Practice areas/Fractional General Counsel
Fractional General Counsel
A fractional general counsel is a senior commercial lawyer who acts as your in-house lawyer part-time, on a fixed monthly retainer — the in-house GC experience, with scope and a fixed monthly fee agreed upfront.
Know what you need? Request a fixed-fee quote and upload your documents. Not sure of scope? Book a short call with a senior lawyer instead.
Fixed fee. Senior lawyer.
Every engagement is quoted upfront and led by a senior lawyer — never a paralegal-first pipeline.
- hello@envisionlegal.com.au
- Sydney · Melbourne · National
What is fractional general counsel?
Fractional general counsel is a senior commercial lawyer supporting your business on an ongoing, part-time basis rather than as a full-time employee. Envision Legal provides continuity across contracts, governance and compliance through a defined monthly scope. Your fixed fee, priorities and coverage are agreed upfront, with additional work separately scoped before it begins.
Key points
- Ongoing senior legal support across contracts, governance and compliance.
- A fixed monthly scope, with additional projects quoted separately.
- Suitable for recurring legal work or extra capacity alongside an internal team.
Content updated · Published by Envision Legal. Meet Rej Singh, founder and corporate and commercial lawyer.
Ongoing support
What a fractional general counsel actually is.
A fractional general counsel is a senior commercial lawyer engaged part-time, on a fixed monthly retainer, to do the job an in-house GC would do: own your contracts, guide the board, and keep compliance ahead of the regulator. You get the continuity of an in-house lawyer who knows your business, at a fraction of the cost of employing one.
| Fractional GC | Full-time in-house GC | Hourly law firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knows your business | Yes — continuous relationship | Yes | Re-briefed each matter |
| Board & leadership input | Included in the retainer | Included in the role | Billed per meeting |
| Scales down when quiet | Yes — 30 days’ notice | No — fixed salary | Yes |
| Best suited to | 10–200 staff, $2m–$50m revenue | 200+ staff, heavy legal load | One-off or specialist matters |
Want the detail? What a fractional GC costs in Australia, fractional GC vs a law firm, or the full explainer. Based in Sydney and Melbourne, acting for businesses nationally.
When the legal work outgrows the team.
It usually creeps up. The CEO is reading contracts at night. The CFO is weighing risk clauses. HR is handling terminations and restraints alone. Sales is negotiating enterprise terms with nobody checking the liability cap. Hiring a full-time lawyer takes months, and one hire rarely covers contracts, employment, governance and compliance. A fractional GC fills that gap now, with one senior lawyer who gets to know your business.
Already have in-house counsel?
Many of the teams we work with already have a lawyer, just not enough of them. We take the overflow, cover leave, or carry a specific project so your in-house counsel can stay on the strategic work. See overflow legal support, parental leave cover and interim general counsel.
Not ready for a retainer? Start with one fixed-fee project.
Give us a single piece of work — a contract review, an employment template refresh, or a legal health check — at a fixed fee agreed before we start. You see how we work, and decide on a retainer afterwards. No obligation either way.
Which support fits?
Pick the situation that sounds like you.
Occasional contract help
A contract or two a quarter. No lawyer on staff.
Fixed-fee projects, scoped one at a time.
Get a fixed-fee contract quote →Regular overflow
You have a lawyer (or a busy founder) but the queue keeps growing.
A set monthly fee for overflow, leave cover or a defined project.
Scope overflow support →Embedded counsel
Legal is slowing deals and decisions. You need someone inside the business.
A fractional GC on a fixed monthly retainer, reviewed quarterly.
Book a 15-minute call →Every option is fixed-fee. Never hourly.
How we help
What we handle for you.
Concrete deliverables — not a general "advice" retainer. Each item can be scoped as a one-off fixed-fee package or bundled into a monthly counsel arrangement.
01
Contracts on your paper
Reviewing, negotiating and closing customer, supplier and partner contracts — and keeping your template library current.
02
Employment & people
Employment agreements, contractor terms, performance and termination decisions, restraints and redundancy.
03
Board & governance
Attending leadership or board meetings where legal input is needed, drafting policies, board charters and governance frameworks.
04
Compliance oversight
Privacy Act, AML/CTF, ACL, industry-specific regulation, WHS and quarterly Regulatory Radar briefings — proactive rather than reactive.
05
Transaction support
Capital raises, bolt-on acquisitions and significant commercial deals — with specialists coordinated where needed.
06
Contract risk advice
Assessing contract rights, renewal obligations and commercial options before decisions are made; no litigation services.
Who this is for
Clients we work best with.
- Scale-ups with a growing enterprise sales motion and increasing contract volume
- Founder-led businesses where the CEO is spending too many hours on legal admin
- Regulated businesses — fintech, financial services, health, professional services
- Companies preparing for a raise, acquisition or exit that need the legal house tidied first
- Legal questions are slowing decisions or deals down
- Your current firm fixes single issues but nobody is looking at the bigger picture
- An in-house lawyer who is stretched and needs extra capacity
How we work
No surprises. Ever.
Fixed fees quoted upfront. Senior lawyer on every file. Clear next steps at every stage.
01 — Brief
Send your business priorities and current legal workload through our enquiry form so we can assess the scope.
02 — Health check
A structured review of your contracts, employment, IP and compliance posture — surfacing what needs fixing first.
03 — Embed
Within two weeks we're in your leadership rhythms, working through your queue and building the template library.
04 — Adjust as you grow
We review the scope every quarter, so the retainer grows, shrinks or shifts focus as your business changes.
FAQs
Common questions.
- What is fractional general counsel?
- A senior commercial lawyer providing ongoing part-time support rather than joining as a full-time employee. Envision Legal agrees the work, coverage and fixed monthly fee before the engagement begins.
- What work is included?
- The agreed scope can cover commercial contracts, company governance, policies and compliance advice. Significant transactions or specialist work outside that scope are quoted separately before starting.
- How are fees agreed?
- We assess your recurring work, priorities and required availability, then propose a fixed monthly fee and written scope. We do not publish standard prices or bill overflow at an hourly rate.
- Can you support an existing in-house lawyer?
- Yes. We can add contract capacity or help with a defined project alongside your internal team, with responsibilities, priorities and the fixed fee agreed upfront.
- Do you provide litigation services?
- No. Our fractional general counsel work covers contracts, transactions and advisory support. If court proceedings are required, you need a separately engaged litigation firm.
Two ways to start
Get a fixed fee before any work starts.
Answer five short questions, attach your documents if you have them, and a senior lawyer replies with the scope and the price.
Know what you need? Request a fixed-fee quote and upload your documents. Not sure of scope? Book a short call with a senior lawyer instead.