Fractional General Counsel
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The latest trend in legal services is fractional general counsel, offering small business owners an affordable way to hire a general counsel. Online legal marketplaces have been a significant driver of the popularity of functional general counsel. Currently, at least 69% of Americans would prefer online legal services compared to the traditional way of hiring attorneys.
The shift in preferences is justifiable considering the high demand for legal services and the existing unmet legal service gaps. In 2020 alone, more than 57 million Americans were seeking urgent legal assistance against just under 2 million lawyers. As it stands, the concept of fractional general counsel solves this existing bottleneck to legal service access.
It's inevitable to implore the intervention of an attorney when looking for urgent legal services, such as legal drafting or contract review. However, hiring a traditional attorney for such basic legal processes may not make economic and logical sense. But what other options can a client consider apart from hiring a formal general counsel? Opting for fractional general counsel is the next best option when dealing with day-to-day legal needs.
What is a Fractional General Counsel?
A fractional general counsel is quite the opposite of an in-house general attorney. Attorneys within this category are often independent contractors who offer ongoing legal services. These are part-time licensed attorneys who provide legal services at a flat-rate or fixed price charge in most cases. Ideally, these lawyers offer their legal services through the legal marketplace. As a result, more straightforward tasks such as legal drafting can be accomplished within the shortest time.
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Main Difference Between Fractional General Counsel and General Counsel
Most small businesses often get confused about whether to consider paying a law firm for services over hiring in-house counsel when hiring a lawyer. The main difference between a fractional general counsel and the general counsel is that the latter is an employee of the company. In contrast, the latter is a freelance or independent legal expert.
Businesses have assumed that they must have a company lawyer who enjoys in-house salary and other accruing benefits for a while.
A general counsel is bound to your organization based on underlying permanent terms. As an in-house employee, you don't have the luxury to terminate their agreement at will. However, a fractional general counsel can draft your legal papers today, and you proceed to choose another counsel tomorrow. The terms of engagement are on an on-demand basis, which makes your relationship easy.
What Does a Fractional General Counsel Do?
You probably wonder whether the fractional general counsel works similarly to a law firm. For starters, the law firm has multiple clients they deal with simultaneously. Each client gets billed hourly or is on a retainer with the law firm. The fractional general counsel operates based on a set fee. Once you meet the set fee, you can access the attorney for any legal advice and support you may need.
Anyone can seek the services of a fractional general counsel. Whether you are limited liability, non-profit, or individual clients, you can agree on an hourly rate or determine a specific service charge. This will depend on the nature and frequency of your legal needs.
Now that this legal option is a new trend, most potential clients may wonder about the kind of clientele it targets. Well, the fractional general counsel is not client-specific. A business at any level of the growth cycle can access this service. If you can access a reliable legal marketplace, you can hire a fractional general counsel with one click. Regardless of whether you run a small business or a behemoth organization, this option is open to you.
What Does a Fractional General Counsel Cost?
Clients often have a general perception that legal fees are pricey. However, this applies more when dealing with in-house lawyers with a full-time salary or big law firms that require a retainer. When dealing with fractional general counsel, the costs vary depending on various factors.
Among these factors is the complexity of the task you want to be done. If the matter at hand is highly complex, then the cost may be higher. A functional general counsel usually will charge legal fees depending on the number of hours they may spend on your specific case. If more hours are needed on the case, then there's a chance that you may need to be slightly higher.
Another factor that often affects the overall cost of fractional general counsel is the experience. Most of the more experienced fractional general attorneys charge more than novices in the field. On average, you need $150-$350 for you to access fractional general counsel services. The charge may be slightly higher depending on the factors discussed above.
How Does a Fractional General Counsel Charge?
The fractional general counsel considers specific factors when determining the actual charge for legal services offered. First, the engagement with clients is demand-based. As such, the clients and the attorney have the leeway to decide the terms of engagement. The fractional general counsel may charge their services based on an hourly rate. This, however, may be subject to hard estimates for specific projects.
In other cases, the factional general counsel may determine the legal charge based on a weekly or monthly rate. This is more so in cases where you may need legal support over a period longer than one week. In such cases, you can negotiate with the functional general counsel and reach an agreeable rate. The good thing about the charging criteria in the case of fractional general counsel is that you only get to incur the legal cost whenever you need a lawyer.
Who Needs a Fractional General Counsel?
Now that you understand the dynamics around fractional general counsel, do you need this kind of legal service? Well, legal support is an inevitable need for any business. Whether you run a small startup or a large organization, you'll need to consider legal counsel at some point. However, the fractional general counsel is a legal option meant to serve small and medium-sized businesses that may need legal support but lack financial muscle. Big companies may also opt for this option to accomplish more urgent but short-term projects.
How To Find a Fractional General Counsel
When sourcing for fractional general counsel, you may need to take your time and conduct the necessary due diligence before committing. So how do you ensure that you get the best fractional general counsel?
- Consider referrals from friends and relatives
- Check out the fractional general counsel's experience
- Review the counsel's reputation
- Check out for reviews by past clients
- Ask for proof of past engagement on similar projects
- Compare the legal fee charged
Get Access to a Trusted Fractional General Counsel Today
The need for legal support is inevitable for businesses at one point during normal operations. Therefore, it's essential to have an attorney you can trust. In addition, most clients seek the services of a legal expert for critical legal issues such as employee compensation or other everyday legal needs such as drafting and contract reviews. However, sourcing for traditional attorneys has been a hectic, costly, and time-consuming process in the past. However, the trend is changing with the gradual acceptance of legal marketplaces as alternative sources for legal support.
Today, you can easily hire a fractional general counsel without the traditional complexities of hiring a lawyer. The option is cost-friendly, fast, and convenient. You no longer must worry about the legal costs of hiring an in-house lawyer or the frustration that comes with booking for a general counsel. Are you looking for fractional general counsel with a reputation for success? Contact us today for reliable services.
ContractsCounsel is not a law firm, and this post should not be considered and does not contain legal advice. To ensure the information and advice in this post are correct, sufficient, and appropriate for your situation, please consult a licensed attorney. Also, using or accessing ContractsCounsel's site does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and ContractsCounsel.
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Meet some of our Fractional General Counsel Lawyers
Jessica P.
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Moss S.
Over 30 years of experience practicing commercial real estate and complex business litigation law.
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Chia-Fen Y.
Attorney Yu represents clients in business and real estate transactions and has successfully handled more than 200 cases. She has experience in corporate law, including forming legal entities, employment law and workers’ compensation law matters pertaining to wage and hour violations, industrial injuries, misclassifications, and other employment-related torts and contracts. Attorney Yu works with employers to address employee relationship issues, develop effective policies and craft employment agreements. Attorney Yu regularly advises clients on the legal and business aspects of potential investments, ongoing business operations, debt collections, shareholders and partners disputes, business purchase agreements, risk assessment, intellectual property disputes, and potential contract disputes. She regularly handles real estate law matters such as landlord-tenant disputes, lease agreements, buy-sell disputes, title disputes, and construction disputes. She also has substantial experience settling debts, and she drafts, reviews and negotiates settlement agreements. Attorney Yu conducts extensive legal research and provides on-point legal advice to both corporate and individual clients.
"Quick and easy to work with. Was patient with me and answered all my questions."
Ramanathan C.
Triple Qualified New York Attorney, Australian Lawyer & Enrolled NZ Barrister & Solicitor
"Rama was timely and responsive to all my needs & questions. From day one, he presented a tailored proposal for my project that felt personalized and thoughtful. He is pleasant to work with and professional with his legal advice. I'd be happy to work with him again."
November 10, 2021
Josiah Y.
Attorney licensed to practice in both California and New York, Josiah is focused on helping people understand what's in their contracts, and do business with confidence.
November 13, 2021
Natalie A.
I am an experienced in house counsel and have worked in the pharmaceutical, consumer goods and restaurant industry. I have experience with a variety of agreements, below is a non-exhaustive list of types of agreements I can help with: Supply Agreements Distribution Agreements Manufacture Agreements Service Agreements Employment Agreements Consulting Agreements Commercial and residential lease agreements Non-compete Agreements Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreements Demand Letters Termination notice Notice of breach of contract My experience as in house counsel has exposed me to a wide variety of commercial matters for which I can provide consulting and assistance on. I have advised US, Canadian and International entities on cross-functional matters and have guided them when they are in different countries and jurisdictions as their counterparties. I can provide assistance early on in a business discussion to help guide you and make sure you ask the right questions even before the commercial agreement needs to be negotiated, but if you are ready to put a contract in place I can most definitely help with that too.
Jeff C.
Jeff Colerick has been practicing law for over 30 years and has devoted his professional career to providing clients with intelligent representation and personal care. His experience as a lawyer involving complex matters has resulted in a long history of success. Jeff has built a practice based on a deep understanding of real estate assets and corporate activities. He combines his industry knowledge with a practical and collaborative approach to problem solving. Jeff’s client relationships are strong because they are built on mutual respect. Jeff talks the language of real estate and understands that it is a vehicle to deliver your business strategy. Jeff provides practical, responsive, and strategic advice related to real estate acquisition, construction, leasing, and sale of a wide range of real property types, including office, retail, medical, industrial, industrial flex-space, mixed-use condominium, multifamily and hospitality. As leader of the Goodspeed Merrill real estate practice group, Jeff represents clients with commercial and residential transactions, purchases and sales, land acquisition and development, real estate investment and financing, financing liens and security interests, and commercial leasing and lease maintenance, including lease enforcement support and advice. The firm represents clients in matters concerning construction, lending, developers, contractors and subcontractors, cell site leasing, property and boundary disputes, common interest community law, and residential condominiums and planned communities.
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Harrison K.
Harrison Kordestani is an executive with over twenty-five years experience in entertainment and media, energy, technologies, and start-ups. Mr. Kordestani has also developed a specialized legal and strategic consulting practice representing select entertainment, oil and gas, mortgage lending, and technology start-up clientele. He is also deeply passionate about new technologies and has also actively worked in building companies in the video-on-demand, wearable tech, information of things, demand prediction and app-marketing spaces. As an attorney, Mr. Kordestani's focus has been on transactional drafting and negotiation and providing ongoing legal counsel, corporate compliance, and contract interpretation to numerous private individuals as well as companies in varied fields.
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Abraham W.
Abraham's practice focuses on counseling emerging group companies in the technology and other commercial agreements, and assisting equity financings (specifically venture capital).
Dave Y.
I am available for data privacy and cybersecurity projects. I am CIPP/US certified through the IAPP. I have also taken coursework focused on the GDPR through the London School of Economics. In my past career I was an intelligence officer. I am well acquainted with information security best practices and I have experience developing and implementing administrative controls for classified information and PII. I have worked extensively overseas and I am comfortable integrating with remote teams. Feel free to reach out any time if you have any additional questions on my areas of expertise or professional background.
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Peter W. Y.
Perceptive, solution-driven counselor and experienced attorney. Record of successful verdicts, settlements, negotiations, arbitrations, mediations, and deals. Effective claims management, litigation strategy, and risk consulting. Proven ability to oversee litigation teams, communicate to stakeholders, manage multiple projects effectively, and expand business relationships. Extensive experience handling legal issues in engineering and construction, environmental litigation, corporate and contractual, and insurance issues.
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