Best Fractional General Counsel Services in Australia

Australia Outsourced General Counsel Agencies

In today’s fast-paced business environment, Australian companies are turning to fractional General Counsel (GC) services to unlock legal expertise without the overhead of a full-time hire. Whether you're a growing startup, a mid-sized firm scaling quickly, or a mature business needing strategic legal direction, outsourced legal leadership is increasingly the smart move.

This guide highlights Australia’s most trusted, founder-led providers of fractional General Counsel services firms and individuals who offer legal strategy that’s practical, responsive, and grounded in commercial outcomes.

🧭 Methodology: How We Curated This List of Australian Outsourced, Virtual, and Fractional General Counsel Services

At Digital Reference, we set out to feature the most relevant and impactful GC providers in the Australian market—based on real results, client feedback, and leadership credibility. Our selection process was driven by:

✅ Founder-Led Expertise – Legal leaders still actively delivering work

✅ Client Trust – Demonstrated alignment with founders, boards, and growing teams

✅ Service Range – From IP to employment law to M&A readiness

✅ Business Acumen – Legal advice that moves with your business, not against it

✅ Australia-Based – Providers embedded in local legal and commercial realities

Australia-based Fractional GC & Legal Executive Services 🔦 Provider Spotlights

Blaze Business & Legal

🔗 Website: https://blazebusinessandlegal.com.au/

What they do:
Blaze Business & Legal is a fractional GC and business advisory firm focused on helping founders build sustainable, compliant, and well-governed organisations.

Who they work with:
Startups, family businesses, and impact-driven founders.

Operating model:
Collaborative and educational Blaze guides as much as it executes, often becoming a trusted advisor beyond just legal.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Blends legal, business, and leadership strategy
• Strong presence in female-led and socially conscious ventures
• Passionate about founder empowerment and decision clarity
  

Rachelle Hare, Founder, Blaze Business & Legal

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelle-hare/?originalSubdomain=au

Rachelle is a former top-tier law firm Legal Advisor and in-house counsel turned advisor, with over 25 years of experience. She is passionate about making legal part of a company’s value creation toolkit and for providing commercial and operational advice that merges law with other business fundamentals. She’s known for helping founders feel empowered not intimidated by legal, and for her candid, commercial approach to risk management and legal issues.

The Digital Reference Team had the opportunity to interview Rachelle to get her perspective on the Fractional GC space. Here's what she shared:

"Fractional General Counsel, also called External General Counsel and Outsourced General Counsel, are a unique type of senior lawyer who are adaptable, commercially-focused, confident in making recommendations, and equally at home in your Boardroom, Executive Meetings, and advising Project and Program personnel throughout their client's business.

If you're looking for the Best Fractional General Counsel Services, there are several law firms and businesses in Australia at the cutting-edge of this new-ish legal model.

Want a one-off letter of advice covering all the risks you need to consider to make a decision - engage a "traditional" law firm. Want a skilled General Counsel who provides ongoing legal services for your business, learns your business model and commercial requirements, and whose services scale as your business scales - engage an External General Counsel.

Whether you need them for 5 hours a week, 1.5 days a week, or 3 days a week, the Fractional General Counsel is more affordable than employing a full-time General Counsel or paying a traditional law firm for ad-hoc advice (often where they need to learn about your business each time). And many of the Best Outsourced General Counsel have the skillset needed to build you an internal Legal Division once your business reaches that stage."

- Rachelle Hare, Managing Director and Principal Practitioner, Blaze Business & Legal, Brisbane, Australia

LJ Keily Pty Ltd

🔗 Website: https://www.ljkeily.com.au/

What they do:
LJ Keily Pty Ltd delivers fractional General Counsel, board advisory, and dispute resolution for enterprises navigating growth, compliance, and commercial risk. Their tone is strategic and boardroom-ready.

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Who they work with:
High-growth companies, listed entities, and governance-conscious businesses across sectors.

Operating model:
Custom engagements with a focus on dispute strategy, board dynamics, and legal structure alignment.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Combines deep litigation background with business acumen
• Expert in corporate governance and conflict resolution
• Strong experience with regulatory compliance in complex industries
  

Laura Keily, Founder, LJ Keily Pty Ltd

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-keily-71324b21/

Laura is a seasoned commercial barrister, former corporate lawyer, and a governance expert. She is the founder of not only LJ Keily but also Immediation a digital dispute resolution platform. Her leadership style is precise and informed, and she’s widely respected for her work in making the legal system more accessible and adaptive to business.

Rayne Legal

🔗 Website: https://www.rayne.com.au/

What they do:
Rayne Legal offers Fractional General Counsel services with an authentic, human-centred approach, diving into strategy alongside founders and leadership, to implement lean and agile solutions across legal, compliance, risk and governance. Focused in funds management and financial services, Rayne works with SMEs to break down complicated regulatory requirements and execute on fit for purpose strategies for sustainable growth.

Who they work with:
Funds and Growth-Focused Financial Services Firms across Australia

Operating model:
Flexible support options from one-off advice, transactions and projects, to ongoing legal partnerships as an embedded General Counsel. Rayne is your strategy and execution partner, from the start.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Deep funds management and financial services expertise
• Combines law with values-based leadership consulting and genuine commerciality
• Tailored legal support, as part of the team, for founder-led, purpose-driven organisations
• Extensive network across Australia

Celeste Norman, Founder, Rayne Legal

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celeste-norman-rayne/

Not your typical lawyer, Celeste, has gained her experience through in-house and private legal practice, regulatory compliance practice, and consulting for start-ups, SMEs, and large corporate and institutional businesses in banking, funds management, and financial services. Known for being friendly, approachable, and down-to-earth, Celeste is focused, pragmatic, and no-nonsense in her work approach. She is also a loud advocate for the simplification and conscious de-regulation of the financial services industry, believing that innovation only comes from lowering the high cost to market entry.

Click Legal

🔗 Website: https://clicklegal.com.au/

What they do:
Click Legal is a boutique law firm offering fractional General Counsel, contract drafting, and legal strategy with a distinctly modern, digital-first approach. Their services are designed for founders who want practical legal support without formality or fluff.

Who they work with:
Startups, creative agencies, eCommerce brands, and growth-stage founders who value clarity and speed.

Operating model:
Click Legal runs a fully remote and tech-enabled model, delivering fixed-fee services and GC retainers that work around founders' schedules.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Prioritises plain language contracts and founder education
• Offers productised legal packages for startups and digital businesses
• Known for its approachable, no-nonsense style and quick turnarounds
  

Hannah Deuk, Founder, Click Legal

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahdeuk/

Hannah launched Click Legal after seeing how many founders struggled with unclear, outdated legal processes. With a background in both private practice and in-house roles, she brings pragmatism, speed, and empathy to her legal work. Hannah’s mission is simple: to make legal support accessible, jargon-free, and founder-friendly.

Padman Advisory

🔗 Website: https://www.padmanadvisory.com.au/

What they do:
Padman Advisory provides fractional General Counsel, governance advisory, and legal project oversight for growth-focused businesses and not-for-profits.

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Who they work with:
Boards, scale-ups, and organisations undergoing governance restructuring or risk review.

Operating model:
Flexible project-based and ongoing counsel services, often at the intersection of governance and legal.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Deep governance and board experience
• Known for integrity-first, quietly influential legal leadership
• Strong understanding of compliance in highly regulated sectors
  

Eleanor Padman, Principal, Padman Advisory

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanorpadman/

Eleanor brings decades of legal and advisory experience to her clients, particularly in governance-heavy contexts. She’s often called on for board transitions, compliance health checks, and strategic legal alignment. Her leadership is understated, practical, and always rooted in trust.

JRT Partnership

🔗 Website: https://www.jrtpartnership.com.au/

What they do:
JRT offers on-call General Counsel and legal strategy for commercial ventures, family-owned businesses, and high-growth companies across Australia.

Who they work with:
Multigenerational businesses, private companies, and leaders seeking discreet, embedded legal advice.

Operating model:
GC retainers, strategic project work, and bespoke legal planning.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Trusted by legacy businesses for long-term counsel
• Provides legal services with a commercial operator’s lens
• Strong experience in succession planning and dispute avoidance
  

Geoffrey Rees, Founder, JRT Partnership

🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreyrees/

Geoffrey is a legal advisor with extensive experience in corporate transactions, strategic planning, and succession. Known for his discretion, he works best when embedded alongside leadership teams, offering calm and measured legal direction through business evolution.

Prosper Law

🔗 Website: https://prosperlaw.com.au

What they do:
Prosper Law delivers online legal services across commercial law, employment, and privacy serving clients across Australia with flat-fee simplicity.

Who they work with:
SaaS companies, startups, and remote-first businesses.

Operating model:
Offers fully digital fractional GC and legal packages, all with fixed pricing.

💡 Why they stand out:

• Transparent pricing and accessible legal plans
• Embraces modern delivery fully remote and tech-integrated
• Known for plain-English legal documentation and speed
  

Meet Farrah Motley, Founder, Prosper Law

 🔗 LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/farrah-m-0b12623a

Farrah is a new-era legal leader focused on accessibility and clarity. She launched Prosper Law to deliver no-surprises legal support for businesses who need speed and simplicity. Farrah’s team specialises in proactive compliance and empowering clients with usable legal tools.

🎯 Final Word: Australia’s Legal Landscape Is Going Fractional

The legal industry in Australia is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation. Fractional General Counsel providers are no longer a niche solution; they're fast becoming the preferred model for companies that demand agility, clarity, and strategic insight without the cost or rigidity of a full-time hire.

From fast-scaling startups to mature businesses navigating regulation and risk, the firms we’ve spotlighted are proving that legal expertise can be embedded, proactive, and business-first. These aren’t traditional law firms delivering reactive advice. They’re trusted partners working in your Slack, sitting in on board meetings, and helping founders make faster, smarter decisions.

At Digital Reference, we believe legal leadership should be:

• Radically authentic – no jargon, no hiding behind formality
• Transparent – predictable pricing, open communication, visible expertise
• Impact-driven – focused on business outcomes, not just legal compliance
  
  

These firms reflect exactly that. They don’t just interpret the law, they enable progress, helping businesses scale safely and confidently in a complex legal environment.

If you’re navigating your first major funding round, restructuring your operations, or simply need a trusted legal mind at the table, fractional General Counsel might be the most strategic hire you make this year.