Buckworths provides an outsourced general counsel service to start-ups, scale-ups, and high-growth businesses on a fixed monthly fee. Our GC service gives you a dedicated solicitor and partner who know your business, access to the expertise of our entire team, and the legal support you need to grow, without the cost or commitment of an in-house hire.
Growing businesses need legal input that is fast, embedded, and commercially focused. Our GC service is built for founders and leadership teams who want a legal partner that understands their business and can respond quickly, not an external firm that needs briefing from scratch every time.
Book a free consultation to discuss the General Counsel service.
Key features
- Fixed monthly fee. Full cost control with no exposure to increases in employer taxes or national insurance.
- Dedicated point of contact. One solicitor and one partner who know your business and are available when you need them.
- 3-month minimum commitment, with 30 days notice thereafter.
- Access to the full Buckworths team. The right level of expertise for each matter, from partner to paralegal, all within your included hours.
Why use our GC service?
- Cost control. We charge a fixed monthly fee for the GC service. The package scales with your business so you are always in control of legal costs. Unlike an in-house hire, you are not exposed to increases in employer national insurance contributions.
- Dedicated point of contact. You will have two dedicated contacts: a solicitor and a partner, both of whom know your business and are available to respond quickly. In the background, you have access to the expertise of our entire firm and our wider network.
- Rapid responses. Growing businesses need legal support that is embedded, fast, and efficient. Our GC service gives you access to a legal resource that knows your business and can move at the pace your business demands.
- Fully embedded. We are open to using whatever technology your business uses for project planning and workflows. Our GC service can be fully integrated into your business, not bolted on as an external service.
What is included
Strategic legal support. Your GC can attend business-critical meetings where understanding the legal implications matters. You get immediate legal input so decisions can be made faster and with greater confidence.
Commercial contracts. Your GC drafts, amends, reviews, and negotiates agreements with customers, suppliers, and partners, and supports the implementation of scalable contract management processes.
Employment law and HR. Your GC provides guidance on hiring, exits, employee incentivisation, and day-to-day people matters, making sure you stay compliant and avoid costly mistakes.
Company secretarial. Your GC handles Companies House filings, shareholder resolutions, board minutes, and investor consents. This is particularly important given the substantial fining powers recently granted to Companies House.
Day-to-day legal support. Your GC handles the range of legal questions that arise in any growing business, including data protection, IP matters, AI compliance, and debt collection.
What is not included
All day-to-day legal needs are covered by the GC service. Transactional work, including investment rounds, acquisitions and disposals, and exit transactions, is not included, nor is highly technical specialist analysis such as industry-specific regulatory advice. Buckworths is happy to advise on these matters outside the GC service, usually on a fixed or capped fee. Your GC will flag any out-of-scope work as early as possible.
AML officer and Data Protection Officer services can be provided on separate terms.
Who this is for
The GC service is designed for technology businesses and high-growth companies that:
- Are scaling quickly and need regular, reliable legal input.
- Want a legal partner who understands their business model rather than a firm that needs briefing from scratch each time.
- Value direct, commercial advice over technical legal jargon.
- Need legal support across multiple areas without the cost or commitment of an in-house hire.
What is the cost?
Comparison with other options
How to get started
If you want a legal partner who is embedded in your business rather than an external third party, get in touch. We will tailor the arrangement to your needs and make sure you have the right level of support for your stage of growth.
FAQs
An outsourced general counsel service gives your business a dedicated solicitor and partner who act as your in-house legal team on a fixed monthly fee. Unlike instructing a law firm on individual matters, a GC service provides ongoing, embedded legal support across all areas of your business. You get a legal partner who knows your business, responds quickly, and is available whenever you need them, without the cost or employment commitment of an in-house hire.
With a traditional law firm, you instruct solicitors on individual matters at hourly rates, and they need briefing from scratch each time. With our GC service, you have a dedicated solicitor and partner who know your business, your team, and how you operate. They are embedded in your workflows, respond rapidly, and give you legal input at the pace your business moves. You also have a fixed monthly cost rather than unpredictable hourly bills.
An in-house lawyer comes with a high salary, employer national insurance contributions, and the full cost and commitment of employment. Our GC service gives you dedicated solicitor and partner-level support at a fixed monthly fee, with no employer NIC exposure and a minimum commitment of just three months. You also get access to our entire team across all legal disciplines, rather than being limited to the expertise of a single in-house hire.
The fixed fee covers all day-to-day legal needs, including commercial contracts, employment and HR support, company secretarial work, data protection, IP matters, AI compliance, and debt collection. Your GC can also attend business-critical meetings where legal input is needed. Transactional work such as investment rounds, acquisitions, and exits is not included but can be handled by Buckworths separately, usually on a fixed or capped fee.
If your requirements exceed your included hours in a given month, any additional work is billed at 25% off our standard rates. Your GC will let you know as early as possible if it looks like additional hours will be needed so there are no surprises.
The minimum commitment is three months. After that, the arrangement continues on a rolling basis with 30 days notice to end it. There is no long-term lock-in.
The Mini GC package covers seven hours per month and suits start-ups at Seed and Series A stage with relatively light day-to-day legal needs. The Embedded GC covers twenty hours per month and is the most common package for businesses that need regular legal support across multiple areas. The Enterprise GC is a fully outsourced legal department for scale-ups and SMEs with higher volumes of legal work. We discuss your needs in an initial call and recommend the right package before you commit to anything.
Yes. The GC service is designed to scale with your business. If your legal needs increase, we can move you to a higher package with more included hours. We review the arrangement at the three-month mark and regularly thereafter to make sure the package continues to fit the business.
General day-to-day regulatory questions are covered. Highly technical or industry-specific regulatory advice, such as FCA authorisation work or consumer credit compliance, falls outside the GC service but can be handled by Buckworths separately. Your GC will flag any out-of-scope regulatory work as soon as it arises.
Book a free initial call using the booking widget on this page. We discuss your legal needs in detail, produce a tailored proposal with a fixed monthly fee, and once you are happy, you sign the engagement letter and complete anti-money laundering checks. We then have a review meeting at three months to make sure the service is working well for your business.