How I Became a Freelance Lawyer - By Heather Cross

This is the second post in our series "How I Became A Freelance Lawyer" by our Flex Lawyers. Today's post is by Heather Cross:
--------
I became a freelance lawyer when I was five months pregnant with my second son.  After articling, I worked for the Cornwall Public Inquiry for nearly four years.  The work was mainly legal writing and research, which suited my quiet and detail-oriented nature to a T and allowed me to indulge my love of language.  It was perfect.

After the Inquiry ended, I worried that I would not find another position that suited me so well.  I decided to take several months off to spend time with my oldest son, who was a bubbly little two-year-old at the time. 

By the time I decided to go back to work, I was quite obviously pregnant—not an ideal time to be looking for work.  I decided to forgo answering job ads and take things into my own hands.  I started to call some lawyers I knew to see if they might be interested in having me do some of their research and writing work.  One of the first lawyers I contacted was Michael Crystal, a criminal lawyer I had met when I was an articling student.  He had work available for me immediately and the work continued to flow.  Over five years later I continue to work with Michael a great deal, and I have gathered a number of other clients as well.

Working with other lawyers creates a wonderful win-win situation.  I receive varied and interesting work that fits my skill set, and the lawyers I work with gain peace of mind and more time in their day.  Knowing that I will provide them with reliable research and high-quality writing allows them to spend more time on other things, such as meeting with clients, being in court, spending time with family or going on holiday.


I couldn’t ask for a better career.