What is a fractional general counsel?

A fractional General Counsel is a senior in-house lawyer who holds the head of legal seat at a company for one to three days a week, on an ongoing basis, owning commercial contracts, legal risk, disputes strategy and the instruction of outside law firms, from inside the business rather than on a firm's hourly clock. In the UK the day rate is £800 to £1,400 in 2026, and two days a week is the most common shape.

Also called

Part-time general counsel, Fractional head of legal, Fractional in-house counsel and Outsourced general counsel, when a legal services business is selling it. The job is the same under each name; the words differ by market and by who is selling it. What a fractional executive is covers the pattern across every seat.

What the title means in practice

Contracts turned round in days, on terms the business can live withCustomer agreements, supplier terms, NDAs and partnership deals, negotiated by somebody who knows which clauses the company can concede. A playbook follows, so routine contracts stop needing a lawyer at all.

Legal risk seen before it landsData protection, employment exposure, intellectual property ownership, regulatory obligations and the claims that are brewing. The general counsel keeps a short register and tells the board what is on it.

Outside firms instructed and managedLitigation, a large transaction or specialist advice still goes to a law firm. The general counsel scopes it, agrees the fee, reads the bills and stops the meter running on questions the business can answer itself.

Board, investors and corporate housekeepingBoard minutes and resolutions, the shareholder agreement, option schemes, and the legal side of a funding round or a sale, including the disclosure exercise in due diligence.

What a fractional general counsel is not

Not a law firm. Advises on the matter it is instructed on and bills by the hour; it does not sit inside the business deciding what needs a lawyer. Fractional general counsel or a law firm.
Not a CISO. Owns the security controls and certification; counsel owns the contractual and regulatory exposure when those controls fail. What a fractional CISO does.
Not an HR director. Owns the people process; counsel advises on the legal risk in an employment decision and handles the claim if one comes. What a fractional HR director does.

What a fractional general counsel can and cannot do

Section 12 of the Legal Services Act 2007 lists six reserved legal activities in England and Wales: the exercise of a right of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate activities, notarial activities and the administration of oaths. Only a person authorised or exempt under the Act may carry them on.

Most of what a general counsel does is not reserved: contract drafting and negotiation, advice, policy, governance and the management of outside firms. Where a matter needs a reserved activity, such as issuing and running proceedings in court, the general counsel instructs a firm or an authorised advocate and manages them.

Source: Legal Services Act 2007, section 12, on legislation.gov.uk.

Questions to ask before you engage one

This is general information, not legal advice.

Are you on the roll of solicitors with a current practising certificate, or regulated by another approved body? The SRA publishes a register that can be checked.
Are you practising through an SRA-regulated firm, or through a business the SRA does not regulate? Both are allowed for unreserved work, and the client protections differ.
What professional indemnity insurance covers this work, with which insurer, and to what limit? Ask to see it.
Is any of the work likely to be reserved, and if so, who will be authorised to do it?
If a dispute turns into litigation, which firm is instructed and who manages it?

Source: The SRA register of solicitors.

Fractional general counsel job description

The scope a brief for this seat usually lists. Each item is a thing the person owns, not a task they perform; at one to three days a week the owning is the job.

Commercial contract negotiation and a playbook for the routine ones
A legal risk register, kept short and reported to the board
Instructing and managing outside law firms, including their fees
Data protection, intellectual property and regulatory compliance oversight
Corporate governance: board papers, resolutions, the shareholder agreement
Legal workstreams in a funding round, an acquisition or a sale

Reports to the chief executive, attends the board where legal matters are on the agenda, and works closely with finance.

What it costs

A fractional general counsel charges £800 to £1,400 a day in the UK in 2026. Still materially below partner-level law firm rates for equivalent seniority. At two days a week that is £6,133 to £10,733 a month, before VAT and with no employer costs on top, because the executive is not an employee. The full arithmetic, at every day count and against a full-time hire, is on the fractional general counsel cost page.

Where the word comes from

In-house lawyers were among the later seats to go fractional, partly because regulation made the practising arrangements harder to set up. That eased after the SRA allowed solicitors to deliver unreserved legal services outside regulated firms in 2019, and the fractional general counsel became a common answer for companies spending heavily on law firm hours.

Common questions

What does fractional general counsel mean?

A senior in-house lawyer who holds the head of legal seat for a fraction of the week, usually one to three days, on an ongoing basis. They negotiate the contracts, manage legal risk and instruct outside firms from inside the business, at a day rate rather than by the hour.

Can a fractional general counsel go to court for us?

Not usually in person. Rights of audience and the conduct of litigation are reserved legal activities, so court work goes to an authorised advocate or a firm. The fractional general counsel decides the strategy, instructs them, and keeps the cost in proportion to what is at stake.

Does a fractional general counsel need to be a practising solicitor?

To call themselves a solicitor and to carry out reserved work, yes. Much in-house work is unreserved, but a buyer should still ask for SRA status, the business they practise through and the professional indemnity insurance behind the advice, and check the register.

How much does a fractional general counsel cost?

£800 to £1,400 a day in the UK in 2026, usually one to two days a week or a retained monthly arrangement. Still materially below partner-level law firm rates for equivalent seniority. The monthly and annual arithmetic is on the cost page for the seat.

What does interim general counsel mean?

An interim general counsel holds the seat full time, 5 days a week, for a fixed 3 to 9 months, covering a departure, a transaction or a crisis. A fractional general counsel holds it 2 days a week with no end date. At the same day rate, interim runs £15,333 to £26,833 a month against £6,133 to £10,733. Fractional or interim, side by side.

From the word to the person

Verified fractional general counsel, rate on the profile

What the seat covers and who is on the bench, how to interview for it, or brief Operator Search and the shortlist comes to you.