Marta Ribas
Contract negotiation
- The need
- Team stretched on commercial
- Background
- 15 yrs · Garrigues, then in-house SaaS
- Jurisdictions
- Spain
- Shape
- 30 hrs/week · 9 months
Proposed after one call
Fractional Counsel
Top-tier lawyers. Only when you need them.
A top-tier lawyer, curated one by one, who works as an extension of your legal team: close to the business, carrying the context, answering for the outcome the way your best in-house lawyer would. Only, and when, you need them.
Not someone learning on the go. They have done it before.
400+ independent lawyers, 20+ jurisdictions — from the firms whose name opens the meeting
The model
Modern legal teams are layered.
Three layers, each doing what only it can do. Most teams are still missing the middle one.
Core team
Owns the company. Knows everything, has time for a fraction of it.
Fractional Counsel
Covers the matter the team doesn’t master or doesn’t reach, working as one of them.
Law firms
Take the specialist and contentious work. They advise, then hand it back.
01
Niche, not generalist
Not someone catching up on your subject, but someone who has spent years inside it. No learning on the go: your matter is not their first time.
02
Only, and when, you need it
The expertise that is needed, to the extent it is needed: one day a week or three, continuously or for a single front.
03
A business partner, not a supplier
Sits close to the business, carries the context from one quarter to the next and answers for the outcome. Continuity, ownership and judgment — not a closed engagement.
Fractional Counsel is the middle layer: a top-tier lawyer working as an extension of the team, with the expertise needed today and to the extent it is needed.
Why the model exists
The team isn’t over-resourced. It’s short-handed.
New regulation nobody has read yet. An acquisition. A long absence. A promotion that leaves a gap behind. A function still being built. The work climbs for months; the team doesn’t.
Team workload Law firms Work left without an owner
The three options
Three ways to handle it. Only one takes it on.
Your team knows everything and can’t reach it all. A law firm reaches it and never quite knows you. The third combines the two.
| Your team | Law firm | Fractional Counsel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | A closed matter | An answer | A closed matter |
| Who does the work | Whoever has room | Usually a junior team | The person you met |
| Learning curve | Absorbed by the team | Billed to you | None, they have done it before |
| Niche expertise | Whatever you already have | Whatever the firm has | The one you actually need |
| Knows your business | Yes | Never fully | From week one |
| How they work | From within | From outside, by instruction | With the team, as an extension |
| Will try to sell you more | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | Whatever is left | Wide, at firm rates | Whatever you agree |
| Time to start | Months | Days | Hours |
What it actually is
Not an answer. A closed matter.
A law firm gives you advice. You still have to decide it, negotiate it, chase it and land it.
A Fractional Counsel takes the matter off your desk.
They work to your priorities, not to a scope of work. They talk to the counterparty without you in the room, and bring judgment to that conversation rather than options for you to weigh later. They don’t need briefing on the context: they bring it, and they keep it from one quarter to the next.
A business partner, not a supplier. Continuity, ownership and judgment, with the expertise you are missing today.
Open mattersOwner
Board pack — Q3 legal updateYou
DORA — third-party contract remediationYou
CEO employment renegotiationYou
Reseller framework — EMEA rolloutYou
Target diligence — Bidco IIYou
Regulator meeting, 14 OctYou
DPA backlog — 40 vendorsYou
AI Act classification, product line 2You
When it makes sense
Four situations. One shape of answer.
A sustained peak, a short-handed team, an expertise you don’t have, or a function still being built. Pick yours and we’ll show you the lawyer it calls for and the shape of the engagement.
- The lawyer
- Typical shape
- Why it fits
Validated by General Counsel
Real impact. Not theory.
98%GC-validated client satisfaction
1,200+Complex matters delivered
250+Fortune 500 legal teams served
He adapted quickly to our organisation, brought sound legal judgment and showed professionalism, rigour and flexibility throughout.
She understood the business from the outset and worked effectively across teams, bringing a high level of expertise and trust.
We have worked with Ambar from the start — always with strong results and maximum satisfaction for everyone.
Start
Free up capacity in your team. Starting with your own.
Have the expertise you need at any given moment, in the shape you decide. And someone who understands your business, carries the context and answers for the outcome.