Fractional General Counsel

Fractional general counsel is an experienced attorney who serves as your embedded legal advisor on an ongoing monthly basis, without the cost of a full-time hire. Unlike outside counsel engaged for one-off matters, a fractional GC learns your business, stays current with your deals and IP, and gives strategic legal input before problems materialize. The relationship is designed for creators and companies that need consistent legal coverage, not just occasional fire drills.

A one-time contract engagement ends when the work is done. Fractional counsel is a standing legal relationship. Your attorney attends strategy calls, tracks your IP, and reviews deals as part of an ongoing engagement rather than billing fresh for context every time. For creators with multiple active revenue streams, the embedded model prevents the gaps that form when each deal is treated as an isolated event.

If you have a single deal to review, our Contract Review & Negotiation or Brand Deals & Influencer Agreements pages cover that as a project. Fractional Counsel is the right fit when you have recurring deal flow across multiple revenue streams and want a lawyer embedded in your process rather than called in on demand. The strategy call will confirm which engagement makes sense for your situation.

That depends on your tier. Tier 1 includes two 60-minute strategy calls, one hour of email advisory time, and two contract reviews per month. Tier 2 adds weekly calls, three hours of email advisory, up to three contract reviews, and one brand or sponsorship deal negotiation. Tier 3 is scoped individually and includes six working calls, eight hours of advisory time, and contract drafting as needed.

Yes, fractional counsel is designed to work alongside specialist outside counsel, not replace it. We handle the broad ongoing legal function: contracts, IP maintenance, employment, and advisory. When a matter requires a specialist (patent prosecution, tax structuring, complex litigation), we coordinate the referral, provide context, and manage the relationship so your outside counsel is not starting from scratch every time.

Every engagement begins with a 3-month minimum term. That minimum exists because Month 1 includes the onboarding legal audit, which requires a full engagement period to deliver meaningful value. After the initial three months, the retainer continues month-to-month with 30 days' notice to cancel. Clients who need only a single document are better served by our project-based contract and trademark services.

Copyright registration is not required to own your work, but it is required before you can sue for infringement in U.S. federal court. Timely registration also unlocks statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringed work and eligibility for attorney's fees, benefits unavailable if you register after infringement begins. As part of the Fractional Counsel engagement, we track which works in your catalog have not been registered and coordinate filings when timing is critical.

Fractional Counsel works best when legal needs have become recurring rather than occasional. That typically means a creator generating meaningful revenue across multiple streams, an agency managing multiple client relationships, or a studio actively producing and licensing content. Emerging creators with one or two deals a year are better served by project-based services until their deal volume justifies an ongoing engagement.

Managers and attorneys serve different roles. A manager represents your career interests. An attorney reviews the resulting contract, advises on its legal implications, and ensures each clause protects your rights under applicable law. In California, only licensed attorneys can provide legal advice on contracts, per State Bar of California guidelines. Both roles belong on a serious creator's team, and the two work best in coordination.

Yes, StarGuard Law is licensed in California, Ontario, and Quebec, and can work with creators and companies based anywhere in the United States or Canada. Our fractional counsel services cover matters governed by U.S. federal copyright, federal trademark registration, and California, Ontario, or Quebec contract law. For clients outside these jurisdictions, we advise on the U.S. and Canadian dimensions and coordinate with local counsel for jurisdiction-specific questions.

Scope beyond the tier is addressed in a conversation at your next strategy call. We never proceed on out-of-scope work without your awareness and agreement first, and there are no automatic overage charges. Ongoing clients with consistently heavy usage can move to a higher tier at any time. The goal is a legal engagement that matches your actual volume, not one you hit a ceiling on unexpectedly.