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SERVICES

Interim & Fractional
Legal and Compliance
Leadership

Marchstone Advisory provides temporary and part-time General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer support for organizations that need senior legal or compliance leadership during periods of transition, growth, change, or heightened complexity.

Experienced in-house leadership, without the full-time hire.

THE DIFFERENCE

Many fractional legal and compliance models provide access to outside advisors. Marchstone is designed for situations where an organization needs something more: experienced leadership from someone who has actually worked inside the function, carried executive responsibility, and understands what it means to translate legal and compliance advice into decisions that work across the organization.

That perspective changes the work. It means looking beyond the immediate legal question to the people, priorities, operations, risks, and relationships around it—and helping leaders move from advice to action.

When specialized outside counsel is needed, Marchstone can help identify the right expertise, manage the engagement, and integrate that advice into the organization’s broader strategy.

A leader who has been there.

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Executive-level perspective
Experience leading legal and compliance functions from inside complex organizations.

Practical, solutions-oriented
Focused on the big picture and what the organization needs to move forward.

Works with your existing team
Collaborative with executives, internal teams, boards, and outside counsel.

Flexible by design
Interim, fractional, or project-based support shaped to the situation.

Interim & Fractional General Counsel

An experienced General Counsel brings legal issues into the broader business context—helping leaders set priorities, manage risk, coordinate outside counsel, and move complex matters forward.

  • General Counsel vacancies and leave coverage

  • Leadership during periods of growth, transition, or organizational change

  • Executive and board counsel on complex legal matters

  • Oversight of litigation, investigations, and regulatory matters

  • Legal operations, risk management, and internal decision-making

  • Selection, coordination, and oversight of outside counsel

Interim & Fractional Chief Compliance Officer

An experienced Chief Compliance Officer provides ownership and direction for the compliance function—connecting program design, investigations, risk assessment, training, and reporting to the realities of the organization.

  • Chief Compliance Officer vacancies and leave coverage

  • Compliance program leadership, assessment, and enhancement

  • Investigations and issue resolution

  • Risk assessment, policies, training, and communications

  • Executive and board reporting

  • Regulatory engagement and examination readiness

  • Leadership during periods of growth, transition, or heightened scrutiny

WHEN ORGANIZATIONS ENGAGE MARCHSTONE

Common situations include:

A senior legal or compliance leader leaves unexpectedly, takes leave, or the organization needs experienced coverage during a search.

1 — A leadership vacancy

The organization is scaling, restructuring, integrating an acquisition, entering a new market, or navigating other significant change.

2 — Growth or transition

Leadership needs experienced legal or compliance oversight for an investigation, dispute, regulatory issue, crisis, or other consequential matter.

3 — A high-stakes matter

4 — More leadership capacity is needed

The organization needs senior legal or compliance leadership, but a full-time executive hire is not yet necessary, practical, or the right long-term solution.

Need experienced legal or compliance leadership?

START A CONVERSATION

A FEW THINGS CLIENTS WANT TO KNOW

FAQs

  • Interim leadership typically fills a temporary gap—for example, during a vacancy, leave, or executive search. Fractional leadership is usually an ongoing arrangement in which an organization needs senior legal or compliance leadership, but not on a full-time basis. Marchstone can structure engagements either way.

  • Yes. Marchstone can provide continuity during a leadership transition, help establish priorities, manage active matters, support the existing team, and help position the function for a successful handoff when a permanent leader arrives.

  • No. Specialized outside counsel remains important when a matter requires particular expertise, jurisdictional coverage, or additional resources. Marchstone can help you determine when outside counsel is needed, select the right expertise, oversee the engagement, and integrate that advice efficiently into the organization’s broader strategy.

  • Yes, where appropriate for the organization and consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. Marchstone can also provide senior compliance leadership without formally holding the CCO title, depending on the organization’s needs and structure.

  • Engagements are tailored to the situation. They may involve interim executive coverage, recurring fractional support, a defined project or transition period, or a combination of these. The scope and cadence are established at the outset and can evolve as the organization’s needs change.

  • Marchstone is based in North Carolina, and Lori Driver Russell is licensed to practice law in North Carolina. Engagements may still involve organizations operating more broadly, depending on the nature of the work. When legal advice in another jurisdiction is required, Marchstone can coordinate with appropriately licensed counsel.