court representation and specialist advice on a single matter come from external firms, directed by the general counsel. Legal consultancy here means in-house legal leadership, not a substitute for a law firm.
Standing. Check professional standing before you sign: the Solicitors Regulation Authority — the regulator of solicitors in England and Wales, including those working in-house; the Law Society — the professional body for solicitors in England and Wales.
The right route
Agency, recruiter, interim or permanent?
Three taps. Say how much senior work there is, for how long, and whether it is one leader or a run of hires; the tool names the route.
The route · Fractional recruiter
An embedded fractional recruiter.
A hiring plan to work through below the leadership team is a talent-acquisition job: a recruiter inside your business for part of the week, paid for their time. We don’t supply them; the page below explains the role.
The route · Non-executive director
A non-executive director.
Independent oversight and constructive challenge, not executive direction. We recruit NEDs through the same brief process.
The route · Advisor
An advisor, not yet a seat.
Less than a day a week of senior input is advisory. Buy it as a scoped engagement; when it grows into a day or more, brief us for a fractional executive.
The route · Interim
An interim executive.
Four or five days for a fixed period is interim: cover for a departure, a turnaround or a transaction. The IIM puts the UK average at £907 a day and ten months.
The route · Permanent
A permanent search.
Four or five days of work, ongoing, is a full-time seat. We recruit permanent executives through the same brief process.
The route · Fractional executive
Brief a fractional recruitment agency.
Senior judgement for part of the week: a fractional CFO, CTO, CMO or COO on one to three days. We come back with a shortlist of three to five, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
We recruit executives. We don’t supply embedded fractional recruiters; where that is the right route, the tool says so.
Clients
What do companies say about our fractional work?
From a company where our founder has held a fractional seat. Name and logo given with the client’s permission.
“Excellent fractional support for building both our go-to-market strategy and our execution.”
Charlie AndersonDirector, One Up ProductionsWhere we are
Where is Fractional Quest?
Where we are
71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ
Fractional Quest Ltd, registered in England and Wales, no. 17322105. This is our registered office; meetings are by appointment, and most briefs start on a 15-minute call.
Questions
Legal Consultancy questions, answered
Legal consultancy puts senior legal expertise into a business. Through Fractional Quest that means a fractional general counsel or head of legal on a fractional, interim or permanent basis, owning: commercial contracts and negotiation; legal risk, disputes and litigation strategy; regulatory compliance and governance.
Fractional Quest is a recruitment agency, not a consulting firm: we do not employ consultants or sell a team. We find a fractional general counsel or head of legal for your brief — fractional, interim or permanent — and they contract with you directly. You get one named senior person rather than a team sold by a partner, and they stay accountable for as long as you need them.
Fractional when you need senior legal judgement every week but not every day; a project consultancy when the work is a one-off with a clear deliverable; interim when you need full-time cover or a change led now; permanent when the seat is full-time work for years.
It depends on the shape, the days and the sector, and no source we can verify publishes a band for this seat. Fractional Quest publishes no fees; each candidate on a shortlist states their own rate, so you compare like with like.
It depends on how the engagement runs in practice — control, substitution and whether the legal consultant is part and parcel of your organisation, not on the label "consultant". For medium and large private-sector clients the client makes the status determination. Every candidate on our shortlist states their IR35 position.
No. We do not give legal advice. Legal consultancy through Fractional Quest means we find a senior in-house legal leader — a fractional or interim general counsel — who works in your business and directs any external law firms.
When legal work is a steady flow rather than one matter: contracts every week, a regulator taking an interest, a board that needs a legal voice. A fractional general counsel handles that flow and buys specialist advice where it is needed.
Sources
Where does every figure on this page come from?
The primary publisher for each number, linked. Where a figure is our own arithmetic, the page says so where it appears.
- HMRC
- legislation.gov.uk
- 1Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) HMRCStatus depends on how the engagement runs; medium and large clients make the determination.
- 2Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 HMRCEmployer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year.
- 3
- 4Employment Agencies Act 1973 legislation.gov.ukThe law a recruitment agency works under; no fee to a work-seeker.
