KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Employing a full-time general counsel can be prohibitively expensive for small companies.
By hiring a "fractional" (or part-time) general counsel, small companies can get many of the benefits of having a full-time general counsel at a fraction of the typical cost.
Fractional GCs fully integrate with the company's executive team, working on a remote-basis through a company email address similar to other remote team members.
Fractional GCs are often initially engaged on an hourly-basis during a trial period and then later convert to a monthly flat-fee arrangement if the trial period goes well.
Noscitur helps small companies hire experienced Fractional GCs. We learn about the needs of your company and provide you with a list of attorneys you can interview before starting a trial engagement. Email us at hello@noscitur.com to learn more.
In the post-COVID economy, where remote work and collaborating with distributed teams has become more commonplace, there is a growing trend among startups, small businesses, and growing companies to hire a Fractional General Counsel — a part-time in-house attorney who is responsible for performing or otherwise overseeing all the company's legal work. Fractional GCs fully integrate with the company's executive team, work on a remote-basis through a company email address similar to other remote team members, and provide the same benefits as a full-time in-house general counsel attorney at a fraction of the standard cost.
Law Firms, Full-Time GCs, and Fractional GCs
Fractional GCs fill a significant gap between law firms and full-time general counsel attorneys. Law firms provide a wide range of expertise across various legal domains, along with the flexibility to scale up legal resources as needed. However, law firms can be prohibitively expensive, especially for continuous or comprehensive legal coverage. Full-time GCs, on the other hand, provide companies with an in-house attorney who is deeply integrated into the business, understanding its unique challenges and strategic direction. Hiring a full-time general counsel ensures that legal considerations are embedded into the decision-making processes at all levels, but it comes with the high cost of a full-time executive salary, benefits, and overhead expenses.
Fractional GCs provide nearly all the benefits of a full-time general counsel and are an ideal fit for startups, small businesses, or growing companies who have an ongoing legal workload that would be too expensive to continuously outsource to outside counsel but is not sufficiently large to justify hiring a full-time general counsel. Fractional GCs advise on legal strategy, review and revise inbound and outbound commercial agreements, ensure compliance on employment and regulatory matters, handle intellectual property licenses and filings, protect the company against litigation and other legal risks, and help enforce the company's legal rights.
Testing the Waters: Hourly Trial Period to Flat-Fee Arrangement
Integrating an in-house attorney into your executive team is an important development that should be handled with care. Many companies who have not yet hired in-house counsel are uncertain of how much legal work they should expect a part-time in-house attorney to perform. Budget-conscious businesses want to protect and advance their legal interests without spending any more on legal costs than necessary. That is why many companies who engage a fractional in-house attorney often begin with a trial period using a standard hourly-billing model. The trial period usually spans one to three months and serves to both test the waters of the relationship and to clarify the amount and nature of the company's expected ongoing legal work. This is beneficial to both the company and the attorney because the company does not want to overpay for legal work and the attorney does not want to be under-compensated for the work they perform. At the end of the trial period, assuming the company and the attorney both want to continue with the engagement, the company and the attorney settle on a mutually beneficial arrangement, usually converting the hourly free structure to a monthly flat-fee in an engagement letter that outlines other important considerations for a successful engagement going forward.
Noscitur makes it easy to hire a Fractional General Counsel
Noscitur is at the forefront of helping startups, small businesses, and growing companies hire fractional general counsel attorneys. We have strong connections with experienced attorneys in every industry who are ready to integrate with your company and interface with third-parties as your company's General Counsel. We start by first gaining a thorough understanding of the needs of your company and then provide you with a "short list" of top in-house attorneys that you can interview. Each of our Fractional GC attorneys has a breadth of experience, a sophisticated business acumen, and a passion for working with growing companies. After the right candidate is found and selected, Noscitur continues to facilitate the process, from the initial trial period to the post-trial engagement, to ensure a successful working relationship between you and your new Fractional General Counsel.
Interested in learning more about how a Fractional General Counsel could benefit your company or organization? Email us at hello@noscitur.com and let us know how we can help.