What is Fractional Legal Counsel Support?

Fractional counsel support helps companies gain access to a dedicated legal resource without the cost or commitment of hiring a full-time in-house lawyer. It is like having a part-time or project-based lawyer on staff but without the obligation or commitment of hiring an employee.  

What are the Benefits of Fractional Legal Counsel Support?

A fractional counsel can become tightly connected to your business, allowing for timely advice that is tailored to your business needs.  Rather than responding to risks as they materialize, a fractional counsel can help the business prepare for and identify risks in advance – allowing the business to sidestep issues that could otherwise derail success or prove costly in future.  At the same time, the legal costs are manageable and predictable since there is no long-term commitment.  

Through a fractional relationship, a business can often gain access to lawyers with a talent level and experience set that might not otherwise be available to the business if they were hiring on a full-time basis. 

Fractional legal counsel support can be particularly valuable to businesses that are in growth or sale mode.  Potential purchasers, investors or lenders will almost certainly want to understand whether a business has appropriate risk management and compliance practices in place as part of their due diligence.  Fractional counsel are well situated to help a businesses identify and address any gaps that might be concerning to potential purchasers, investors or lenders. 

How is Fractional Support Structured?

There is a lot of flexibility around how fractional relationships can be structured, which is part of the reason it has become an appealing option for businesses.  Most commonly, lawyers agree to dedicating a certain number of hours per month to a business in exchange for an agreed upon set-fee.  Depending on the business needs, the parties can agree on times when counsel will dedicate themselves solely to the business (i.e. Tuesday and Thursdays, or Wednesday afternoons) in addition to responding to ad-hoc requests.  Ultimately, the parties choose an arrangement that ensures the business gets the legal support it needs in a predictable and cost effective manner.