Fractional General Counsel Services
Fractional general counsel services put a senior in-house lawyer in your company two to three days a week, at $2,800–$4,500 a day in the US and £1,800–£3,200 in the UK (Sartori & Partners day-rate bands, 2026). Across 60+ interim and fractional engagements since 2017, the median start is 7 days from the first call.
A fractional general counsel is a senior in-house lawyer engaged for a set number of days each week on a day rate, not a full-time officer and not a seconded law-firm associate. The person has been a GC or deputy, owns contracts, employment and the board pack, and is named in the engagement letter.
Sartori & Partners has delivered 60+ interim and fractional engagements since 2017, counted separately from 400+ placements (230+ in-house). Median time from first call to start: 7 days. When the board later wants a named full-time officer, days billed credit against the retained fee on a first general counsel search. Parent desk: interim legal talent.
A US fractional general counsel costs $2,800–$4,500 a day at two to three days a week; two days a week is about eight billed days, or $22,400–$36,000 a month.
| Engagement | US day rate | UK day rate | Typical cadence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fractional GC | $2,800-$4,500 | £1,800-£3,200 | 2-3 days/week |
| First-GC fractional (under $100m revenue) | $2,200-$3,400 | £1,500-£2,400 | 1-2 days/week |
| Interim GC (defined gap) | $1,800-$3,200 | £1,400-£2,400 | Full-time cover |
| Interim CCO | $2,200-$3,800 | £1,600-£2,800 | Full-time cover |
| Commercial counsel secondment | $1,200-$2,200 | £900-£1,600 | Surge or cover |
| Privacy / AI-governance counsel | $1,600-$2,800 | — | Project, not a standing CPO |
| M&A surge counsel | $1,400-$2,400 | — | Deal surge |
| Legal-operations contractor | $900-$1,600 | £700-£1,200 | Project |
Day rates, not salaries. Days billed on a fractional engagement are credited against a later retained fee for the same seat.
Source: Sartori & Partners day-rate bands, 2026
Hourly versus retainer versus embedded pricing, and the cadence at which a day-rate seat costs as much as a full-time hire: fractional general counsel rates and models. A full-time GC's pay by stage: general counsel pay data and how much does a general counsel cost.
Use a fractional general counsel when legal work recurs every week but does not fill five days: typically Seed to Series C, a PE portfolio company between general counsel, or a leave gap.
Median in-house bench: zero to one lawyer at Seed–A (often fractional), one lawyer at Series B–C or under $50 million revenue. Two days covers customer paper, employment and a monthly board pack; three days covers a first regulated product or a US/EU expansion.
First general counsel PEA mid-market portfolio company runs a median three to six lawyers. When the GC leaves before a refinancing or an exit, a fractional or interim GC holds the sponsor pack while the permanent search runs.
PE portfolio legal hiring LeaveFull-time cover for parental leave, a financing or a departure is an interim general counsel engagement on the interim day rate. Different letter from a two-day fractional seat; same desk.
Interim general counselSequencing the first legal hires: building in-house legal teams and hiring your first general counsel.
Fractional is a part-time standing officer, interim is full-time cover for a defined gap, and a full-time GC is a permanent hire through a retained search.
| Fractional GC | Interim GC | Full-time GC | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadence | 2-3 days a week | Full-time, for a defined gap | Full-time, permanent |
| Billing | US $2,800-$4,500 / UK £1,800-£3,200 a day | US $1,800-$3,200 / UK £1,400-£2,400 a day | Retained fee: 25-30% of first-year total compensation |
| Time to start | Median 7 days (60+ engagements) | Median 7 days (60+ engagements) | Shortlist 24 days; accepted offer 11 weeks median (52 searches) |
| Typical trigger | Standing work below five days | Leave, financing, departure | Board wants a named officer |
Source: Sartori & Partners, 2017–2026; day-rate bands 2026
The decision in full: interim versus permanent in-house counsel. The permanent seat: general counsel search.
Yes: days billed on a fractional engagement are credited against the retained fee when the same company later hires a permanent GC or Head of Legal for the same seat. The triggers are the same as a first-GC brief: a board that wants a named officer, a secretary book, a regulator who will ask who owns the program, a US or EU expansion that needs a local signature. We then open a retained search on GC terms (a fee of 25-30 percent of total first-year compensation, a retainer of 30 percent of the fee at engagement, 12-month replacement) and credit the days already billed.
We will not pretend a two-day cadence is a five-day officer to keep the day rate running. The Series C payments CEO in San Francisco was told fractional for two quarters, then permanent. Both were right.
A fractional general counsel starts a median 7 days after the first call, across 60+ interim and fractional engagements since 2017.
Fractional and interim counsel in California and beyond: San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, London, Singapore. Permanent in-house hiring in the same cities: in-house counsel recruiting.
Timeline: Start day 6.
Client references
We thought we needed a full-time GC. They said fractional for two quarters, then a permanent search. Both were right. The fractional counsel started in a week.
A US fractional general counsel at two to three days a week costs $2,800–$4,500 a day; in the UK, £1,800–£3,200 (Sartori & Partners day-rate bands, 2026). Two days a week is about eight billed days a month: $22,400–$36,000 at the US band. A first-GC fractional seat at a company under $100 million revenue runs $2,200–$3,400 / £1,500–£2,400. Pricing models and break-even against a full-time hire: fractional general counsel rates and models.
A fractional general counsel works a set number of days each week on a day rate; a full-time GC is a salaried officer present five days, hired through a retained search. The fractional GC owns standing work (contracts, employment, the board pack) without a full-time salary, bonus and equity. A first full-time GC at Series B–C is a $240,000–$340,000 base plus a 20–40 percent bonus. See first general counsel versus fractional.
Fractional counsel is a standing part-time officer, two to three days a week; interim counsel is full-time cover for a defined gap such as parental leave, a financing or a departure. Interim GC day rates run $1,800–$3,200 / £1,400–£2,400 against $2,800–$4,500 / £1,800–£3,200 for fractional. Both are placed by the same desk: interim general counsel and interim legal talent.
A company is ready for a fractional general counsel when standing legal work (customer paper, employment, board materials) recurs every week but does not yet fill five days. That is typical at Seed to Series C, where the median in-house bench is zero to one lawyer, or in a PE-backed portfolio company between general counsel. When the board wants a named full-time officer, move to a first general counsel search.
Across 60+ interim and fractional engagements since 2017, the median start is 7 days from the first call. Those 60+ sit outside our 230+ in-house placements. A Series C fintech in San Francisco needed cover through parental leave and a financing; the interim GC was live on the work on day 6 (the San Francisco interim GC).
Yes: days billed on a fractional engagement are credited against a later retained fee for the same seat, and the credit is written into the engagement letter. The retained GC fee is 25–30 percent of first-year total compensation, with 30 percent of the fee paid as a retainer at engagement and a 12-month replacement window. A different seat or a different company does not carry the credit.
Our fractional engagements are billed by the day at an agreed band, so the company pays for the days worked rather than a retained fee. Cadence is set in the letter, typically two or three days a week. Hourly, monthly-retainer and embedded models are compared in fractional general counsel rates and models.
No: Sartori & Partners is a legal executive search firm, not a law firm. We find and place the senior in-house lawyer who serves as your fractional general counsel, and we run the later permanent search if you need one. The legal advice comes from the lawyer we place, not from us.
Days per week
Median start in 7 days. Days billed credit against a later retained search.
