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There are many benefits to working with a freelance lawyer to scale your law practice or assist with your overflow legal work on a temporary basis, either through one-off projects (e.g., drafting a factum or reviewing a contract) or through ongoing occasional help (e.g., a few hours a week or month). By hiring freelance help, you avoid long-term commitments and costly overhead, and you get the help you need, only when you need it.
There are also many benefits to working as a freelance lawyer. You have greater flexibility over your work, including what work you take on, when you do the work and where you do the work. Both hiring lawyers and freelance lawyers find it to be a mutually beneficial working experience. However, having been in the freelance lawyer industry for almost 10 years, we have noticed that sometimes this type of working relationship is not as successful as it can be. Below are some lessons we’ve learned to ensure a successful relationship from the very beginning:
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Are you thinking about leaving the traditional practice of law behind to become a freelance lawyer? Not sure where to start?
We’ve set out some considerations and important steps to start your freelance journey below: Your law practice is super busy, which is great, but you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed. You need help with your legal work, but you don’t need full time assistance, so you are considering hiring a freelance lawyer to assist you on an as-needed basis.
What do you need to tell your clients? Do you need your client’s consent? What other obligations do you have to your clients? Below are three important considerations to keep in mind when engaging the services of a freelance lawyer. Have you scheduled an initial call with a potential lawyer client? That’s great, but you still have a long way to go before the work can begin.
As a freelancer, it is normal to book several initial calls or interviews with busy lawyers or law firms but only see a few of them translate into actual paying clients. Likely, you are one of many candidates the hiring lawyer is interviewing. Or they are not yet convinced that a freelance lawyer is right for their firm. While this can be frustrating, and you may never book %100 of the potential freelance gigs, there are things you can control to improve your conversion rate. Keep reading to learn how you can convey to other lawyers the advantage of a freelance lawyer and why you are the best person for the job.
Are you thinking of hiring a freelance lawyer to assist with your overflow legal work? Not sure if the rate they have quoted is reasonable?
Here are three important considerations to keep in mind when reviewing a freelance lawyer’s hourly rate: Sole practitioners face different challenges than lawyers working at larger firms.
Often sole practitioners must bear the responsibility for all aspects of their client files, while also having to deal with the demanding administrative side of a law practice. They may not have the resources to hire a full-time associate or staff to assist. Without careful planning, a sole practitioner may quickly become overwhelmed with work and may have to seek extensions for due dates, adjustments to timetables, or adjournments of court appearances. As a recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice case highlighted, there is a right way, and a wrong way, to handle these requests. Flex Founder and CEO, Erin Cowling, recently wrote about The problem with endlessly complaining about work in the Spring 2022 edition of Precedent Magazine. Are you guilty of venting about work to your colleagues? Then read Erin's tips to help you rethink your approach to conversations about work with friends and colleagues. As lawyers, we often look for safe spaces to vent… These conversations are often valuable. Talking to lawyers who understand our problems can help us brainstorm solutions and feel supported. But when lawyers repeatedly gather just to complain about work, that can be as harmful as poring over negative posts on Twitter…Psychologists have a name for this sort of counterproductive behaviour: co-rumination. Click to read the full article here.
Are you a law firm that wants to financially support Black-owned businesses? Below is a brief list of ways you and your law firm can do so. Do you have more to add? Email us or comment and we will add it to our list.
There is an ongoing debate among the Benchers of the Law Society of Ontario about one aspect of the lawyer licensing process and they want to hear your opinion
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Flex Legal Network Inc.
We are freelance lawyers and paralegals helping lawyers with their overflow legal work. ContactEmail: info@flexlegalnetwork.com
Main Phone: 647.250.9292 |
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Flex Legal acknowledges that we are on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
With freelancers working and living coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people that call this land home.
Disclaimer: Flex Legal Network Inc. ("Flex Legal") is not a law firm and does not perform legal services. The information provided in this website should not be construed as legal advice. Transmission of information from this website is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute a solicitor-client relationship with Flex Legal or any of its individual network lawyers or personnel. Use of Flex Legal services does not establish a solicitor-client relationship. If you use our website or services you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
(C) 2015-2023 Flex Legal Network Inc. All rights reserved. "Flex Legal Network", "Flex Legal", & "Flex" are all registered trademarks of Flex Legal Network Inc.
With freelancers working and living coast to coast to coast, we acknowledge the ancestral and unceded territory of all the Inuit, Métis, and First Nations people that call this land home.
Disclaimer: Flex Legal Network Inc. ("Flex Legal") is not a law firm and does not perform legal services. The information provided in this website should not be construed as legal advice. Transmission of information from this website is not intended to create, and its receipt does not constitute a solicitor-client relationship with Flex Legal or any of its individual network lawyers or personnel. Use of Flex Legal services does not establish a solicitor-client relationship. If you use our website or services you agree to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
(C) 2015-2023 Flex Legal Network Inc. All rights reserved. "Flex Legal Network", "Flex Legal", & "Flex" are all registered trademarks of Flex Legal Network Inc.