General Counsel
The chief legal officer of a corporation or other business entity, responsible for managing the entity's legal affairs and serving as the senior legal advisor to the board and management.
The general counsel (GC) is the chief legal officer of a corporation or other business entity. The role includes overseeing internal legal staff, retaining and managing outside counsel, serving as the senior legal advisor to the board of directors and the executive team, managing litigation and regulatory exposure, supervising commercial transactions, and ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
In public companies, the general counsel typically also serves as Corporate Secretary, with statutory responsibilities for board record-keeping, filing of corporate documents, and oversight of disclosure controls. In private companies and growth-stage businesses, the general counsel may operate as a one-person legal department or may build and manage a team.
Fractional general counsel
A "fractional GC" or "outside general counsel" is an arrangement in which an attorney provides general counsel services to a company on a part-time or recurring basis without becoming a full-time employee. This arrangement is common for businesses that are too large for ad-hoc outside counsel but not yet large enough to justify a full-time GC, typically in the $5M-$50M revenue range depending on industry and legal intensity.