Fractional / Outside General Counsel
Senior, in-house-caliber legal coverage on a flexible monthly basis, from a lawyer who has sat in both the boardroom and the law firm.
Ready for a expert lawyers, not ready for the fee?
Most startups hit the same wall: too much legal work to keep ignoring, not enough to justify a full-time general counsel at $250,000 a year. A fractional general counsel fills that gap. You get an experienced lawyer embedded in your business, handling the day-to-day and the strategic, for a predictable fraction of the cost.
We are Stealth Legal. We've worked both in private practice and inside companies as in-house counsel, so we know what it actually takes to support a growing business with practical advice and sound legal guidance, not just to answer a discrete legal question and send a bill.
What does fractional general counsel do?
Think of it as your legal function, outsourced to one senior person who knows your company:
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MSAs, SLAs, NDAs, DPAs, SAAS agreements, partnership and platform agreements, co-development agreements, termination agreements; review at speed and negotiated on your timeline.
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Privacy policies, data processing agreements, and a compliance posture that holds up as you scale into new markets.
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Entity housekeeping, board and equity support, and the routine legal maintenance that keeps a company clean for its next raise or diligence
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"Can we do this?" questions that come up weekly, answered fast, without a new engagement letter each time.
When do I need a Fractional General Counsel?
Signing Agreements?
Collecting User Personal Data?
Spending Hours of Billable Time on Product Compliance?
Getting Surprise Legal Bills?
Fractional v. Outside v. Full-time Counsel
A traditional outside firm handles isolated matters and bills by the hour, which is fine for a one-off but slow and expensive for ongoing needs. A full-time general counsel is a six-figure salary plus benefits that most early companies cannot justify.
A fractional general counsel sits in between: integrated into your business like in-house counsel, available on a predictable retainer, and scalable up or down as your needs change.
You are probably ready for a fractional general counsel if you are signing contracts you don't fully understand, collecting user data without a clear privacy position, spending founder hours on legal instead of product, or getting surprise bills from outside firms for work that never seems to finish. If any of those sound familiar, a fixed monthly arrangement usually costs less and moves faster.
How it works at Stealth Legal
Simple and predictable. We start with a short call to size your legal load, then set a monthly scope and flat fee that fits it. You get direct access to me, not a rotating cast of associates.
As your company grows, the scope grows with it:
No hourly meter on every email.
No surprise bills.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It is ongoing, senior legal support provided part-time. Instead of a single matter, you get a lawyer who knows your business and handles your legal needs on a continuing basis for a set monthly fee.
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The work is similar; the commitment and cost are not. A Fractional GC gives you the same integrated, strategic coverage without a full-time salary, benefits, or headcount.
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It is structured as a flat monthly retainer scoped to your actual legal load, which is almost always less than a full-time GC and more predictable than hourly outside counsel. Book a call for a scoped quote.
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Companies of all shapes and sizes, we have represented traditional industry clients that are growing at amazing clips to emerging growth venture capital companies that need real legal coverage but are not ready to hire in-house.
Let’s Work TogetherIf you're interested in working with us, complete the form with a few details about your project. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.