Fractional CFO - Law Firm (Litigation Funding Experience)

Vessel Advisors is placing a fractional CFO to serve as the senior finance partner for a multi-office law firm that is transitioning its entire finance function to a fractional operating model. The firm has no existing internal finance leadership, so this role involves building foundational infrastructure from scratch rather than inheriting an established team or set of processes.

The core challenge is cash flow forecasting across two distinct revenue streams: ordinary hourly billing and litigation-funding draws, which behave quite differently. The CFO will manage relationships with the firm's litigation funding counterparties, formalise month-end close, AR/AP, and financial controls, and develop partner-facing reporting that helps equity and non-equity partners understand and act on firm economics. The role requires close collaboration with an incoming Controller and the discretion expected in a professional-services partnership.

• Build and own a cash flow forecast that separates ordinary billing revenue from litigation-funding draws
• Manage the firm's relationships with litigation funding counterparties
• Develop partner-facing financial reporting and educate equity and non-equity partners on firm economics
• Formalise month-end close, AR/AP processes, and financial controls
• Partner with an incoming Controller to stand up the finance function from scratch
• Serve as strategic financial partner to firm leadership, operating with the discretion a professional-services partnership requires

• 10 or more years of CFO experience
• Genuine professional-services firm experience, such as law, accounting, or consulting, where expertise is sold in increments of time
• Direct experience inside a law firm environment, given the complexity of litigation-funding agreements involved
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships with and educate partners or equity owners on financial performance
• Strong cash flow forecasting and liquidity management skills, ideally involving contingency or alternative revenue timing
• Comfortable building financial infrastructure from scratch rather than inheriting an existing one

Vessel Advisors is an advisory firm that places fractional financial leadership with client organisations. In this engagement, Vessel is sourcing a fractional CFO to serve a multi-office law firm that is standing up its finance function under a fractional operating model.