Big Sis Briefing: Why Fractional GCs Need to Get Visible (And How to Do It)
Most lawyers are sleeping on this.
The fractional General Counsel model has tipped from “interesting experiment” to “how business gets done.” and if you’re a senior lawyer thinking about this path (or already walking it) you need to understand something fundamental: your legal expertise got you in the door, but your brand will decide whether you build a sustainable practice or stay stuck taking whatever work falls into your lap.
The Fractional GC Wave is Here
Across Australia, the UK, Canada and beyond, companies are embracing a third option. They want senior legal expertise without the fixed overhead. They want someone who can scale up during fundraising and scale down when things settle.
The drivers:
Cost pressure, especially for startups and scale-ups
Legal workloads that spike around deals and compliance
Investor expectations for legal readiness
Senior lawyers wanting portfolio careers
Technology that makes the model workable
Proof points are stacking up. Firms like Click Legal and First Counsel AU in Australia are busy. UK scale-ups are hiring GCs earlier but not always full-time. I hear from troops on the ground that Canadian companies are rethinking how they budget for legal.
But too many lawyers are still treating this like a gig instead of building a business.
The Visibility Gap
You might be brilliant at contracts. You might have saved clients from regulatory disasters. But if you’re invisible to your next client, none of that matters.
Thinking your work will speak for itself is employee thinking. Fractional GCs are not employees. You’re running a consultancy service based business and consultancies live or die on their ability to attract the right clients consistently.
The uncomfortable truth: Most fractional GCs don’t have a pipeline. They live project to project, referral to referral. One client leaves and they’re scrambling.
Brand as Strategy
Brand isn’t a logo and some pretty colours. It’s being known for solving a specific problem for a specific client. For being top of mind when your ideal client realises that they have a problem.
Your brand is:
Who you serve
What problem you solve
Why you’re credible
Where you show up
1. Define Your Lane
“I help companies with their legal stuff” is not a brand.
Stronger examples:
“I help pre-IPO SaaS companies close enterprise contracts”
“I get fintech startups compliance-ready for investors”
“I’m the fractional GC for health tech companies scaling from 10 to 100 staff”
The narrower your focus, the easier it is for others to refer you.
2. Master the Attention Economy
Your client isn’t searching “fractional GC.” They’re not sitting on Google typing “outsourced legal counsel.” They’re lying awake at night asking things like:
“Will this contract screw me?”
“What legal prep do I need before the next round of fundraising?”
“How do I hire overseas without a compliance mess?”
“What’s going to blow up in due diligence if that investor looks too closely?”
“Am I exposing the company to risk by ignoring that employment law update?”
The people you want to serve aren’t looking for job titles, they’re looking for answers to pain points. That’s the attention economy.
This is where most lawyers get it wrong. They publish long legal explainers or updates on legislation that nobody outside the profession cares about. That’s theorising. It shows knowledge,but it doesn’t meet your client where they are.
Teaching looks different. It means turning those late-night questions into practical, plain-English content. Posts, checklists, stories and examples that help someone make a decision or avoid a mistake. It’s not about showing how smart you are. It’s about proving you understand their world well enough to help them move forward.
Post ideas that land in the attention economy:
“3 things to check before you sign your first enterprise contract”
“The 5 red flags investors always spot in due diligence”
“Hiring overseas? Here are the compliance traps nobody tells you about”
“The clause that cost one startup six figures (and how to avoid it)”
When you create content that answers the questions they’re actually asking, you stop being invisible. You become the person they think of when they hit the next decision point.
That’s how visibility translates into trust and trust into work.
3. Pick Your Platforms
You don’t need to be everywhere. Be consistent where your clients already are.
LinkedIn: Non-negotiable for B2B. Share anonymised stories, simplify complex issues, comment thoughtfully on founder posts.
Industry events: Meetups, scale-up conferences, fintech drinks. Show up, add value, follow up.
Podcasts: Pitch guest spots with practical angles (“5 legal mistakes that kill fundraising momentum”).
Writing: Contribute to industry publications or newsletters. Document your thinking.
4. Build a Content Engine
The mistake: posting only when you need work. Then disappearing.
The fix: steady content that builds trust.
Ideas:
Case studies (anonymised)
Red flag posts about common mistakes
Behind-the-scenes on fractional life
Industry analysis that helps decisions
Templates, checklists, practical tools
Every piece of content should educate, motivate, entertain or show more of who you are and how you think
5. Use the Portfolio Advantage
Your edge is perspective. You see patterns across multiple companies. You know what works and what fails in real time.
Write from that vantage point. You’re not guessing because you’ve lived it across 15 clients. You know “what’s market” - that’s real authority. Share it.
Long Game vs. Right-Now Game
Right now, your work comes from:
Former colleagues
Referrals
Old employers contracting you back
After 18 months of brand building, your work comes from:
Inbound inquiries from ideal clients
Speaking gigs that lead to consulting
Partnerships with other advisors
Being the obvious choice for your niche
The Action Plan
Define your exact target client
Map their world: where they get info, what keeps them up at night
Pick 2–3 channels to show up consistently
Create a 3-month content calendar
Start conversations, not broadcasts
Track what works and then, double down
The Bottom Line
Fractional GC work is exploding. Companies get senior expertise without overhead. Lawyers get flexibility and variety. Everyone wins! Yay!
But the lawyers who build sustainable practices won’t be the ones treating this like advanced contracting. They’ll be the ones who think like business owners and build visibility like their livelihood depends on it.
Because it does.
Your expertise got you in the door. Your visibility decides whether you thrive.
Ready to build your fractional GC practice strategically? Start by defining who you serve and where you’ll show up consistently. The market is ready for you, if they can find you.
Mel
💖
Mel Storey is the former APAC Head of Legal at Pax8 and the voice behind The Counsel Podcast, which has reached more than 100,000 downloads across 24+ countries. She’s built an online community of over 40,000 lawyers and professionals who come to her for practical, modern career advice under her “Career Big Sis” brand.
Mel now works with lawyers, especially fractional GCs, who want to build visibility, grow their pipeline and position themselves as trusted legal partners.
If you’re ready to treat your fractional GC practice like a business, book a 1:1 Brand & Content Clarity Strategy Session with Mel here.
