Fractional General Counsel · Finance & Fintech

Senior legal leadership, without the full-time seat.

Chief.Legal gives finance companies, fintech ventures, lenders, and corporate acquirers an on-demand General Counsel — Fortune 500 in-house discipline, founder-level operating experience, US and international reach.

30+
Years, corporate & financial law
$650MM
Receivables platform built & run
12+
Jurisdictions across 4 continents
Fluent in the frameworks your regulators care about
TILAReg ZEFTAReg EFCRAFDCPAReg FUDAAPGLBABSA/AMLFinCENOFACCFPBGDPRState privacyUCC Art. 9
Practice areas

Built for regulated finance.
Fluent in the deal.

One counsel across the full life of a financial services business — from licensing and launch, through funding and compliance, to acquisition and exit.

Consumer & Commercial Finance

Personal loans, sales finance, credit cards, auto and title lending, truck and equipment leasing, floorplan programs, mortgage origination and servicing — branch-based and online.

Online Lending & Financial Services

Digital origination, e-signature and disclosure architecture, underwriting frameworks, payments, remittances, and money services — informed by having built and operated an online lender end-to-end.

Regulatory & Compliance Programs

Design and implementation of comprehensive federal and multistate compliance programs: CFPB examinations, licensing, credit reporting, marketing review, and regulator communications.

Data Privacy & Credit Reporting

GLBA, FCRA, and state, federal, and international privacy regimes. Data use, sharing, and monetization agreements, lead generation, privacy notices, and cross-border transfers.

M&A, Portfolios & Corporate Finance

Company and portfolio acquisitions, forward-flow and securitization structures, syndicated and secured lending, joint ventures, and tax-efficient deal structuring — domestic and cross-border.

Servicing, Collections & Repossession

FDCPA / Reg F compliant servicing and recovery operations, repossession and remarketing programs, litigation and post-judgment workflows, and specialty recovery including probate and estate resolution.

Engagement models

Three ways to put a GC in the room.

Every engagement is scoped to the business — not the billable hour. Choose the depth of involvement your stage requires.

Most popular
Model A

Fractional General Counsel

Ongoing, part-time legal leadership embedded in your executive team. Board and investor support, legal budget ownership, outside counsel management, and a steady hand across everything the business signs.

  • Monthly retainer, defined cadence
  • Executive & board participation
  • Full legal function oversight
Model B

Transaction & Project Counsel

Senior deal leadership for a defined mandate: an acquisition, a portfolio purchase, a funding facility, a new product launch, or market entry — run end-to-end with your existing team.

  • Fixed-scope or milestone pricing
  • Due diligence & negotiation lead
  • Closing through integration
Model C

Compliance Build-Out

A complete regulatory and compliance program, designed and implemented: policies, disclosures, licensing, training, vendor and data agreements — delivered as an operating system, not a memo.

  • Gap assessment & roadmap
  • Multistate & federal licensing
  • Exam-ready documentation
Selected matters

A track record across products, borders, and market cycles.

Representative matters led as in-house, lead, or supporting counsel. Not exhaustive; no particular order.

Cross-border M&A

Merger of a U.S. investment group into a publicly traded Swiss asset manager

Lead counsel · Structuring & tax
Platform acquisition

Acquisition of U.S. and U.K. probate debt-servicing and collections platforms

Lead counsel · Diligence to close
Fintech launch

Founded and operated the first exclusively online consumer lender in Puerto Rico

Founder · Full legal & regulatory build
Structured finance

Forward-flow and pooling programs — auto, credit card, and ship-mortgage receivables

Lead counsel · Investor structuring
International expansion

Acquisition of a Philippine consumer finance company and 500+ branch network roll-out

Lead counsel · Fortune 500 acquirer
Servicing platform

Built the largest independent consumer collection platform in Puerto Rico — $650MM+ under management

Founder & President · 80+ employees
Commercial finance

Truck, bus & construction-equipment leasing and floorplan programs, incl. cross-border HK–Guangzhou leasing

Lead counsel · Program design
Capital markets

Municipal bond issuances and project financing for toll roads, hospitals, and infrastructure

Counsel · Issuance & structuring
Creditor rights

Representation of a secured creditor in one of Mexico's largest commercial bankruptcies

Counsel · Cross-border recovery
Global reach

Counsel that crosses borders — and legal systems.

Bilingual (English / Spanish) practice spanning U.S. federal and state law and non-U.S. civil code jurisdictions, with hands-on transaction experience on four continents.

United States
Federal consumer finance, multistate licensing & privacyTexas & Puerto Rico bar admissions
LATAM
Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Puerto RicoLending operations, bankruptcy, payments & infrastructure finance
UK & EU
United Kingdom, Germany, SpainData protection, collections operations, corporate acquisitions
Asia-Pacific
Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, IndiaMarket entry, private-label credit, consumer data protection
Canada
Payment-agent networks & creditor recoveryCross-border data rights & privacy compliance
Who we are

The Team

Chief.Legal is led by a team of experienced counsel with decades of combined experience on every side of regulated finance—as in-house counsel to Fortune 500 lenders, global general counsel for international organizations, outside counsel to banks and fintech companies, compliance leaders, and entrepreneurs who have built and operated businesses themselves.

Our counsel have held senior legal and compliance roles overseeing consumer and commercial finance operations across Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Philippines, and other international markets. Their experience includes serving financial institutions, global recovery firms, money-services businesses, fintech platforms, and consumer-brand companies, with responsibilities spanning acquisitions, regulatory compliance, licensing, commercial strategy, and operational growth.

That operating experience is the difference. Chief.Legal advises on lending platforms, compliance programs, collection operations, and financial-services businesses that our counsel have personally helped build, license, staff, manage, and scale—not merely document.

Talk to Our Team

Your next deal, product, or exam is coming. Bring counsel who has seen it before.

Tell us a little about your company and the matter at hand. We personally review every inquiry and typically respond within one business day.

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