Faced with a legal need that exceeds what the CEO can handle alone but does not yet justify a full-time hire, two options often present themselves: calling on a freelance lawyer, or engaging a Fractional GC. These two profiles address fundamentally different needs - and confusing one with the other can lead to disappointment in both directions.
What a freelance lawyer does
A freelance lawyer is a legal professional who practices independently and intervenes on defined mandates. They can draft contracts, conduct legal research, handle specific files, or support an existing legal team as reinforcement. Their economic model is generally hourly or project-based billing.
This is an execution profile, deliverable-oriented. They handle what is submitted to them. They are not there to analyse the organisation's overall legal situation, identify risks that have not been raised, or participate in strategic decisions. They are generally not intended to represent the legal function at board or executive committee level.
What a Fractional GC does
A Fractional GC occupies a leadership role, not an execution role. They are the legal partner of the leadership team - present in decisions, not just their implementation. They carry the organisation's legal strategy, identify risks upstream, coordinate external counsel when needed, and represent the legal function at board or executive committee level.
The difference is not a question of quality - it is a question of positioning. An excellent freelance lawyer will do their job perfectly. But that job is different from that of a General Counsel, even part-time.
How to choose between the two
The question to ask is not 'which is cheaper' or 'which is available'. It is: what does my organisation actually need?
If the need is to handle a defined volume of legal work - a batch of contracts to draft, an HR issue to address, a specific regulatory file - a freelance lawyer is the right answer. The work is identified, the deliverable is clear, the mandate is bounded.
If the need is to have senior legal judgment integrated into the leadership - to secure strategic decisions, manage risks proactively, and give the legal function a positioning commensurate with the organisation's stakes - then a Fractional GC is what is needed.
Signals that indicate a Fractional GC rather than a freelance lawyer
You do not know exactly what legal questions to ask - you only know there are risks you are not mastering. Your contracts are signed but you are not sure what you agreed to. You are making strategic decisions without their legal implications being assessed upstream. You have external lawyers but no one internally to brief them properly and evaluate their recommendations. You feel that legal is a constraint rather than a lever in your organisation.
If you recognise yourself in these situations, it is not additional legal execution you need. It is a legal partner at the right level.