What is a General Counsel?
A General Counsel (GC) is the company's chief legal officer — the first lawyer on staff and the person responsible for all legal matters the company faces. At a startup, the GC handles an extraordinarily broad scope: commercial contracts, fundraising and securities law, employment matters, IP protection, regulatory compliance, and board governance. They're a strategic business partner, not just a legal advisor.
At what stage should you hire a General Counsel?
Most VC-backed startups hire their first GC at Series B or when annual revenue exceeds $5–10M and the volume of commercial contracts, employment decisions, and regulatory questions justifies bringing legal in-house. Before that point, startups typically use outside counsel (law firms) for discrete matters. The trigger: outside counsel costs are exceeding what a GC's salary would cost, or legal review is a bottleneck to deals closing.
Common titles for this role
- General Counsel
- VP Legal
- Head of Legal
- Chief Legal Officer
- Associate General Counsel
- First In-House Counsel
Typical background
Strong startup GCs typically spent 4–8 years at a top law firm — often in corporate/M&A, technology transactions, or securities — before moving in-house. RFS looks for GCs who have experience with VC fundraising documentation, commercial SaaS contracts, and employment law fundamentals. The best first GCs are comfortable operating across all of these simultaneously without outside counsel on every question.
What does a General Counsel do at a startup?
- Review, negotiate, and execute commercial contracts: MSAs, SOWs, NDAs, enterprise agreements
- Support fundraising: work with investors, outside counsel, and the board on financing documents
- Manage IP portfolio: trademark registration, patent strategy, and trade secret protection
- Handle employment law matters: offer letters, equity agreements, severance, and disputes
- Advise on regulatory compliance: data privacy (GDPR, CCPA), industry-specific regulation
- Support M&A activity: due diligence, acquisition documentation, and integration
- Manage the company's relationship with outside counsel and control legal spend
Key skills and qualifications
- JD from an accredited law school, bar admission in at least one US state
- 4–10 years of legal experience, ideally split between law firm and in-house
- Experience with commercial contracts, SaaS agreements, and B2B transaction documents
- Familiarity with startup equity and financing documents (SAFEs, convertible notes, Series A/B documents)
- Data privacy knowledge: GDPR, CCPA, and emerging US state privacy law
- Business judgment — the ability to give practical legal advice, not just identify risk
Why hire your General Counsel through RFS?
- GC is one of the highest-leverage hires at Series B — we place GCs who are business partners, not just risk managers
- 29-day average time to hire — GC searches often stall on comp and equity; our experience closing these searches helps
- Pre-vetted for startup fit: in-house experience at fast-growing companies, not just law firm background
- 300+ placements at VC-backed startups — we understand the legal needs that arise at every growth stage
- No upfront fees — contingency model means we're aligned with finding the right GC, not any GC
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