Fractional General Counsel for Arizona's Growing Businesses.
For Growing Businesses
Stratman Law Firm gives Arizona companies seasoned general counsel-level support, without the salary, the recruiting cycle, or the unnecessary complexity of a traditional firm. Contracts, governance, compliance, transactions, and the day-to-day judgment calls that keep your business moving.
THE CHALLENGE
Your Business Is Outgrowing Your Legal Setup.
The contracts are stacking up. The compliance questions don't slow down. A vendor wants an MSA redlined by Friday. HR has a question that probably needs a lawyer. Your board wants cleaner governance. And every time you call your outside firm, the meter starts running for someone who doesn't really know your business.
You don't need a full-time general counsel yet. But you've outgrown one-off legal help. That's the gap we fill.
WHAT WE DO
What a Stratman Fractional GC Engagement Actually Covers.
Corporate Governance & Board Support
Entity structure, operating agreements, bylaws, board materials, written consents, minute books, and the governance hygiene that keeps you investor-ready and audit-ready.
Contracts & Commercial Agreements
Customer agreements, vendor contracts, MSAs and SOWs, NDAs, licensing, partnership and reseller deals, and the form library that stops you reinventing the wheel on every transaction.
Compliance & Risk Management
Day-to-day regulatory questions, policy drafting, internal investigations, privacy and data-handling protocols, and the proactive risk reviews that catch problems while they're still cheap to fix.
Strategic Transactions
M&A support, asset purchases and sales, financings, equity issuances, and the diligence and documentation work that surrounds them, leveraging decades of Snell & Wilmer- and CLO-level transactional experience.
Employment & HR Legal Support
Offer letters, employment agreements, separation agreements, handbook reviews, classification questions, and the everyday HR-legal calls that don't fit cleanly into a labor-and-employment specialist's lane.
Day-to-Day Business Counsel
The "quick question" calls. The judgment calls. The "what would you do here?" texts. The kind of running legal partnership a growing business actually needs from a GC.
WHO WE SERVE
Who This Is Built For.
Founders & CEOs of Growing Arizona Companies
Typically post-revenue, pre-Series B, with legal questions piling up faster than the budget for a full-time hire.
Direct Selling & Consumer Product Companies
A category we know deeply, our team has led legal at direct-selling companies through periods of rapid growth, international expansion, and complex regulatory environments. (Deep specialty, not a limitation, we serve many industries.)
Privately Held Businesses & Family-Owned Companies
Consumers and small investors dealing with contained transactional disputes, earnest money fights, breach of contract claims, disclosure questions, creative financing structures, and contract cancellations.
Companies with Small In-House Legal Teams That Need Backup
A solo GC who needs experienced overflow capacity, second-chair on a transaction, or coverage during parental leave.
WHY STRATMAN
We've Actually Done the Job. That's the Difference.
Most "fractional GC" offerings are outside attorneys playing in-house. Ours are former in-house GCs and chief legal officers who built and ran legal departments, through rapid growth, international expansion, regulated industries, and the kinds of judgment calls that don't show up in a billable-hour outside-counsel relationship.
That changes what you get on day one. We've sat in your seat. We know what a GC actually does on a Tuesday afternoon when the sales team needs a contract redlined, HR has a question, the board chair calls, and a vendor is threatening to walk.
We're brilliant at the 80% of legal challenges growing companies face most.
Contracts. Governance. Compliance. Day-to-day risk. Strategic transactions. Employment-law judgment calls.
For the 20% we're not the right firm for, we say so.
Contracts. Governance. Compliance. Day-to-day risk. Strategic transactions. Employment-law judgment calls.
MEET YOUR COUNSEL
The Attorneys Behind the Engagement.
Stratman's fractional general counsel work is led by attorneys who've held the in-house GC and chief legal officer roles themselves. Not borrowed from the outside-counsel bench. Actually done the job.
Thomas Nichols
Managing Attorney & Founder
Thomas has held the seat clients are looking to fill. He brings the institutional knowledge of an in-house GC, org structure, board dynamics, cross-functional legal support, with the focused expertise of an Arizona firm.
Former Chief Legal Officer (Seacret Direct)
Associate General Counsel (Isagenix International)
Built and ran legal, compliance, and HR functions through periods of rapid growth and international expansion.
Richard B. Stagg
Senior Counsel
Richard brings a depth of experience that spans both elite outside-counsel and in-house leadership. His decades advising boards and executives at the highest levels translate directly into the strategic, practical counsel that fractional clients actually need.
Former Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel (Isagenix International)
Prior partner at Snell & Wilmer
Four decades advising privately held businesses, boards, and executive teams
HOW WE WORK
Engagement Models Built Around Your Actual Needs.
Monthly Retainer
A defined scope and a predictable monthly fee for companies who want a true ongoing GC relationship.
Project-Based
A specific transaction, a contract overhaul, a compliance build-out, a board governance reset, scoped and priced up front.
On-Call Counsel
A standing relationship with hourly billing for companies whose legal needs are real but uneven.
Custom Engagements
Every business is at a different stage with a different legal load. We'll scope the right model on the first call, no inflated retainers, no unnecessary complexity.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Questions Growing Businesses Ask Us.
What does "fractional general counsel" actually mean?
A fractional general counsel is an experienced business attorney who functions as your in-house lawyer on a part-time, ongoing basis. You get the strategic judgment, institutional knowledge, and availability of a GC, at a fraction of what a full-time hire costs in salary, benefits, and recruiting time.
When is the right time to bring in a fractional GC?
Most companies hit the right moment when legal questions start outpacing the founder's bandwidth, contracts are getting signed without proper review, or the board starts asking governance questions that need real answers. If you're spending more on outside counsel than you're getting in strategic value, it's time to talk.
Do you replace our existing outside counsel?
Often, no, we work alongside specialists. We become your day-to-day legal quarterback and bring in specialized counsel (litigation, IP prosecution, tax, immigration) when a matter genuinely calls for it. The result is usually less spend on outside counsel, not more, because the right work goes to the right place.
Do you handle litigation?
We handle pre-litigation strategy, dispute resolution, and contained matters where strong documentation and a clear legal position can resolve things before a courtroom is involved. For high-conflict, prolonged litigation, we coordinate with specialist trial firms, that's not the work we're built for, and we'll tell you that directly.
What industries do you have the deepest experience in?
Direct selling, consumer products, regulated multi-state and international operations, real estate-adjacent businesses, and privately held companies generally. Tom Nichols led legal at companies that scaled from under $100 million to over $900 million in revenue and that operated across nearly 30 international markets — the kind of complexity most fractional GCs haven't actually lived through.
CONTACT US
Let's Talk About What Your Business Actually Needs.
One conversation. No commitment. We'll listen to where your business is, what's piling up legally, and give you a clear-eyed read on whether a fractional GC relationship makes sense, or whether something simpler does.
Stratman Law Firm is Arizona's HOA and real estate law firm delivering nimble, expert legal support at a fractional cost. Based in Arizona, we combine deep specialization with personalized attention, giving property managers, HOA boards, and growing businesses the focused legal partner they actually deserve.
OFFICE LOCATION
20860 North Tatum Boulevard, Suite 380
Phoenix, Arizona 85050
OFFICE HOURS
Mon - Thurs:
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday:
By Appointment
Weekends & Holidays
Closed
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