01
The handoff has to be fast
Leave dates move, babies arrive early, and medical timelines can change. You need someone who has done this before and knows how to onboard quickly.
What you are really carrying
This is not just a temporary seat. It is institutional memory at risk.
When a key legal team member steps away, the work does not pause. You are left protecting continuity, managing handoff risk, and often explaining a different budget path to HR or Finance.
02
The budget is rarely clean
Replacement coverage may sit across benefits, insurance, HR contingency, and legal budgets. We help you frame the mandate so it fits the approval path your company actually has.
03
You cannot become the safety net
A leave replacement who needs constant direction creates a second job for the person already under the most pressure: you.
Built for leave coverage
Senior coverage with a team behind the seat.
Goodlawyer matches you with independent in-house lawyers who understand leave coverage, fixed-term continuity, and clean handoffs back to the returning team member.
- vetted lawyers across the network
- 750+
- to first introductions
- 9 Days
- monthly hours shaped to the need
- 30-100
Ready before you need them
Matching starts from a warm, double opt-in bench: lawyers who are already vetted and raise their hand for this kind of seat. Not a cold search that begins when the leave does.
Account support throughout
You are not locked into a lone contractor. Goodlawyer stays involved with onboarding, fit, utilization, and continuity.
Built for return-to-work handoff
The goal is not just to survive the leave. It is to preserve templates, context, and momentum for the person coming back.
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 coverage starts
From leave risk to live coverage in a few clear steps.
We shape the role around the person stepping away, the work that must continue, and the handoff the returning lawyer will need.
Map the role
Identify the workstreams, stakeholders, and knowledge that must transfer before coverage starts.
Match carefully
Review lawyers with the seniority, practice area, and leave experience to operate independently.
Onboard early
Use overlap time to download context, meet stakeholders, and set a practical operating rhythm.
Hand back cleanly
Close with current files, open risks, and process notes ready for the returning team member.
Customer proof
Parental leave coverage that works the first time, and the next.
We used Goodlawyer for parental leave coverage and immediately saw the value: experienced, in-house-minded support with minimal onboarding. When the next gap came up, it was an easy decision to use them again.
Alice Davidson
General Counsel · Tipalti
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.
Cover the gap
Keep legal moving while your teammate is away.
Tell us the leave timeline, the role being covered, and the work that cannot drop. We’ll shape experienced coverage with a clean handoff back when they return.
- Coverage that has done leave before
- Handoff built into the plan
- Budget language for HR and Finance