Fractional General Counsel
An ongoing engagement that gets sharper the longer we work together.
The most expensive legal problems are the ones that didn’t have to happen. A general counsel doesn’t just respond to issues. They sit close enough to the business to see them forming before they become a distraction, a demand letter, or a disruption to what leadership should actually be focused on.
That kind of proximity is what a fractional engagement is built for. Not a lawyer you call when something breaks. A lawyer who is already close enough to the business that fewer things break.
Our focus is employment law, with litigation management and business judgment built around it.
What This Includes
Employment Law
Hiring and onboarding, handbook and policy updates, leave and accommodation questions, worker classification, discipline and termination decisions, internal complaints, separation planning, wage and hour issues, and the agency inquiries that follow when something was missed. These are the issues that show up regularly once a business reaches a certain size.
We help assess the risk, decide how to respond, and determine whether the matter should be handled directly, managed through outside employment counsel, or coordinated through an EPLI carrier. The goal is not to over-lawyer routine decisions. It is to spot the issues that matter, respond early, and avoid treating every workplace question as a crisis.
Litigation and Regulatory Management
When disputes escalate, the business needs someone managing the response with the end goal in mind. Employment claims, agency investigations, demand letters, regulatory matters, or other proceedings where legal strategy needs to stay aligned with business objectives.
We manage the process. Assess the exposure, decide how to respond, select and coordinate outside counsel when the matter requires it, keep their fees and strategy aligned with the company’s goals, and provide the judgment that helps leadership decide how matters should resolve.
How the Engagement Works
Initial Assessment
We start by learning how the business operates, where the legal pressure points are, what is already in place, and which issues need attention first. That includes policies, agreements, open matters, outside counsel relationships, and the areas where risk is currently being carried informally.
Ongoing Support
The engagement is structured as an ongoing relationship, not a series of disconnected projects. You have access to a lawyer who knows the business, understands the operating realities, and can step into questions as they arise. The work can include both proactive risk reduction and responsive issue management, depending on what the company needs at the time.
Who This Is For
It is often the right fit when:
- legal questions are showing up regularly across leadership, HR, and operations
- the business needs quicker, more informed answers without re-explaining the company every time
- HR or operations has been carrying too much legal risk by default
- outside counsel spend is climbing because each issue is treated as a separate matter
- leadership wants in-house-caliber legal judgment without adding a full-time headcount
- the company needs help deciding not just whether risk exists, but how much attention it actually deserves
Pricing
Engagements are typically structured as monthly retainers based on the company’s size, complexity, and expected level of support. Where the work is clearly defined, fixed fees may make sense. Where the work is inherently variable, hourly billing may be the cleaner fit.
The point is pricing clarity. Scope and billing approach are discussed up front so the company knows what it is paying for and when a matter falls inside or outside the engagement.
Need something more targeted?
If your company needs foundational employment documents, handbooks, agreements, or compliance reviews, the Employment Law Fundamentals are built for defined-scope project work with clear deliverables and fixed pricing.
If you’re personally navigating a private equity or M&A transaction and need someone focused on your interests on the employment side, that’s a separate engagement with a different structure.
Either way, the right place to start is a conversation. Get in touch to talk through your situation and figure out which approach makes sense.