After the corporate career: interim assignments for senior general counsel and compliance heads

Short answer: After a corporate career, many general counsel and heads of compliance continue as senior interim general counsel or interim compliance leaders. Companies bring them in to cover a vacant leadership role, a transaction, a restructuring or a regulatory programme. Assignments run through staff leasing or freelancing, at a workload of 20 to 100 %. What counts is a clear leadership profile, short-notice availability and the willingness to work without a group-level support structure.

This guide is for general counsel, chief compliance officers and heads of legal in Switzerland and Germany who want to take on interim assignments after years in a large group. It covers the assignments available, what changes compared with a corporate role and how to make the move.

Which interim assignments suit a senior corporate lawyer?

Senior interim assignments arise wherever a legal or compliance function needs leadership for a period and cannot provide it internally. The most common triggers are:

• Leadership vacancy: the general counsel or head of compliance has left and the successor has not yet started.
• Parental or maternity leave cover: the head of the function is away for several months and will return.
• Transaction, carve-out or restructuring: a project needs additional legal leadership for a limited period alongside day-to-day work.
• Regulatory programme or remediation: a compliance organisation has to implement new requirements or clear a backlog and needs an experienced lead.
• Build-up: a growing company sets up its first legal or compliance function.

Demand is for senior profiles. At Alpinum, senior means seven or more years of experience; leadership assignments usually require considerably more, plus a head or deputy role. The guide Becoming an interim head of legal explains how such an assignment is structured.

Corporate role and interim assignment compared

An interim assignment requires the same legal depth as a corporate role but a different way of working. The table shows the main differences.

The biggest change is the role itself: in an interim assignment, the client company steers the work. You lead the function, but on the company's behalf and according to its priorities.

What senior general counsel and compliance heads need to bring

Companies expect judgement and pace from senior interims. Group experience is an advantage if you can translate it to a smaller setting.

• Leadership from day one: set priorities, lead the team and give management a clear picture within the first weeks.
• Breadth rather than group specialisation: mid-sized companies often lack the specialists you are used to.
• Law firm management with an eye on budget: instruct counsel, control costs and bring work back in-house where it makes sense.
• Formal functions: interim professionals can take on formal roles, such as a compliance officer with regulatory responsibility or a data protection officer; what is permitted depends on the model, the country and the company's requirements.
• Handover discipline: document your work so that your successor can carry on without you.

Making the move in five steps

1. Check post-employment obligations: review non-compete clauses, garden leave and confidentiality duties in your previous contract before accepting assignments.
2. Define your assignment profile: describe in three sentences which function you can lead, in which industry and at what company size.
3. Prepare your profile: show results and responsibility at each stage, not job titles. See Profile and CV for interim assignments.
4. Choose model and workload: decide whether you want to be employed through staff leasing or work as a freelancer, and whether you offer full-time or part-time. The comparison is in Freelancing or employment through staff leasing.
5. Register your availability: submit your profile with your earliest start date to a specialist provider. Companies usually receive two to four profiles per search.

Many senior lawyers who no longer want to work full-time combine several part-time assignments. The guide Interim work as a part-time and portfolio model explains how. A variant with fixed days at several companies is the fractional general counsel role.

Switzerland and Germany: what matters for the contract model

The assignments are the same in both countries; the legal framework for the contract model differs.

• Germany: under Arbeitnehmerüberlassung (German temporary agency work), an assignment with the same company is generally limited to 18 consecutive months (§ 1(1b) AÜG). If you are admitted as a Syndikusrechtsanwalt (in-house lawyer admitted to the bar), note that the agency is the employer for professional-law purposes, so in-house admission is not available for the assignment (Federal Court of Justice, judgment of 20 March 2023, AnwZ (Brfg) 12/21). Whether a freelance assignment counts as self-employment depends on instructions and integration (§ 7(1) SGB IV).
• Switzerland: under Personalverleih (Swiss staff leasing), you are employed by the agency; staff leasing always requires an employment contract. Whether you count as self-employed as a freelancer is decided case by case by the AHV compensation office, based on the actual circumstances.

Limits and risks

• Expecting group standards: processes, tools and budgets are often leaner. Trying to rebuild the group costs time.
• Authority and reporting line: agree the brief, signing authority and reporting line in writing at the outset.
• Status risk in freelancing: if you work under instructions and are fully integrated, you may be treated as an employee.
• Gaps between assignments: plan financially for periods without an assignment.

Frequently asked questions about interim work after a corporate career

Am I overqualified for interim work after many years in a large group?

Rarely. For leadership assignments, companies look specifically for people who have already run a legal or compliance function. What matters is that you can apply your experience to smaller structures and do hands-on work yourself. Use your profile to show how you set priorities in the first weeks and deliver results with limited resources.

Can I take on interim assignments part-time?

Yes. The workload ranges from 20 to 100 %, depending on the need. Part-time suits smaller companies, the build-up of a function, or a combination with board seats and other activities. Agree fixed days, availability and cover for urgent matters before you start.

Staff leasing or freelancing: which suits a senior lawyer?

Staff leasing suits you if you want to remain employed and not organise social security and payroll yourself. Freelancing suits you if you have several clients, work independently within the agreed brief and accept the business risk. Many senior interims are open to both models.

Can an interim assignment lead to a permanent role?

Yes. A move into the team (temp-to-perm) is possible; the terms are agreed in advance. For senior profiles this mainly arises with vacancies, once the company and the interim have worked together day to day. More in From assignment to permanent role.

Next step

Alpinum Solutions is the leading provider of interim legal & compliance in the DACH region and fills leadership assignments in legal and compliance through staff leasing and freelancing. Submit your profile with your leadership experience, preferred workload and earliest start date.

• Careers: interim assignments in legal and compliance
• Becoming an interim head of legal: profile, assignments and entry
• Becoming a fractional general counsel: mandate structure, pipeline and risks
• For candidates: all guides on careers and interim assignments

Last updated: 10 November 2026.