General Counsel: Full-Time vs. Fractional
Deciding between a full-time General Counsel and fractional GC services is a critical strategic decision that impacts your legal costs, flexibility, and ability to scale. This guide helps you understand when each approach makes sense for your organization.
When to Hire a Full-Time GC vs. Fractional GC
Consider a Full-Time General Counsel When:
- You have constant legal needs requiring daily attention (contracts, compliance, litigation, M&A)
- You operate in heavily regulated industries requiring dedicated compliance oversight
- You have 100+ employees or $20M+ in annual revenue (particularly with multiple business units, geographies, or complex legal structures)
- Your annual outside legal spend exceeds 2x the cost of a full-time GC (typically $500K-$800K+ annually)
- Legal is core to your business strategy and requires deep organizational integration
- You're preparing for an IPO within 12-18 months and need dedicated securities expertise
- You're building a legal department and need a leader to hire and manage a team
Consider a Fractional General Counsel When:
- You're in startup to growth phase (10-200 employees, $5M-$75M revenue) with periodic but not constant legal needs
- Your legal requirements fluctuate by quarter, project, or business cycle
- You need senior-level legal expertise but your annual legal spend is under $400K-$500K
- You're building toward a full-time GC role but need immediate legal leadership to establish processes and vendor relationships
- You need to balance legal leadership with other critical investments
- You need expertise in specific areas (securities, M&A, IP) without full-time commitment
- You're preparing for funding rounds, acquisitions, or strategic transactions but don't yet need full-time support
Related Resources
The Bottom Line
For most growth-stage companies, a fractional General Counsel provides strategic legal leadership, expertise, and flexibility at a fraction of the cost. You get access to experienced legal executives without the overhead, hiring risks, and fixed costs of a full-time hire.
As your company matures and legal needs become more constant and complex, you can transition to a full-time GC. Many companies use fractional GCs as a bridge, building their legal capabilities while they scale to the point where full-time leadership makes sense.