Key Takeaways:
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A fractional general counsel gives your growing company something one-off legal calls cannot: an experienced business attorney who is already intimately familiar with your unique Palm Beach County business operations. Our experienced lawyers work with your leadership team on a flexible, part-time basis. You receive ongoing legal guidance without hiring a full-time executive.
Demand for this type of executive support is growing. According to the International Bar Association (IBA), the number of fractional leaders doubled from 60,000 in 2022 to 120,000 in 2024. Businesses are turning to experienced professionals who can contribute at a senior level without adding another full-time position.
Based in Palm Beach Gardens, the Law Office of Bradley Gies, P.A. works with entrepreneurs, privately held companies, and growing businesses throughout Palm Beach County and Florida.
Business attorney Bradley Gies previously served as the General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property for GSSC, a global corporation based in Lake Worth, Florida. He brings that in-house perspective to contracts, transactions, risk planning, and recurring legal decisions.
Common responsibilities include:
| “The best time to address a legal risk is while the business still has choices. Early advice gives owners room to make a better decision.” – Bradley Gies, Esq. |
Our legal work and support will match the legal risks and opportunities your company faces. We can address everyday business matters while helping management prepare for larger decisions.
Contracts determine what each party must do, when payment is due, how risk is allocated, and what happens if the relationship breaks down. Our business contract services include drafting, review, negotiation, and practical advice about the terms that affect your company.
“This is the most popular type of work we provide as outside counsel. Things are moving fast in the West Palm Beach area. My clients like the fact we are ‘on call’ to quickly help them review proposed agreements,” says Bradley.
This work may involve customer agreements, vendor contracts, confidentiality agreements, independent contractor agreements, licensing terms, leases, purchase orders, and service agreements. Consistent documents can also reduce confusion across sales, operations, and accounting teams.
Legal risk often appears in ordinary business activity. A vague scope of work can create a payment dispute. A missing confidentiality term can expose sensitive information. An unclear termination clause can trap the company in a costly relationship.
We help owners identify these issues and make informed decisions. We can also discuss asset protection planning and coordinate with other professionals when insurance, tax, employment, or industry-specific advice is required.
Invoices, estimates, proposals, and online transactions need clear rules. Well-written terms can address payment deadlines, change orders, warranties, delays, added work, dispute procedures, and customer responsibilities.
Our terms and conditions services help businesses put those rules in writing before a disagreement begins.
Names, logos, written content, software, designs, and other creative assets can carry significant business value. Legal planning should address ownership, registration, licensing, confidentiality, and permitted use.
We assist clients with trademark protection and copyright services. We can also review contracts that transfer or license intellectual property rights.
Buying or selling a company requires careful review of the deal, the parties, the assets, the liabilities, and the closing conditions. The legal work may include a letter of intent, due diligence, a purchase agreement, financing documents, assignments, leases, noncompete terms, and post-closing obligations.
We advise clients who are buying a business and owners who are selling a business. Our term sheet and due diligence resources can help the parties organize information early in the transaction.
These legal service models can overlap, but the working relationships often differ.
The labels do not always carry rigid definitions. Some law firms use fractional and outside GC terminology for similar services. The better question is how closely the attorney will work with leadership, how often advice will be available, and which matters the engagement includes.
A fractional GC works with company leadership on a flexible basis, making the arrangement suitable for recurring legal work and strategic advice without a full-time hire. Another external counsel model gives businesses ongoing or matter-based help with general advice, transactions, and legal coordination. These arrangements may use hourly rates, fixed fees, retainers, or another agreed fee structure.
A full-time in-house lawyer works as a company employee dedicated to one organization. This option fits businesses with enough steady legal work to support a permanent position. Costs include salary, benefits, payroll taxes, and overhead.
The need often becomes clear through repeated situations rather than one major legal event. Your company may be ready when:
Regular guidance can help leadership address these issues in a planned order. It also gives the attorney time to learn which risks deserve immediate attention and which can wait.
Bradley explains, “Our job is not to slow down a deal. It is to help the client understand the risk, improve the terms, and move forward with a sound plan.”
An attorney who stays involved can recognize patterns. A contract problem in one department may point to a larger issue with approvals, pricing, recordkeeping, or customer communication.
Standard forms and review practices help the company use stronger language across similar transactions. They also give employees clear guidance about which terms they may accept and which require legal review.
Management can move faster when the attorney already understands the company, the people involved, and the reason behind the decision. The discussion can focus on the current issue instead of repeating background information.
Recurring meetings and defined priorities make it easier to plan legal work. Owners can address important matters before deadlines, contract renewals, or negotiations force a rushed decision.
Some matters require litigation, tax, employment, securities, patent, or regulatory experience. A regular legal advisor can help identify the right specialist, explain the business context, and coordinate the work with management.
Palm Beach County supports a large and varied business community. According to the US Census Bureau, the county had 55,803 employer establishments, 592,227 employees, and approximately $39.3 billion in annual payroll in 2023. Each of those companies must manage contracts, relationships, property, information, and legal risk.
Effective West Palm Beach business law advice must account for how a company operates. A construction company may need stronger contract scopes, payment terms, and change-order procedures. A technology startup may focus on intellectual property, confidentiality, licensing, investment, and customer agreements. A serial entrepreneur may need support across several entities, transactions, and ownership structures.
From Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach to Jupiter, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth Beach, and Wellington, local companies compete in different markets and face different pressures. Legal advice should reflect the company’s industry, size, management structure, and plans.
“When you know how a company operates, legal advice becomes more practical. You can focus on the issue that matters to the owner and the business,” explains Bradley.
Bradley Gies worked as General Counsel and Director of Intellectual Property for an anti-counterfeiting technology company before founding his firm in 2013. That role required him to consider legal questions from the company’s point of view. A technically correct answer still had to work for management, operations, sales, and long-term planning.
The background of Bradley Gies and our legal team reflects a focus on entrepreneurs, privately held companies, business transactions, and intellectual property. Bradley has assisted hundreds of companies and entrepreneurs since founding the Law Office of Bradley Gies, P.A.
He was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2011 and remains a member in good standing. His in-house experience helps him recognize the difference between abstract legal advice and guidance a business owner can put to work.
No. A fractional GC usually works as an external attorney under an engagement agreement. The lawyer may work with your company regularly and function as part of the leadership team, but does not hold a full-time employee position.
The terms can describe similar arrangements. Fractional GC often emphasizes an ongoing, embedded relationship with management. The other term may cover an external lawyer handling recurring work, specific matters, or a broader legal function. The engagement agreement should define the actual relationship.
Cost depends on the scope, contract volume, meeting schedule, complexity, and level of attorney involvement. Some relationships use a retainer, while others use fixed or hourly fees. The fee arrangement should match the work the company expects.
The service can include contracts, risk review, corporate governance, terms and conditions, intellectual property, business purchases and sales, and coordination with specialized attorneys. The final scope depends on the company’s legal needs and the engagement agreement.
Consistent legal guidance can help you negotiate stronger contracts, identify risk earlier, protect business assets, and prepare for the next transaction. A fractional general counsel gives your leadership team a legal resource who understands the company and stays involved as it grows.
Schedule a consultation to discuss your recurring legal needs and the type of support that fits your business. Click here or call our office at (561) 406-8247.
