Is there a legal service that combines the strategic insight of in-house counsel, the specialised expertise of external advisors and the flexibility of a modern virtual solution? Here, Kate Bennett, co-founder of award-winning law firm Arbor Law, explains how a virtual general counsel can do exactly that.

 A virtual general counsel functions as an external general counsel, providing high-quality legal advice and support tailored to a business’s needs. Unlike traditional in-house counsel, virtual general counsels operate on a flexible basis, offering services that can scale up or down depending on demand. This makes the model particularly appealing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), fast-growing start-ups, and companies expanding into new jurisdictions.

The strategic edge

A virtual general counsel provides more than just legal advice. By aligning closely with a business’s objectives, they offer strategic guidance that helps anticipate risks, optimise contracts, and strengthen governance frameworks. This proactive approach ensures that legal support is not just reactive but integral to the company’s growth strategy. Whether it’s capital raising, market entry, or navigating regulatory landscapes, a virtual general counsel brings a level of foresight and strategic alignment that traditional models often lack.

Unlike full-time in-house teams, virtual general counsel services are designed to adapt to a company’s changing needs. Businesses can scale services up or down as required, making the model ideal for fast-growing start-ups and SMEs navigating periods of rapid change. The virtual general counsel can bring in specialists from other practice areas when these are required to support matters such as data privacy or intellectual property, for example.

This flexibility allows companies to access specialised expertise when needed without committing to long-term staffing costs or increase overheads and without the higher hourly rates found with traditional city firms. In addition to these cost savings, this model also offers cost efficiencies. This benefit can arise from business-aligned solutions, flexible engagement models, proactive risk mitigation, efficient use of resources, streamlined processes and scalable services.

Rising demand

While big law firms often provide specialised expertise, they may lack the broader strategic perspective businesses need. Similarly, in-house teams, though deeply integrated, can face resource constraints and may not always have the breadth of expertise required. The virtual general counsel model bridges these gaps, offering a comprehensive, adaptable solution.

As remote working and virtual solutions become more widely adopted, the demand for the services of a virtual general counsel continues to grow. Companies are recognising that effective legal support doesn’t require a physical presence in the office but does demand expertise, adaptability, and a deep understanding of their business objectives. A virtual general counsel offers the best of both worlds – specialised expertise and strategic partnership – at a far more competitive price.

The concept of virtual general counsel has seen growing demand in the UK specifically, particularly among fast-growing start-ups facing complex legal and regulatory landscapes, small SMEs requiring ongoing legal and compliance support as they scale and businesses in highly regulated industries with complex and demanding regulatory requirements.

Another key growth area is businesses headquartered overseas but looking to enter the UK market. In these scenarios, a virtual general counsel can function as an effective partner to a general counsel headquartered in the US or elsewhere. A virtual general counsel can create a team of experts to address specific needs such as market entry and setup, regulatory authorisations, establishment of legal, compliance and governance frameworks, employment law and immigration, data protection, contracts and commercial agreements, risk and dispute management as well as ongoing legal, compliance and strategic support. This not only ensures legal support aligns with business strategy in the UK but also provides peace of mind for existing GCs based overseas who may not have the capacity or expertise to navigate UK-specific challenges This allows the general counsel to focus on their broader responsibilities, confident that their UK operations are in capable hands.

Those business looking for a virtual general counsel should prioritise lawyers with extensive experience in both private practice and in-house roles and sector-specific expertise relevant to their industry. Look for a virtual general counsel that has a unique combination of skills that sets them apart from traditional in-house lawyers or external legal advisors. Although a business in a heavily regulated industry will need a virtual general counsel with sector expertise, a good virtual general counsel will bring broad multi-industry experience from working with different businesses and industries. Insights into best practices and innovative solutions are gained from diverse client engagements.

The ideal virtual general counsel will offer a proactive and strategic approach to legal support, will be able to offer flexibility and scale that support when required, and will have a genuine interest in your business’s growth. It’s no surprise that more businesses are adopting this model in preference to traditional legal services models.

Arbor Law is an award winning law firm providing a range of legal services for international corporates, in-house legal teams and fast-growing start-ups. To find out more, visit https://arbor.law