Legal Services for the Recruitment Sector
Senior legal support for recruitment businesses, on terms that suit you
I work with founder-led recruitment businesses across three engagement models: a retained legal partner for the day-to-day, a fractional General Counsel role for businesses that need senior in-house-style support, and ad-hoc advice when a specific issue lands. Whichever model fits, you get a senior legal partner who understands the sector inside out and is on the end of the phone when it matters.
Why a sector-specialist matters
Recruitment is an increasingly regulated, contract-heavy, people-heavy business, and most generalist lawyers don't see enough of it to advise quickly or commercially. The same issues come up again and again across recruitment firms, but the answers depend on which side of the deal you're on, which engagement model you use, and where the risk actually sits.
My deep sector knowledge means faster answers, fewer second opinions, and advice that's already pressure-tested against how recruitment businesses actually run.
What this looks like for recruitment founders
Recruitment founders typically come to me at the point where their business has outgrown a model that depends on them for every legal and people decision. When you're trying to scale, that's the last thing you want on your plate.
Here's what shifts when I'm your fractional GC:
Founder bandwidth comes back.
You stop being the person redrafting the latest client MSA at 10pm. You stop being the person handling the difficult biller conversation single-handed. You focus on growing the business.
Your management team operates with confidence.
Your finance lead can negotiate a complex client contract knowing they have me to call. Your ops lead can tackle a contractor compliance question without freezing. Your managers handle people issues without panicking.
Difficult moments stay calm.
A biller leaves and takes clients. A contractor disputes their IR35 status. A client refuses to pay a placement fee. These things stop being crises and start being processes.
Your team grows up around you.
I mentor your managers through each decision so the capability stays inside your business. You're not building a legal dependency. You're building a business that handles its own questions intelligently, with senior expert backup when needed
How I work with you
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Best for: recruitment businesses that want a steady, predictable legal partner for the day-to-day matters, such as contracts, people issues, regulatory questions, and the surprises that land in any given month.
You get a set number of senior legal hours each month, available to be drawn down as you need them. You call when there's a contract to review, a tricky exit to handle, a fee dispute to navigate, or a question that needs proper attention rather than a Google search.
You get:
Predictable monthly cost.
No surprise invoices.
A trusted advisor who already knows your business when the next issue lands.
There are multiple tiers available, scaling with the size and complexity of your business.
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Best for: recruitment businesses scaling fast, those preparing for investment or exit, and those who would otherwise need to hire a senior in-house lawyer.
This is a step up from a standard retainer. I act as your part-time General Counsel: owning your legal function, providing strategic legal leadership, contributing at board level, and acting as the senior legal voice in the room when decisions get made.
You get:
The advantages of an in-house GC, at a fraction of the cost
An advisor who knows your business inside out and can advise proactively on strategic growth and risk
This is typically structured as an ongoing engagement of 2-5 days per month, scaling up or down as the business demands.
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Best for: one-off issues, defined projects, or testing the relationship before committing to a retainer.
You get pay-as-you-go expert input when a specific issue lands and you need a senior view. For example, a contract negotiation, a difficult people issue, a regulatory question or some M&A due diligence.
No retainer, no minimum commitment, just senior advice when you need it, billed by the project or by the hour.
Where I can help you
Workforce engagement and compliance
IR35 status determinations, processes, and disputes
Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) compliance
Conduct Regulations and EAA exemptions
Umbrella, PSC and PAYE engagement structures
MSP, RPO and neutral vendor arrangements
Contracts and commercial
Client terms of business: drafting, negotiating, and pushing back on aggressive procurement positions
Candidate and contractor agreements
Master Services Agreements and framework contracts
Introduction fees, opt-outs, rebate clauses, and temp-to-perm conversions
PSL applications and tender support
People
Employment contracts and consultant agreements for your internal staff
Restrictive covenants: drafting, enforcement, and defence
Team moves, garden leave, and protecting your client and candidate data
Settlement agreements and senior exits
Performance, grievance and disciplinary issues
Commission and bonus disputes
Growth and exit
Investor due diligence and exit-readiness reviews
M&A: buy-side and sell-side legal support, including bolt-on acquisitions
Equity and incentive schemes for billers and leadership
International expansion: entity set-up, contractor compliance overseas, and localised client terms
Restructures and integration post-acquisition
Disputes and difficult conversations
Client non-payment, fee disputes and debt recovery strategy
Restrictive covenant breaches
Employment tribunal claims and pre-claim resolution
Regulator engagement (HMRC, FWA, ICO)
Who I work with
My clients are typically:
Founder-led recruitment businesses, from start-up through to mid-sized
Firms scaling fast and feeling the strain on contracts, compliance and HR
Recruitment groups preparing for investment, acquisition, or exit
Recruitment-adjacent businesses: umbrellas, payroll providers, funders, RPOs, and back-office service providers
If you have in-house legal capacity already, I can also work alongside them on capacity-strain workstreams or special projects.
Let’s talk about your business
If you run a recruitment business and you've been wishing you had someone senior in your corner without the cost of a full-time hire that's exactly what I do.
Book a 30-minute call and let's see if it's a fit.