Fractional General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer

GC-level strategy.
Without the GC overhead.

Strategic Legal Consultants delivers experienced general counsel insight to PE portfolio companies and growing businesses — on a flexible, cost-effective basis that scales with your needs.

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What we bring to the table

15+ years in-house GC experience

PE-backed company experience
Multi-state regulatory compliance
Enterprise risk assessment
Corporate governance build-out
Contract standardization & vendor risk
Board-level advisory
Employment & HR compliance
Compliance programs & policy infrastructure

The SLC Difference

The right legal counsel at the right cost

Many growing companies face a difficult choice: pay expensive law firm hourly rates for project-based work, or commit to a full-time General Counsel before the business truly needs one. Strategic Legal Consultants offers a third path.

As a former GC to PE-backed and growth-stage companies, James Kelly has seen first-hand that the right legal partner can be transformative — reducing outside counsel spend, strengthening the risk profile, and bringing long-term strategic perspective that traditional law firms simply cannot provide — and building the compliance programs, governance frameworks, and operational processes that protect the business and support sustainable growth.

	Law Firm	Full-Time GC	SLC Best Fit
Cost structure	High hourly rates, project by project	Full salary + benefits overhead	✦Flexible retainer or project basis
Strategic continuity	Moves on when work is done	Deep institutional knowledge	✦Ongoing partner who knows your business
Outside counsel mgmt	Is outside counsel	Manages outside counsel	✦Coordinates law firms, ALSPs & internal talent
Conflict of interest	Incentive to expand billing	Aligned with company	✦Independent — recommends what's right for you
Right for you when	Specialized or litigation matters	Large, complex legal function	✦Growing business needs GC-level strategy
Compliance & infrastructure	Not in scope — project-based only	Builds internally — at full-time salary cost	✦Builds programs, policies & governance frameworks

A Note on Independence

SLC's recommendations are always aligned with your interests, not our own. That means honestly evaluating your existing law firm relationships and coordinating the full range of legal resources available to you — including outside counsel for specialized matters, Alternative Legal Service Providers for cost-effective high-volume work, and internal hiring when your business is ready for it. The right answer isn't always more SLC.

Law Firm Coordination ALSP Integration Internal Hiring Guidance Conflict-Free Advice

What We Do

Core Services

Practical, business-focused legal counsel across the areas that matter most to growing companies.

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Fractional General Counsel

Ongoing outside GC services on a retainer basis — functioning as your embedded legal partner without the full-time cost.

Legal function build-out & infrastructure
Outside counsel management, coordination & spend reduction
Policy and compliance program development
Delegation of authority frameworks
Contract standardization & playbooks
Compliance program development & policy implementation
AI tools evaluation & legal workflow automation

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Risk Analysis & Due Diligence

Comprehensive legal and regulatory risk assessments for M&A transactions, PE portfolio reviews, and compliance audits.

Enterprise-wide risk assessment
Pre-transaction due diligence support
State licensing & regulatory compliance review
Employment & workforce compliance audit
Insurance & risk transfer analysis

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Board & Executive Advisory

Strategic counsel to founders, operators, and boards navigating governance, compliance, and growth-stage legal challenges.

Corporate governance infrastructure
Board documentation & corporate secretary support
Entity management & good standing
Strategic transaction support
Executive risk counseling

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Operational Legal Infrastructure

Building the compliant processes, policies, and governance frameworks that protect your business and support sustainable growth — from the ground up or alongside existing operations.

Board governance — meetings, minutes, resolutions & committee structure
Entity management — good standing, filings & subsidiary structure
Delegation of authority & internal controls frameworks
State licensing, permits & regulatory compliance programs
Employee handbook, workplace policies & HR compliance
Independent contractor classification & wage/hour compliance
Customer & vendor contract templates, playbooks & approval workflows
Insurance program review & risk transfer alignment
Claims, litigation management & incident response protocols
Privacy & data protection policies (GDPR/CCPA awareness)
Identification of specialist referral needs — tax, securities, immigration, environmental & antitrust risks referred to qualified counsel

Who We Serve

Built for growth-stage organizations

SLC works with companies at the inflection point where legal risk becomes a real operational concern — but where a full-time GC isn't yet the right fit.

PE Portfolio Companies

Private equity-backed businesses require legal rigor at every stage — from initial investment and operational build-out to exit preparation. SLC provides PE sponsors and portfolio operators with practical, diligence-ready legal support that protects and builds enterprise value — including the governance frameworks, compliance programs, and operational controls that survive scrutiny and support value creation at every stage.

Due Diligence Exit Readiness Compliance Build-Out Risk Assessment

Small & Mid-Size Businesses

Growing companies in home services, manufacturing, and other industries face complex multi-state regulatory, employment, and contractual risk — often without dedicated legal resources. SLC fills that gap with experienced, affordable general counsel support that scales with your business — building the employment policies, contract frameworks, and compliance programs that reduce exposure and let you focus on growth.

Home Services Industrial & Manufacturing Multi-State Operations Fractional GC

Operational Legal Infrastructure

Building the legal foundation your business can grow on

One of the highest-value things a General Counsel does is build the processes, policies, and governance frameworks that prevent problems before they arise. For PE portfolio companies and growing SMBs, this infrastructure is often underdeveloped — creating hidden risk that surfaces at the worst possible time.

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Governance & Corporate Controls

Board governance frameworks, entity management, delegation of authority policies, and internal controls that formalize how decisions get made and documented across your organization.

Board meeting cadence, minutes & resolutions
Entity good standing & annual filing compliance
Approval thresholds & signing authority frameworks
Subsidiary structure & corporate hygiene

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Regulatory & Licensing Compliance

State licensing, permits, and industry-specific regulatory programs — built to reduce exposure and survive diligence scrutiny.

State contractor & business license compliance
Regulatory audit & gap analysis
Industry-specific compliance program development
Privacy & data protection (GDPR/CCPA)

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Employment & HR Legal Framework

The employment law infrastructure that protects your business and your people — policies, classification reviews, and the compliance programs that keep HR and legal aligned.

Employee handbook & workplace policy development
Independent contractor classification review
Wage & hour compliance programs
Harassment, discrimination & ethics policies

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Commercial Contracting Framework

Standardized contract templates, approval workflows, and vendor risk programs that protect margin, allocate risk appropriately, and accelerate deal cycles.

Customer contract templates & standard terms
Vendor & supplier agreement frameworks
NDA & confidentiality program
Contract review & approval workflow design

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Risk Management & Insurance

Operational risk frameworks, insurance program review, and claims management processes that align your coverage with your actual risk profile.

Insurance coverage alignment & broker coordination
Claims & litigation management protocols
Incident response framework
Risk reporting for executive & board oversight

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Specialist Risk Identification & Referral

SLC identifies exposure in areas requiring specialist counsel and coordinates referrals to qualified attorneys — ensuring no risk category falls through the cracks.

Tax compliance risk identification
Securities & capital markets exposure
Environmental & regulatory liability
Immigration, antitrust & IP risk flagging

About

James P. Kelly

Founder & Principal Counsel

GCRenovo Home Partners — PE-backed, 20 states, 2,500 employees
GCHOERBIGER North America
CounselStericycle, Inc.
CounselAllstate Insurance Company
Corp. CounselLario Oil & Gas Company
J.D.Brooklyn Law School
BarNew York (Active) & Illinois (In-House)
Community Leadership
ChairCabrini Green Legal Aid Board of Directors
MemberLegal Services Corporation Leaders Council

A practitioner who has sat in your seat

James Kelly is a practical, business-focused General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer with more than 15 years of experience as in-house Corporate Counsel and General Counsel building legal functions for growth-stage, multi-state operating companies — including as the first in-house GC for a private equity–backed home services platform operating across 20 states with 2,500 employees.

Throughout his career at companies including HOERBIGER North America, Stericycle, and Allstate, James has developed a reputation for delivering clear, actionable legal guidance that protects the business while enabling operational momentum. He has built compliance programs from scratch, reduced outside legal spend by as much as 75%, standardized contracting frameworks, advised boards and executive teams on governance, risk, and strategic transactions, and led the evaluation and adoption of AI-powered legal tools to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

James understands the pressures that operators and PE-backed companies face. Strategic Legal Consultants was founded on the belief that every growing company deserves access to experienced, strategic legal partnership — not just when they can afford a law firm, and not just when they're large enough to justify a full-time hire.

Note: Strategic Legal Consultants, LLC provides legal consulting and advisory services. James P. Kelly is admitted to practice law in New York and Illinois (in-house counsel registration). Nothing on this site constitutes legal advice or creates an attorney-client relationship. Clients requiring formal legal representation should consult with a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction.

Client Testimonials

What clients say about working with SLC

When a company is under pressure, you need someone who can assess risk quickly, act decisively, and build the legal infrastructure to support a recovery — Jim does all of that. I recruited him as General Counsel for a lender owned company, where he built the legal function from scratch following the recapitalization. PE firms and their portfolio companies and lenders, navigating complex transitions, would be well-served by having Jim in their corner.

Anna Phillips

Independent Director

I hired Jim as General Counsel during a post-LBO turnaround with no legal department and limited risk management capabilities. He built both from the ground up — developing and implementing new compliance and risk frameworks, optimizing outside counsel spend, and resolving complex litigation with calm, seasoned judgment. Jim is exactly the kind of partner a company in transition — or ready for one — wants on its side.

Cameron Baynard

CEO

How We Work

Flexible engagements designed for your business

SLC offers both ongoing retainer relationships and defined project engagements — structured to fit your stage, budget, and objectives.

Initial Consultation

A no-obligation conversation to understand your business, current legal exposure, and where SLC can add the most immediate value.

Scope & Structure

We define the engagement and assess your existing legal resources — including outside counsel relationships — recommending the right mix of SLC, law firms, ALSPs, or internal talent to meet your needs.

Embedded Partnership

SLC functions as an integrated part of your team — attending meetings, advising leadership, building compliance programs and governance frameworks, and proactively managing risk.

Ongoing Strategy

Regular reviews of your legal risk profile and compliance posture — keeping you ahead of issues, not reacting to them.

Get in Touch

Let's talk about your business

Whether you're evaluating a fractional GC relationship, preparing for a transaction, or looking to strengthen your compliance posture — we'd welcome the conversation.

Email [email protected]

Location Evanston, IL — Serving clients nationally

LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/jameskellylaw

GC-level strategy.Without the GC overhead.