Fractional General Counsel
Fractional General Counsel for Ontario Businesses — Built Around the Deal
Barbarian Law® provides fractional general counsel to a limited number of Ontario businesses from Aurora: ongoing contract drafting and review, corporate governance, risk and compliance, outside counsel management, and business purchases and sales. Engagements begin with a 90-day initial term and a written fee estimate, run as a scoped standing engagement rather than an evergreen retainer, and are invoiced monthly after the work is delivered. No retainer. No deposit.
Standing legal counsel for a limited number of businesses — from the contracts that run your company to the transaction that changes it. Buying a business, selling one, or building toward either: your general counsel keeps the corporate record deal-ready every month, then runs the transaction when it comes. Scoped engagements, never evergreen: a defined scope, a written fee estimate first, an invoice after the work is done. In-house counsel judgment without the in-house salary.
What Your General Counsel Handles
Most businesses call a lawyer after something goes wrong. A fractional general counsel works the other way: reviewing agreements before you sign, flagging risk before it becomes a dispute, and keeping the corporate record clean — so that when the deal comes, you’re ready for it.
Buying & Selling Businesses
The single most valuable thing a general counsel does is get you through a transaction — an acquisition, a sale, or the years of preparation before one. Share and asset purchases, letters of intent, due diligence, purchase agreements, closing, and post-closing integration: quarterbacked by the lawyer who already knows your minute book, your contracts, and your people.
This is where standing counsel pays for itself. A buyer’s diligence team finds what’s missing in weeks; a general counsel spends months making sure there’s nothing to find. Clean records, tight contracts, and resolved loose ends translate directly into price — and into a deal that closes instead of collapsing.
Contract Drafting & Review
Customer agreements, supplier terms, NDAs, employment and contractor agreements, leases — drafted, reviewed, and negotiated before you’re bound by them.
Corporate Governance
Minute books, resolutions, shareholder agreements, director duties, and corporate structuring kept current, defensible — and diligence-ready.
Risk & Compliance
Practical review of regulatory obligations, privacy, and business practices — with plain-language advice on what actually needs fixing first.
Financing & Commercial Real Estate
Lending, security, commercial property, and expansion — the transactions around the transaction, handled at deal speed by counsel who knows the file.
Dispute Strategy & Outside Counsel Management
Early assessment and negotiation to resolve conflicts before court. When a matter needs a specialist — litigation, IP, tax — I select them, brief them, manage the file, and review their bills so you’re never overpaying for work you can’t evaluate.
Day-to-Day Counsel
The “quick question” calls that never feel worth a law firm’s minimum billing — answered directly, because they’re already covered by your engagement.
Who This Is Built For
Fractional general counsel fits businesses that have real legal volume but not enough to justify a full-time hire — and it fits best when there’s a deal somewhere on the horizon. For most owner-operated businesses, the deal is the destination: the sale, the acquisition, the succession. Everything a general counsel does along the way raises what that deal is worth.
Owners preparing to sell — even years out
The best exits are built long before the listing. Clean minute books, assignable contracts, documented employment terms, and resolved disputes directly increase valuation — and shorten diligence from months to weeks.
Buyers acquiring a business
An acquisition is where a bad clause costs the most. Your general counsel runs diligence, negotiates the purchase agreement, and closes — then keeps acting for the company you just bought.
Founders acting as their own legal department
You’re the CEO — and also the person reading contracts at midnight, chasing lawyers, and deciding what’s “probably fine” to sign. Every hour spent playing lawyer is an hour not spent running the company.
Businesses in regulated or contract-heavy industries
Construction, hospitality, sports, professional services, distribution — where the paperwork is the business and a bad clause costs real money.
How the Engagement Works
Three steps. No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. No surprise invoices. Many clients start with a single flat-fee project — a contract overhaul, an incorporation, a purchase — and move to standing counsel once the value of a lawyer who knows the business is obvious.
Consultation
We review your business, current contracts, corporate records, and where legal issues have cost you time or money — including whether a transaction is in your future. You’ll know by the end of the call whether this model fits, and whether there’s room on the roster.
Written Fee Estimate
You receive a written scope and monthly fee before any work begins — sized to your actual legal volume. Nothing is paid up front. You’re invoiced after the work is done, every month.
90-Day Initial Term, Then Ongoing
Every engagement starts with a 90-day initial term — enough time to prove the value, with the freedom to adjust scope or walk away after. Day to day, it works like in-house counsel: a standing monthly check-in, direct access by phone or email in between, and contracts reviewed as part of how your business runs — not a portal, not an intake team.
Standing Counsel vs. Calling a Firm When Something Breaks
Reactive legal work
- Evergreen retainer: trust deposit before work starts, topped up indefinitely
- Lawyer learns your business from scratch, on the clock, every time
- Problems surface after contracts are signed — or worse, in a buyer’s diligence
- Hourly billing makes small questions expensive, so they go unasked
Fractional general counsel
- Scoped engagement: no retainer, no deposit, invoiced after the work is delivered
- One lawyer who already knows your contracts, people, and risk tolerance
- Agreements reviewed before signature — and a corporate record kept deal-ready
- Two hours a month already in your engagement — asking early costs nothing extra
Fees
Scoped engagements. Never evergreen.
Barbarian Law runs scoped engagements. Each engagement has a defined scope, a written fee estimate before work begins, and an invoice after the work is delivered each month. No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. No top-up emails. That arrangement runs on trust in both directions — and it’s why standing general counsel is reserved for a limited number of businesses at a time.
Fractional general counsel is offered to a limited number of businesses, in two monthly plans:
| Plan | Hours included each month | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Fractional general counsel | 2 hours | $600 + HST |
| Fractional general counsel | 10 hours | $2,000 + HST |
Hours beyond your plan are $200 an hour + HST, and they are set out in a written estimate before they are spent. Business purchases and sales are quoted separately in writing.
You get a written scope before work begins. Each month is invoiced after the work is done. No deposit.
Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Evening appointments are available on request. Online inquiries are accepted 24/7 and answered during office hours. Karim aims to return calls the same business day where possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a fractional general counsel?
An outside lawyer who does the job of an in-house general counsel — contract review, corporate records, risk and deal work — part-time, on a monthly engagement. One lawyer, Karim Eshqoor, handles every matter personally.
How much does fractional general counsel cost in Ontario?
There are two monthly plans: $600 for 2 hours, or $2,000 for 10 hours. Hours beyond your plan are $200 an hour, set out in your written estimate before they are spent. All fees are plus HST. Business purchases and sales are quoted separately. You get a written scope first, an invoice after each month, and no deposit.
Do I pay anything up front?
No retainer. No deposit. Invoiced after the work is delivered. Every engagement starts with a written scope and fee estimate.
What does the monthly engagement include?
Contract drafting and review, corporate record maintenance, governance advice, employment and supplier agreements, and day-to-day legal questions, as scoped in writing. A business purchase or sale is quoted separately before work starts.
Can my general counsel run my acquisition or sale?
Yes — that is where the model pays for itself. The lawyer running your deal already knows your minute book, contracts and people, and the clean records built beforehand show up in the purchase price. Transactions are quoted separately in writing.
Do you handle litigation?
Early disputes, yes: Karim assesses them and negotiates before anything is filed. Barbarian Law® is a transactional firm, so if a matter needs court, Karim selects, briefs and manages litigation counsel and reviews their bills on your behalf.
How quickly do you respond?
Standing clients come first. Urgent questions get same-day attention, and routine contract reviews are typically turned around in days.
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Why clients keep coming back
“I had a great experience working with Karim at this law office. He's a hardworking, trustworthy, and highly professional individual. From start to finish, he handled my case with care, attention to detail, and clear communication. I truly felt supported throughout the entire process.”
“…this lawyer was very professional very knowledgable and has reasonable prices for his services… What impressed me the most about him is that he called me right away to ask about my needs for my business.”
“Amazing customer service ! Will be using their services ongoing in the future . Highly recommend”
The Best Deals Are Built Years Before They Close
One consultation will tell you whether standing general counsel fits your business, whether there’s room on the roster — and if a transaction is in your future, what it will take to be ready for it. You’ll leave with a written fee estimate either way, and you won’t pay a dollar before the work is done.