The fractional economy is everywhere. Fractional CFOs. Fractional CMOs. Fractional HR directors. And increasingly: Fractional General Counsel (GC).
For growing businesses that aren’t ready for a full-time in-house lawyer but have outgrown an ad hoc, transactional relationship with an external firm, fractional counsel is the answer that’s been missing from the market.
What Is Fractional General Counsel?
Fractional GC is a model where a senior commercial lawyer provides ongoing legal support to your business on a part-time or retainer basis. Rather than billing by the hour for discrete matters, the lawyer is embedded in your business—attending leadership meetings, reviewing contracts as they arise, advising on strategic decisions and building institutional knowledge of your business over time.
The key difference from a traditional law firm relationship: the lawyer is on your team, not just on your file.
Who Is It For?
Fractional GC works best for businesses that:
- Have a regular volume of contracts, negotiations and legal issues—enough to justify a retainer, but not enough to justify a full-time salary
- Are scaling quickly and want legal input integrated into business decisions, not added on as an afterthought
- Have been burned by slow, expensive law firm billing and want a more predictable cost structure
- Value having a lawyer who understands their business, their industry and their risk appetite
Typically, this means scale-ups, mid-market businesses with $5M–$50M in revenue, PE-backed portfolio companies, and businesses preparing for a capital raise or sale.
What Does It Cost?
Fractional GC arrangements are typically structured as a monthly retainer covering a set number of hours or matters per month. The cost is a fraction of the cost of a full-time in-house lawyer—typically $3,000–$10,000 per month depending on scope—and far more predictable than an hourly billing arrangement with an external firm.
The Envision Legal Approach
Our Fractional GC service is designed for businesses that want a real commercial partner—not just a contract reviewer. We embed ourselves in your team, attend your leadership meetings (in person or virtually), and make sure legal considerations are built into your business decisions from the start.
Interested? Let’s talk about whether Fractional GC is right for your business.