Hire a fractional General Counsel — executive legal leadership
A fractional GC owns legal strategy, commercial contracts, financings, and employment matters on a part-time basis, coordinating outside counsel and keeping legal spend under control.
A fractional General Counsel costs $8k–$20k/mo ($300–$650/hr), typically works 1–3 days per week, and can be hired in about 48 hours through RecruitFractional — with no placement fee or percentage of compensation. Engagements run fractional, interim, or advisory.
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- • Vetted C-suite and VP operators
- • Fractional, interim, or advisory
Featured fractional General Counsels
1 featured General Counsel on Executive Pro
When to hire a fractional General Counsel
Most companies hire a fractional General Counsel when the founder or existing team can no longer own the legal function at executive depth. Common triggers:
- Legal bills are climbing but no one owns strategy
- You are closing enterprise contracts weekly and need a real playbook
- A financing, M&A event, or secondary is coming
- You need employment, equity, and IP hygiene before diligence
- You are entering a regulated market and need a compliance program
What a fractional General Counsel owns
A fractional General Counsel operates as your accountable General Counsel on a part-time basis. Typical scope:
- — Commercial contracts playbook, MSA, DPA, and enterprise negotiation
- — Corporate: financings, cap table hygiene, board and equity
- — Employment, equity comp, and disputes
- — IP strategy and protection
- — Privacy, data protection, and compliance program
- — Outside counsel management and legal spend control
Engagement models
Fractional (ongoing)
1–3 days per week on a recurring basis. Best when you need executive judgment in the business every week, but not a full-time hire yet.
Interim (full-time, fixed term)
Full-time coverage for 3–9 months. Best for a vacancy, a fundraise, an M&A event, or a turnaround.
Project / advisory
Scoped engagement (10–40 hours) tied to a specific deliverable — a plan, a system, a hire, a diligence.
How much does a fractional General Counsel cost?
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Frequently asked questions
- What does a fractional General Counsel do?
- A fractional General Counsel owns legal strategy, commercial contracts, financings, and employment matters on a part-time basis. They coordinate outside counsel and cap legal spend.
- How much does a fractional General Counsel cost?
- Fractional GC retainers typically run $8,000–$20,000 per month, or $300–$650 per hour. Fixed-scope contract playbook engagements are also common.
- Fractional GC vs a law firm on retainer?
- A law firm bills per matter and rarely owns strategy. A fractional GC sits inside your business, runs the contracts playbook, and coordinates outside counsel — often reducing total legal spend.
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