01
The founder or CEO is carrying legal
Legal decisions are being made late, inconsistently, or through external counsel without enough business context.
The leadership gap
You do not just need more legal work done. You need legal judgment in the room.
A Fractional GC is for moments when the business needs a legal leader, but the timing, budget, or org design does not yet justify a permanent executive hire.
02
The GC is drowning in reactive work
A sole legal leader may need strategic support, overflow leadership, or someone to help build the operating model.
03
The board needs confidence
A senior operator can translate legal risk into business choices executives can actually use.
Judgment in the room
GC judgment without a six-month search.
Goodlawyer matches companies with senior operators who have sat inside businesses and know how to build a practical legal function.
- vetted lawyers across the network
- 750+
- days a week across the broader fractional model
- 1-5
- months often used for flexible fractional mandates
- 3-18
Own the function
Fractional GC support can cover executive advice, board prep, outside counsel strategy, and legal operating model design.
Senior but still practical
The best fit can advise leadership and still roll up sleeves where the function needs hands-on work.
Path to permanent
Use the engagement to learn what the permanent role should be, then recruit or convert once the mandate is clear.
Meet the lawyers customers actually work with.
16 yrsPearl C.
Fractional General Counsel
Toronto, ON
- Corporate
- Commercial
- Venture capital
15 yrsNofa K.
Technology, SaaS & Privacy Counsel
Toronto, ON
- SaaS
- Data privacy
- Commercial
16 yrsRyan T.
Fractional General Counsel
Cambridge, ON
- Technology
- IP
- Privacy
15 yrsRebecca H.
Fractional Commercial Counsel
Vancouver, BC
- Commercial
- Mining
- Leadership
34 yrsShari H.
Fractional General Counsel
Vancouver, BC
- Commercial
- IP & licensing
- Governance
11 yrsJosée B.
Global Technology & AI Counsel
Montréal, QC
- Technology
- AI
- Cybersecurity
17 yrsNatasha G.
Fractional General Counsel, B2B SaaS
Toronto, ON
- B2B SaaS
- Privacy
- Legal operations
8 yrsThelma Z.
Employment & Labour Counsel
Vancouver, BC
- Employment
- Investigations
- Human rights
12 yrsStefan B.
Commercial In-House Counsel
Calgary, AB
- Commercial
- Fintech
- Telecom
Choose the right model
Fractional, secondment, and recruiting are different answers to different risks.
Buyers often ask where one model ends and another begins. The simplest answer is to start with capacity, duration, and whether the relationship should become permanent.
Pricing and sizing
Trade the legal meter for a planned mandate.
Legal coverage gets risky when the work goes into an open-ended billing meter. We scope the route before the work starts: responsibilities, monthly capacity, seniority, and handoff expectations.
Before work starts
The triggerLeave, vacancy, overflow, or specialist gap
The capacity1–5 days/week
The operating rhythmMeetings, tools, stakeholders, handoff
The budget logicPlanned scope instead of surprise invoices
No meter anxiety
No vague handoff
Right-fit talent
How it works
Build the GC role around the business problem.
We shape the mandate around leadership needs, legal priorities, and the level of support your team can absorb.
Scope the mandate
Separate executive judgment, board-facing work, counsel management, and hands-on legal execution.
Match seniority
Review lawyers with the right operating background, industry context, and comfort advising leaders.
Set the cadence
Choose a weekly or monthly rhythm that fits the business without creating another management burden.
Evolve the function
Use the engagement to clarify what to hire, outsource, systematize, or keep as fractional support.
Customer proof
GC judgment without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Goodlawyer made it easy to bring on a Fractional General Counsel: giving us expert legal support, cost control, and peace of mind without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Robin Kooyman
CFO · Blackline
FAQ
Questions worth asking before you bring someone in.
Straight answers on how the model works, who you will be working with, what it costs, and what happens if things change.
Goodlawyer is not a law firm and not a traditional recruiter. We are an alternative legal service provider that curates a network of independent lawyers and matches them to in-house legal needs.
Add GC judgment
Put senior legal leadership in the room.
Tell us which decisions, risks, and operating gaps need GC-level judgment. We’ll shape a fractional mandate that fits, without waiting on a permanent hire.
- GC judgment at fractional capacity
- A mandate Finance can explain
- Convert later if the fit is right