Episode 8 · July 2026 · 8 min
A day in the life of a fractional lawyer
Nofa Khadduri started at White & Case. This is the schedule she built instead — and the one Biglaw does not advertise.
Overview
Nofa Khadduri’s résumé is the one Biglaw still uses as a gold standard: White & Case in London, Goodmans in Toronto, then seven years in-house. Two years ago she joined Goodlawyer as a fractional GC and rebuilt the week around the life she actually wanted — not the one the billable-hour model assumes.
The day in this episode is specific. Some of her clients are in the EU, so she takes calls at 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. — because she is a morning person and chose those clients. Then boxing. Then school drop-off. The workday ends around 3:00 p.m. when her daughters get home. Dinner is with the family. She logs back on later only if she needs to, and she is clear that this, too, is a choice.
The workload is not light. She says a week on Goodlawyer is comparable to a full-time in-house role. The difference is that the hours are negotiated: led by client needs, then by the family life she and her husband designed. Goodlawyer is the operating layer — matching her into privacy, AI, and technology work, and taking billing, engagement letters, and retainers off her desk. She has three very different anchor engagements. She has never missed a bedtime.
What to take from it
- The early EU calls are a choice, not a sacrifice. She designed the week around being a morning person and being home at 3:00.
- Fractional does not mean part-time lite. Her week looks like a full-time in-house role, with hours that flex around family.
- The platform value is matching plus ops: the right clients (privacy, AI, tech) and the admin she does not want to run.
- One practice can hold three shapes of work: sole GC, team counsel, and support to a GC on a foreign global scale.
- Becoming a mother was the catalyst. Boxing is the same instinct as going independent — a challenge she chose on purpose.
Who this is for
Lawyers in Biglaw or in-house who want a practice that still has drop-off and dinner. Parents trying to stay present without stepping out of senior legal work. In-house leaders who want to see what a fractional GC week actually looks like.
Keep exploring
- Practice on GoodlawyerHow independent lawyers join the network, set capacity, and get matched.
- Fractional vs. in-house counselHow the models differ on cost, commitment, and scope.
- Why lawyers are unhappyAutonomy, admin, and the case for a different way to practice.
- Hire fractional counselTell us what your team needs — we match the right lawyer.
Transcript
Lightly edited from the video for readability. Speaker labels added.
Narrator
She started her career at White & Case, one of the world’s most prestigious law firms. Now she’s practicing fractionally, showing up for her daughters, and boxing every day with Goodlawyer in her corner. Come with us. Let’s go spend a day with Nofa.
Nofa Khadduri
My name is Nofa Khadduri, and I’ve been a fractional GC with Goodlawyer for two years. My day-to-day includes taking my children to school in the morning, going to do my workouts, logging in. I have some clients that are EU-based, so sometimes I’ll be doing a call at 6:00 or 5:30 in the morning, but that is something I want to do, and I’m a morning person, so this really works for me. My workday ends around 3:00 p.m. when my children come home. We get to spend time together, my family and I. We have dinner together. And I log back on later on if I need to, but that is also a choice that I’ve made.
Training partners
How would you describe Nofa in two words? Intense. And committed. Dedicated.
Nofa Khadduri
How do I feel after a boxing workout? I love it. So good. I feel energized. I feel calm. De-stressed. Ready to take on the day.
Nofa Khadduri
I’ve had an amazing legal career. I started as a paralegal. I really enjoyed that experience. I moved over to White & Case, London. They have a fantastic training program for lawyers, and I was very lucky to have an incredible mentor. He really set the values for what makes a business lawyer as opposed to just a lawyer-lawyer. Constantly asking questions like, “What are the five things that keep clients up at night?” Don’t just identify problems. Tie them into profit and the bottom line. And that is something I take with me every day in my practice now.
Nofa Khadduri
I stayed there for a few years, came back to Toronto. I was with Goodmans for a couple of years, and then I went in-house for seven years, and then I went out on my own. One thing that surprised me when I started working in-house was being asked questions, all of which I didn’t know the answers to. And so it was a pivotal growth moment for me to just be able to say, “No, I don’t actually know the answer to that. I need a few days to figure it out and get back to you.”
Nofa Khadduri
With one of my first paychecks from K&L Gates, I got myself a diamond-encrusted watch, as well as this art piece from Qatar, from a local artist. I like the colors, and I love the vulnerability as well as the strength in the girl. And here is my home office.
Nofa Khadduri
I was starting to have conversations to see what my next step was going to be from in-house. A friend said to me, “Hey, there’s a network out there that connects lawyers with businesses — look into it.” So I Googled it and I really liked it. I wanted to give it a try because I have this interest in running my practice and challenging myself. I wanted a variety of issues and clients to work with, and so Goodlawyer offered a fantastic community of other lawyers to connect with. It offered brains behind the operations where I had none, and it also had an incredible roster of clients. Josh was very kind in guiding me and supporting me, understanding my needs — including how much I want to make per month, understanding what kind of clients I wanted to work with, and what would be a good fit for me for my family-life balance.
Nofa Khadduri
Goodlawyer’s ability to understand the areas I want to practice in — privacy, AI, technology — and then going out and matching me with clients that had those needs offered such an incredible value-add for me and the client. One of the unique aspects of the Goodlawyer platform is that it takes away a lot of admin work that you would need done: connecting with clients, billing, engagement letters, retainers. On Goodlawyer, I have three anchor engagements. The engagements are very different. One of them, I am the only GC for the company. The other one, I am part of an amazing team — I’m one of many. And the other one is me supporting a GC on a foreign global scale.
Nofa’s husband
A few words I would use to describe Nofa are driven, caring, and smart. Maybe like Nofa 2.0 post-Goodlawyer. I think she’s really stepped into some of those engagements. I think she’s really fulfilled contributing at work with her clients and having an impact.
Nofa Khadduri
My workload in a week is comparable to that of a full-time in-house role. Those hours are, one, obviously led by client needs, but second — and with communication and agreement — are reflective of my needs in terms of family-life balance. I would say that becoming a mother and having two young children is the catalyst of a lifestyle change for me. Where Goodlawyer comes in is that it’s enabled me and my husband to show up in the way that we want to, in terms of time and availability to our children, while still also pursuing successful careers.
Nofa’s husband
I think with Goodlawyer, and in this phase of her career, she really took back control of her schedule and her ability to balance work and personal time. And so, while she’s busier than ever, she’s flexible — and that creates opportunities for us to really dedicate to family.
Nofa Khadduri
Practicing on Goodlawyer has shaped and influenced how I show up as a mom to my very young children, in that I am available to them. I can commit to going to practices, and I do drop-off every morning. I’ve never missed a bedtime — notwithstanding that my husband does the bedtime — but I’m here and I can be a part of them. And it’s also enabled me that when I am here and hanging out with them in the afternoon, I’m present. What I like about boxing is that I knew nothing about it. Part of my attraction to boxing is the same as my attraction to practicing on my own. It’s a challenge, and every day it’s a challenge, and I embrace that and I find it really exciting. My focus is really to continue being able to practice law in a way that is enjoyable, in a way that allows me to support my family, but also in a way where I continue to grow as a lawyer.
