Virtual General Counsel

As your business scales, so too does the legal complexity.

Commercial contracts, employment law, compliance, and governance – legal issues can quickly become a distraction from your strategic goals. You may not be ready for a full-time in-house lawyer, but traditional law firms often feel disconnected, expensive, or slow to respond.

Arbor Law’s Virtual General Counsel (VGC) service offers a smarter solution: cost-effective legal management delivered by senior lawyers who embed into your team, understand your business, and support long-term growth.

What is a Virtual General Counsel?

A Virtual General Counsel provides integrated, strategic legal support to businesses without full legal teams. Acting as a trusted senior adviser, your VGC becomes a seamless extension of your leadership team – offering breadth across day-to-day legal matters and depth when more complex challenges arise.

Your VGC will:

• Be your single point of contact across a wide range of legal needs
• Deliver commercially aligned advice on contracts, employment, compliance, data, and regulation
• Support proactive risk management and strategic planning
• Lead or support fundraising, compliance frameworks, governance, and complex negotiations
• Know when (and how) to bring in specialist legal support only when needed

If you already have a small legal team, we can supplement it – providing strategic depth and reducing bandwidth pressure on internal lawyers.

Your VGC is not just reactive. They are a long-term legal partner, deeply familiar with your business and invested in your success.

Why Arbor Law?

Our model is distinguished by the calibre and dual perspective of our lawyers.

Each VGC at Arbor Law has:

• Served in senior in-house roles, advising at board level
• Continued to practise in private practice, maintaining sharp, up-to-date technical skills
• Developed adaptability and business fluency across sectors

This combination enables our team to deliver both breadth and depth, grounded in commercial pragmatism. They work closely with your leadership team and flex with your business as it evolves.

When specialist support is needed, your VGC can:

• Consult Arbor colleagues informally at no extra cost
• Instruct trusted specialists directly, avoiding duplicate onboarding or AML processes
• Secure preferred rates – without hidden fees or friction

This seamless access to broader legal capability keeps you agile, cost-efficient, and well-supported.

Flexible, Transparent Support That Grows With You

Our VGC service is available on a daily rate, fixed fee, or retainer basis. Whether you need a few days a month or a more hands-on presence, we tailor the arrangement to fit your business.

With Arbor Law, you benefit from:

• Senior legal expertise without the cost or overhead of a full-time hire
• Transparent, flexible pricing
• Scalable support as your business grows
• No red tape – your VGC is on call, already integrated, and familiar with your business

Who We Work With

We support founders, CEOs, CFOs, MDs, and other leaders who want senior legal insight without building a full in-house team.

Our typical clients include:

• High-growth start-ups and scale-ups
• Founder-led, VC-backed, or PE-backed businesses
• SMEs operating in regulated or fast-evolving sectors
• Businesses entering new markets or navigating complex legal frameworks

We also support existing in-house lawyers and GCs, providing extra capacity when needed.

How Our Model Supports Your Growth

Arbor Law´s VGC model is built for modern businesses. It delivers:

• Integrated legal expertise, tailored to your business context
• Faster, more informed decision-making
• A commercially-minded partner aligned with your goals
• Seamless access to specialist legal input
• A scalable, transparent alternative to traditional legal models

Most importantly, it builds long-term trust. Your VGC is part of your team –  not just an external advisor – creating real continuity, clarity, and commercial value.

Ready to Explore the Benefits?

If you’re looking for senior legal expertise that’s practical, aligned, and scaled to your ambition – without the complexity or cost of a full legal department – let’s talk.

Pragmatic, integrated legal support. Scaled to your ambition.

Complete the form below to speak to one of our lawyers and discover how Arbor Law’s Virtual General Counsel services can support your business.