Fractional General Counsel

By David Boyd, Partner

Fractional General Counsel

By David Boyd, partner

David Boyd | Partner

The Role of General Counsel

Over the last few weeks, I have spent time engaging with clients around the developing role of General Counsel, reflecting on the 2025 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey Key Findings. What is apparent is that we are in a uniquely dynamic business environment with companies of all sizes face a myriad of challenges. The most senior lawyer within an organization is taking on added responsibilities and functions, engaging directly with business strategy, including acquisitions and divestments, as well as navigating through the choppy waters of things such as ever more complex litigation and global trade. For those organizations operating without a defined General Counsel, the need for that role is being re-evaluated. This is where the concept of a fractional General Counsel can be a game-changer. Here are some of the potential benefits.

Flexibility and Scalability

The fractional General Counsel model offers significant flexibility. Businesses can engage a fractional General Counsel as needed, whether for a specific project, during peak periods or for ongoing senior-level support, including alongside an existing General Counsel to lessen the load. This scalability ensures that companies have the right level of legal support at all times without comitting to a (further) full-time hire.

Access to Specialized Expertize

A fractional General Counsel often brings a wealth of experience from various industries and legal disciplines. This diverse background enables them to provide specialized advice tailored to the relevant organization. A fractional General Counsel is adept at recognizing where targeted expertize is required and applying that specialized knowledge to navigate complex legal issues and mitigate risks.

Enhanced Focus on Core Business Activities

By outsourcing legal challenges to a fractional General Counsel, business leaders can focus on their core activities, confident that specific legal issues are being expertly addressed. This delegation allows the business to concentrate on strategic decision-making and growth, potentially leading to more effective business decisions and positive outcomes.

Improved Risk Management

Effective risk management is crucial for any business and a fractional General Counsel can play a pivotal role. By proactively identifying potential legal issues and implementing preventive measures, a fractional General Counsel can help businesses avoid costly litigation and regulatory penalties. Their ongoing legal oversight can help ensure that the company remains compliant with relevant laws and regulations, thereby reducing the risk of legal disputes and enhancing overall business stability.

Cost-Effectiveness

Budget management is an increasing focus of any business and, as this includes the legal function, a significant benefit of a fractional General Counsel can be cost savings. Hiring a full-time General Counsel can be prohibitively expensive and time intensive, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. A fractional General Counsel can hit the ground running, providing the expertize of a seasoned legal professional in an extremely cost effective manner with legal input scaled up or down based on demand. This flexibility allows companies to manage their legal budgets more effectively and allocate resources to other critical areas of their operations.

Bridge to Law Firm Support

With ever challenging complex legal issues, the need for law firm expertize and scale to manage transactions or cases is increasing. Engaging a fractional General Counsel with experience of dealing with law firms can serve as an extremely valuable bridge to ensure that law firm advice is received in a relevant, timely manner and on budget.

In conclusion, a fractional General Counsel offers numerous benefits, including access to specialized expertize, flexibility, improved risk management and cost effectiveness. By leveraging the skills and experience of a fractional General Counsel, companies can achieve greater legal effectiveness and efficiency in support of delivering on their core business objectives. Konexo has seen demand for this type and level of interim support and it is a key focus to ensure that we continue to have the right individuals available to play this key role for our clients in 2025 and beyond. To discuss the themes raised in this article, please contact David Boyd.

Konexo is the name and brand under which the Konexo Entities provide legal or other services to clients around the world. Please be aware that not all services are available from all of the Konexo Entities. For more information on the Konexo Entities, the services they provide and their relationship with Eversheds Sutherland, a global provider of legal services.

The use of the name Konexo is for description purposes only and does not imply that the Konexo Entities are collectively in a single partnership or are part of a global LLP. The responsibility for the provision of services to the client is defined in the terms of engagement between the instructed firm and the client.

US ATTORNEY ADVERTISING DISCLAIMER – Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.