01
You may not know the exact role yet
Fractional or interim work can help define the permanent role before the search becomes expensive.
The hiring risk
The cost of a slow or wrong legal hire is bigger than the fee.
Legal searches are high-stakes because the role is usually under-scoped, the team is already stretched, and the wrong person can create months of drag.
02
The market is relationship-driven
Goodlawyer already knows many experienced lawyers through fractional, secondment, and network relationships.
03
The best candidates rarely apply
Many strong in-house lawyers are open to the right role, but they will not answer a job posting. Our network already knows who they are — and who is quietly willing to talk.
A warmer search
Recruiting connected to real legal operating work.
Goodlawyer recruitment is not the default motion. It exists because clients and lawyers asked for a permanent path when the fit is right.
- vetted lawyers across the network
- 750+
- talent pool, not a cold start
- Existing
- typical fee range for traditional legal search
- 25-30%
Permanent when it is right
Recruitment can follow fractional or secondment work once the role and fit are clearer.
Existing talent pool
You are not starting from zero. Goodlawyer already knows hundreds of experienced lawyers — their preferences, their capacity, and how they operate.
Contingent economics
The fee is contingent on success. You pay when your hire is made, not to start the search.
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
Two paths to permanent
Hire directly, or try the fit first.
Some teams run a straight search. Others start with a fractional or seconded lawyer and convert once the fit is obvious. Both paths are priced transparently, and both end with a hire we are glad to see happen.
01
The straight search
A contingent search priced as a below-market success fee. You pay when the hire is made, not to start looking.
02
The try-first path
Start fractional or seconded, watch the person operate inside your business, then convert with a fee that steps down the longer you have worked together.
03
Aligned either way
We would rather celebrate a conversion than penalize it. If you hire the person full-time, it means we did our job well.
How recruiting works
Clarify the role, then search from a warm network.
We combine legal-market knowledge with the network insight built through fractional and secondment work.
Scope the role
Define seniority, practice mix, salary band, location, reporting line, and must-have traits.
Search the network
Identify lawyers open to the right permanent opportunity who already fit the role and culture.
Shortlist for fit
Bring forward candidates with the right experience, motivation, and business fluency to succeed.
Close and transition
Support the offer, acceptance, and handoff so the new hire starts with clear working context.
Customer proof
A search that proves the hire before you make it permanent.
We needed an exceptional lawyer, and Goodlawyer delivered. Our fractional hire integrated seamlessly from the outset, delivering results that ultimately led us to bring them on full-time. We look forward to working with Goodlawyer again.
Niamh Pollak
VP, Legal · Clio
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.
Make the hire
Find the permanent hire without starting cold.
Tell us the role, seniority, location, and timing. We’ll shape the search from a legal network we already know: success-fee by default, not a retained search.
- A known network, not a cold slate
- Role clarity before the search
- Interim bridge available