Emerging technology, vanishing jobs, budget-conscious clients and new ways of doing business have opened the door for a new breed of legal professional: the freelancer or virtual worker. As legal professionals forge new ways of doing business, a growing number of law firms and legal employers are outsourcing legal work to freelancers to handle work overflow, bring in new expertise and serve clients more cost-effectively.
What is a freelancer?
Freelancers are independent contractors who work from home or from a remote workplace. The advent of the Internet, smart phones, computer-based legal research databases, advanced telecommunication systems and mobile technology has made it possible to work from a "virtual" office rather than a traditional law firm.
Freelancers go by many names: consultant, solo professional, virtual employee, independent contractor, virtual professional and self-employed, to name a few. Legal freelancers are generally not tied to one employer: they serve a variety of clients across the globe, work on the projects they choose and maintain flexible hours.
Freelancers represent a great value to the employer; since firms do not need to pay benefits or supply workspace, office supplies or a secretary, much of the traditional overhead is eliminated. Firms can often hire freelancers at a rate far lower than a traditional employee.
Freelancers help employers deal with work overflows or tight deadlines without hiring additional staff. Freelancers sometimes offer expertise not found with the firm's four walls and can also perform local work on behalf of an out-of-town firm - such as court appearances or filing papers with local courts - thus eliminating the firm's need to travel to that location.
Freelance Careers in the Law
Many careers in the legal industry lend themselves to freelance work including lawyers, law students, paralegals, court reporters, legal secretaries, litigation support personnel, legal nurse consultants. Budget-conscious clients, mobile technology, globalization and changing law firm business models have fueled the growth of legal outsourcing for a wide range of legal services.
Advantages of Freelancing
Working from home can be a dream come true for many legal professionals. Flexible schedules, increased earnings, better work-life balance and greater autonomy are several of the top reasons to launch a freelance business.
Disadvantages of Freelancing
If you are considering a freelance career, you should also be aware of the drawbacks of self-employment. Disadvantages of self-employment include isolation, variable workloads, unpredictable income and the lack of employer-paid benefits.
The good news is, the start-up costs of launching a freelance career in a law-related field are often lower than costs for other business. If you are interested in freelancing, the National Association of Freelance Legal Professionals can help. NAFLP was created to assist freelancers in optimizing the financial and personal success of their businesses, as well as to raise the profile of freelancing as a career choice that can optimize job satisfaction, business success and work-life balance.
