All articles

    What A Fractional CTO Actually Costs A Law Firm

    Leadership4 min read

    A straight answer on pricing, what you get for it, and when a fractional arrangement stops making sense compared with a full-time hire.

    The question comes up on almost every first call, usually late and slightly apologetically. It should be the first question, so here is a direct answer.

    The shape of the cost

    A fractional arrangement buys senior judgement on a defined number of days per month. You are paying for decisions | system selection, vendor negotiation, roadmap, governance | not for hours at a keyboard. Most firms start with one to two days a month and adjust once the priorities are clear.

    What it replaces

    • A full-time senior hire that a mid-sized firm cannot keep busy or retain.
    • Vendor-led decisions made without anyone independent in the room.
    • Project overruns caused by nobody owning scope.

    When to hire full time instead

    If you have a permanent internal team of any size, a live multi-year transformation, and enough decision volume to fill a week, you need someone in the building. We will tell you that rather than stretch a retainer past its usefulness | and we are happy to help you recruit them.

    Facing something similar?

    Book a 30-minute strategy call and we will tell you straight what we would do.

    Book a strategy call