Embedded legal talent for high-growth companies.

As an embedded team member, a Fractional Counsel is there to create and serve a longterm business relationship, not a one-off transaction. Fractional Counsels integrate into your organization and get to know your team to become an expert in your business — producing actionable and specific legal advice that supports better business decisions.

They can improve internal operations and strategy by proactively mitigating risks before issues arise and can even replace the senior law firm partner as the CEO’s primary counsellor participating in decisions that touch both law and business.

When you hire a Fractional Counsel on Goodlawyer, we work hard to tailor the options we present you based on your business’ specific legal needs. Whether for commercial contracts, regulatory compliance, or employment and people matters. we help you hand-pick a Fractional Counsel to address the needs of your legal function.

The Goodlawyer network spans from coast to coast and has lawyers with specialized expertise in most areas of law. If your Fractional Counsel encounters an issue outside their area of practice, they can bring in any Goodlawyer in our network to get the job done.

*Additional fees may apply if the project is out of scope for the Fractional mandate.

See a list of our practice areas here.

All Fractional Counsel mandates begin with a 90-day rollover window where you can use any unclaimed hours.

We conduct monthly check-ins with you and your Fractional Counsel throughout the 90-day Pilot project. If your legal needs increase or the pilot is underestimated, we can make the required adjustments to the terms of the Fractional mandate for the next month.

A Fractional Counsel is embedded into your team to proactively manage your legal needs whereas a law firm retainer engages an outside counsel to react to your legal needs and requests.

The longer version — Your Fractional Counsel dedicates part of their week entirely to working with you and your business. They join your team to absorb and assume responsibility for legal operations from your executive team, contribute to key business decisions and issues, AND to manage specialist engagements with outside counsel.

When you pay a law firm a retainer, you are essentially paying to keep a law firm on standby to respond to major events that trigger your need for legal help. Unless you actively request help, your external lawyer will not proactively support your recurring legal operations, volunteer strategic value-added advice or design processes and procedures that better equip your team to efficiently manage common legal challenges. As a result, your business’s operational legal functions remain the core responsibility of your executive team, making them reactive, inefficient and more costly.

Once you’ve selected your lawyer and confirmed the 90-day Pilot, our Operations team will work with you and your Fractional Counsel to get fully integrated by following our proven best practices.

Typically, the first steps to a successful engagement include setting your Fractional Counsel up with a company email address, scheduling a weekly recurring touchpoint with your FGC and getting a contract into their hands and off of your desk. Our FGCs are keen to roll up their sleeves and ready to take on immediate tasks while working with management to identify longer term priorities.

Every Pilot mandate is different and custom tailored to your needs.

There is always an onboarding period where your Fractional Counsel gets set up with your business (email, files, internal channels, etc.), starts tackling some immediate wins like reviewing key contracts, and works with your management team to plan longer term objectives.

Throughout the 90-day Pilot, the Goodlawyer Operations team will check in and ensure your project is on track for a successful outcome. The Pilot will close with an overall review to ensure there are no adjustments required before continuing the Fractional Counsel mandate.

Of course. Your Fractional Counsel will be able to take a lot off their plate (and save you a ton in legal fees) but they can also take responsibility for managing and working alongside those external legal providers.