Fractional GC · Interim Legal Management · International Business Advisory
Senior legal expertise for international companies, regulated industries, transformation projects and private equity-backed businesses - without the overhead of a permanent hire.
Boutique Legal Advisory · Hamburg · Germany
Haak Legal is a Hamburg-based boutique advisory focused on fractional and interim general counsel services, international business law and strategic legal leadership for complex corporate environments. Founded by German-qualified lawyer Heiko Haak, the practice combines extensive international in-house leadership experience with a pragmatic, business-oriented advisory approach developed across multinational, regulated and transformation-driven organisations.
Senior in-house legal leadership - without the cost or commitment of a permanent hire.
Engagement models tailored to your needs — retainer, project-based or interim support.
Fast integration into existing business structures, leadership teams and decision making processes.
Clear, business-oriented advice grounded in commercial reality - not abstract theory.
Strong track recorf in carve-outs, PMI, governance redesign and complex special situations.
Extensive cross-cultural experience across regulated industries and multinational structures.
Services
General Counsel-level expertise on demand – flexibly available, embedded within your organisation and close to day-to-day business operations.
Full-time senior legal coverage for defined periods - including leadership transitions, market entry projects, organisational build-outs, transformation initiatives and carve-out situations.
Pragmatic legal advisory for international commercial relationships, distribution structures and cross-border transactions.
Experienced legal support for transformation, integration and organisational change — where sound judgement and a pragmatic business perspective are essential.
Industry Experience
Regulated commercial operations, market-entry projects, governance structures, cross-border compliance and strategic business partnering.
International business relationships, regulatory frameworks, strategic partnerships, international distribution structures, and legal entity formation and organisational build-outs.
International supply and manufacturing structures, operational partnerships, joint ventures, organisational build-outs and group governance.
Portfolio-company legal leadership, carve-outs, transformation initiatives, PMI, governance redesign and exit preparedness.
About
German-qualified lawyer with extensive international in-house leadership experience across regulated industries, multinational organisations and transformation-driven business environments.
Before founding HAAK LEGAL, Heiko held senior legal leadership roles within global healthcare, MedTech and life sciences organisations, advising on complex cross-border commercial structures, governance frameworks, compliance matters and strategic transformation initiatives.
His background combines international legal expertise with a pragmatic, commercially focused advisory approach developed in close collaboration with executive leadership teams, business units and international headquarters across global markets and jurisdictions.
Selected Topics
The term "Fractional GC" has become fashionable. It is also frequently misunderstood - by providers who repackage hourly law-firm work as something it is not, and by companies who engage the model without fully understanding what they are buying. This piece sets out what the role actually involves, where it delivers disproportionate value, and where it is the wrong answer entirely.
ReadCarve-outs, integrations and governance redesign sit at the centre of most serious transformation work - and are also where legal involvement most often arrives too late, is scoped too narrowly, or is framed as compliance overhead rather than as a design discipline. This piece outlines how legal structures should actually be approached in transformation programmes, from the perspective of senior counsel who has worked through them firsthand.
ReadRegulated, international businesses generate legal complexity faster than most internal legal teams can absorb it. The objective is not to eliminate the complexity - that is impossible - but to design an operating model that turns it from a permanent crisis into a manageable system. This piece outlines practical observations drawn from working inside such organisations across pharma, MedTech, life sciences and adjacent regulated industries.
ReadFrequently Asked
Contact
For enquiries regarding fractional general counsel services, interim legal management or international legal advisory, please get in touch directly or use the form below.