FOR CEOS · CFOS · FOUNDERS · BOARDS
Your general counsel.
Without the
full-time cost.
Senior commercial legal judgment embedded in your business — on a retained, fractional basis. Contracts, GDPR, employment, IP and governance, delivered by a solicitor with over 25 years of in-house and private practice experience across Ireland, the EU and internationally.
Most Irish businesses reach a point where their legal exposure has outgrown the 'call a solicitor when something goes wrong' model. GeneralCounsel.ie exists for that moment.
ADMITTED IRELAND · ENGLAND & WALES · CALIFORNIA
COMMERCIAL · GDPR · EMPLOYMENT · IP · GOVERNANCE
LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND REGULATED
WILLIAM@GENERALCOUNSEL.IE
THE PROBLEM
Your business has outgrown the way you currently handle legal.
You have a solicitor you call when something goes wrong. But the calls are getting more frequent, the invoices less predictable, and the advice less joined-up. Meanwhile, contracts are being signed without proper review, HR situations are being managed by instinct, and no one in your business truly owns your legal risk.
The alternative — hiring a full-time General Counsel — looks like a cost you cannot yet justify. A junior in-house solicitor costs €100,000 to €180,000 per year before on-costs. A senior solicitor or General Counsel ranges from €150,000 to €220,000 per year. For most Irish SMEs, either figure is premature.
GeneralCounsel.ie provides a third option: a senior solicitor embedded in your business on a retained, fractional basis. Fixed scope. Predictable cost. Someone who knows your business, not just your file.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONYOU MAY RECOGNISE THIS
- Legal bills arriving without warning — and no clear sense of what you are paying for
- Contracts being signed by employees without proper commercial or legal review
- An HR or employment law issue that cost far more to resolve than to prevent
- Preparing for investment and discovering your data room, IP ownership or contracts are not in the shape you assumed
- A GDPR or data protection question that no one in the business can answer with confidence
- No one watching your horizon for the regulatory changes that will affect your business in the next 12 months
- Investors or a board beginning to ask governance questions that the current arrangement cannot properly answer
ENGAGEMENT MODELS
Built for where your business is now.
A fractional general counsel is not a one-size engagement. The right model depends on where your business sits today, what legal risk you are carrying, and what outcome you need. If you are not sure which model fits, that is what the Introductory Consultation is for — thirty minutes, no charge, no obligation.
Retained General Counsel
For scaling Irish businesses that need ongoing senior legal oversight without a full-time hire or unpredictable legal spend. You have outgrown the reactive model. Contracts are becoming more complex. Regulatory questions are accumulating. You need a senior solicitor who understands your business, not one who needs to be briefed from scratch every time you call.
- One commercial agreement reviewed per month (up to 30 pages) with written risk commentary and recommended positions
- Unlimited short-form legal queries by email — commercial, regulatory and employment matters — responded to within 48 hours on business days
- One advisory call per month covering live matters, upcoming risks and strategic priorities
- Quarterly legal risk briefing: the three most material legal risks on your horizon, with recommended actions
- Priority access to additional work at a preferential agreed rate — no re-engagement process, no onboarding delay
- Quarterly scope review to ensure the retainer reflects where your business is now
Does not include: contract drafting from scratch, template development, board presentations, High Court litigation conduct. Each is available as a defined add-on, priced and agreed before work begins.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONDeal & Transaction Support
For businesses closing high-value commercial agreements where the stakes justify getting it right. Outsourcing contracts, SaaS and technology deals, licensing arrangements, joint ventures, investment documents. The other side has a legal team. You need a solicitor who has negotiated complex commercial agreements at in-house level and knows exactly where the risk sits.
- Full commercial review of one transaction agreement (up to 60 pages) with redlined mark-up and written risk commentary
- Negotiation strategy note: counterparty positions, your leverage points, and the clauses where the real risk sits
- Direct negotiation support — up to two rounds of engagement with counterparty counsel
- Risk summary for internal stakeholders, board or investors
- Post-completion action plan: obligations, notice dates, renewal triggers and compliance milestones
Does not include: multiple simultaneous transactions (each scoped separately), regulatory filings, IP prosecution or post-completion disputes.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONGDPR & Regulatory Advisory
For Irish businesses navigating GDPR compliance, the EU AI Act, data processing agreements, and the wider digital regulatory landscape. Particularly suited to technology companies, SaaS businesses and any organisation collecting or processing personal data at scale. Practical, board-ready advice — not a template compliance checklist.
- GDPR compliance review and gap analysis tailored to your specific data processing activities
- Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) and data transfer mechanism review
- GDPR provisions embedded in all commercial contracts as standard
- Subject Access Request and FOI response support
- Board and executive-level legal briefings on GDPR, the EU AI Act and regulatory developments
- Certificate in Data Protection — Law Society of Ireland (2023)
Does not include: DPC investigation conduct, litigation or multi-jurisdictional data protection advice outside Ireland and the EU.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONStartup & SME Legal Foundation
For early-stage and scaling Irish businesses that need defined legal deliverables rather than ongoing counsel. Fixed-scope packages covering the legal foundations every growing business needs before it starts closing significant deals or taking on investment. Same standard of advice. Defined scope. Fixed cost.
- Commercial contract template suite (NDA, services agreement, standard T&Cs)
- Employment contract and staff handbook review or drafting
- Corporate governance review: company structure, shareholder agreements, board documentation
- IP audit and trade mark strategy advice — IPOI and EUIPO filing available
- Investment readiness review: data room, IP ownership, contract status and identified risks
Does not include ongoing advisory, retainer services or High Court litigation. Each project is scoped and priced individually.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONOPTIONAL ADD-ONS
THE COST COMPARISON
All engagements begin with a free 30-minute Introductory Consultation to establish scope and fit. Fees are agreed in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing. No unexpected invoices. All fees quoted exclusive of VAT.
BOOK AN INTRODUCTORY CONSULTATIONHOW IT WORKS
Five steps from first contact to completed engagement.
Introductory Consultation
Thirty minutes. No charge. No obligation. We establish your situation, your legal priorities, and which engagement model fits. If this practice is not the right fit for your needs, you will be told that too.
Written Scope & Fee Confirmed
You receive a written scope document and a confirmed fee before any work begins. The scope sets out exactly what you receive, what is excluded, and what happens if additional work is needed. You sign off before work starts.
You Deal Directly with William
Every engagement is led personally by William Crean. Not a junior solicitor doing the work while a partner signs off. Not a call centre. The person you speak to in the Introductory Consultation is the person who delivers your work.
Work Delivered Against Scope
If work reveals something outside the original scope, it is flagged immediately, a separate fee is agreed, and work proceeds only with your approval. There are no unexpected invoices and nothing charged after the fact.
Ongoing or Complete. Your Choice.
Retainer engagements continue on a rolling monthly basis with a quarterly review. Project engagements close with a written action plan and handover. No pressure. No lock-in beyond the agreed minimum term.
GeneralCounsel.ie
Arklow, Co. Wicklow
Admitted 1999
2010
Admitted 2022
Appointed by the Supreme Court of Ireland (2011)
Irish Patents Office, 2006
Law Society, 2023
ABOUT
A solicitor who has sat on both sides of the table.
Most solicitors advising businesses have spent their careers in private practice, picking up files cold and billing by the hour. GeneralCounsel.ie operates on a different premise. This practice is built around the experience of having worked as in-house counsel inside organisations — where legal is not a service you call when something has already gone wrong, but a function embedded in how decisions get made.
Before establishing this practice, William served as in-house counsel at IDA Ireland (the national inward investment agency), at Allied Irish Banks, and at Nelvana International, a Canadian children's media company. Each role involved being the lawyer inside a commercial organisation, managing contracts under pressure, advising executives and boards, and understanding what legal risk actually means to a business that has to operate and grow.
That in-house perspective is what distinguishes the advice you receive here. A solicitor who has managed a contract management programme inside a major bank, advised an IDA board on GDPR and the EU AI Act, and structured multi-territory licensing agreements across Europe brings a different quality of commercial judgment to your matters than one who has never operated under those conditions.
William Crean founded and ran William Crean & Co. Solicitors in Dublin for nearly nine years (2005–2013), supervising employed and trainee solicitors and building a commercial practice with High Court litigation capability and 90+ trade mark matters before the IPOI and EUIPO. The practice is now re-established in Arklow, Co. Wicklow, with a primary focus on the fractional general counsel model — but retaining full commercial and general practice capability.
Most businesses do not need a law firm. They need a senior solicitor who understands their commercial reality, responds when it matters, and gives them a straight answer.
FAQ
Common questions.
If your question is not here, the Introductory Consultation is the right place to ask it. Thirty minutes, no charge, no obligation.
BOOK A CONSULTATIONINTRODUCTORY CONSULTATION
Start with a conversation.
A 30-minute Introductory Consultation — free, no obligation — to establish your situation, your priorities, and whether this practice is the right fit. If it is not, you will be told that directly. If it is, you will leave with a clear sense of scope, approach and next steps.
This is a direct conversation with William Crean. Not a sales call. Not an intake form processed by an assistant. A senior solicitor giving you thirty minutes of their attention to help you understand your position.
Select a time that suits you using the booking link below. All consultations are conducted by video call or telephone.
Send an Enquiry
Prefer to write first? Use this form and William will respond within one business day.
Arklow, Co. Wicklow, Ireland