How Can Your Law Firm Successfully Work with Freelance Lawyers?

 

Over the past sixteen years, Montage Legal Group has had a front-row seat to the evolution of how law firms integrate freelance lawyers into their practices. With thousands of attorneys in our network and countless partnerships formed, we’ve observed firsthand what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to building successful  collaborations between firms and freelance lawyers. While missteps are inevitable in any working relationship, we’ve seen far more examples of firms and freelancers thriving together, creating flexible, efficient, and mutually beneficial arrangements that stand the test of time. Whether you’re considering hiring a freelance lawyer for the first time or looking to improve your existing processes, we’re sharing our top tips to help you get the most out of these valuable partnerships.

1. Get organized

Step one is to get organized, and it always the most difficult task. You’re already swamped. How can you stop working long enough to get yourself organized enough to get the help you need? It may be difficult, but it is important to carve out time to get started. It does not need to be much time, maybe a few hours over a weekend, first thing in the morning, or in the evening. There’s nothing precise about this exercise, and no one expects anyone to know exact needs over any duration of time. But it helps to assess what you believe you may be helpful to you over the short and long term. Can you identify tasks that may be easy to delegate? Do you have matters that are just getting started that may need long-term attention? If so, it might be advantageous to bring in help towards the beginning of a matter with the hope that a freelance attorney may assist with many ongoing tasks.

2. Be Proactive

The best time to get organized is now. If you are reading this, then today is an excellent day to start figuring out how and what to delegate. It is much easier to get help before you’re in the middle of trial prep, expert depositions stacked up, or when you are drafting a major motion.  Are you busy enough that you’ve posted job descriptions? Then you probably need a freelance lawyer’s help right now. The last thing you want to do is to hire the wrong person for a permanent position simply because you’re feeling desperate for help. A freelance lawyer can help take the edge off while you’re trying to hire, which can happen quickly or very, very slowly (6 months+). Get help before you’re under water.

Once you have a freelance attorney lined up, then consistency is the best practice. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a freelance lawyer to be “on call” whenever you need them. No one has a wide-open schedule, and no one is going to be available every time a firm needs them. Imagine instead giving one small project every week. Maybe you don’t especially like doing discovery, or you don’t need to give your full attention to an endless pile of vendor agreements. Pass those tasks to a freelance lawyer so you can focus on bigger issues like strategy and business development. Once you’re giving work to a freelance lawyer somewhat consistently, then it will be easier for them to reserve time for you when it really matters, especially if you communicate anticipated needs in advance.

If you can’t carve out a small weekly project, then the second-best option is to notify the freelance lawyer about what is coming down the pipeline. Do not assume they know. Communicate as soon as the project arises. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to get help. On the flip side, if you determine that a project is not going to materialize after you’ve notified a freelance lawyer that the work is coming, please tell them right away that you won’t need their help after all. If they’ve reserved time for you, but you don’t tell them they’re not needed, then they likely will not reserve time for you in the future.

The idea is to get ahead of your work. Don’t wait until you’re already buried, because then extricating yourself long enough to delegate becomes nearly impossible. The best time to start is today!

3. Proceed with caution

This is your critically important client work. There is nothing more important than providing your clients with the highest and best service and work. Law is also an extremely style and personality-driven industry. A stellar resume does not automatically equal a fit for your firm. This is all a normal part of working with others, and usually does not cause issues, unless a firm gets too far ahead of itself. A freelance lawyer may well be the magical unicorn who has come to solve your problems. But they may not be what you need or want, and if they’re not, it is better to find out as soon as possible. You’re excited to get started, but please start slowly. Give them something small to start. Review their first written project before assigning additional work.

Imagine this scenario. A firm hires a freelance lawyer with an exceptional resume for ongoing work. The firm asks the freelance lawyer to familiarize himself with 10 matters, so he spends 20 hours reading files, summarizing, etc. The firm assigns a written task, but then realizes that the freelance lawyer’s work product is not a fit for the firm. The firm now must pay the freelance lawyer for all of his time, even though the firm will not assign future work. Even worse, the firm will ultimately pay someone else to duplicate the same work. Don’t make this mistake! Start with a small written assignment, review the work product, then have at it.

4. Set realistic expectations (upfront, in writing)

How long does it take to oppose a motion for summary judgment with 8 substantive issues and 3000 pages of discovery? Hint: Definitely not under 15 hours. More like 115 hours! How long does it take to review and revise a 20-page, single-spaced commercial contract? Hint: More than 20 minutes. Every firm must manage client expectations and make every effort to keep costs low. The best way to ensure that a freelance lawyer understands your expectations is for you to (1) set realistic expectations, and (2) communicate your expectations to the freelance lawyer. Sometimes firms make business decisions to write off time. But firms cannot expect freelance lawyers to cut their time, especially if they have not communicated realistic time expectations upfront. If you think a document shouldn’t take more than 5 hours, then please set that expectation upfront. If the freelance lawyer disagrees, then they should discuss it with you, or they may decline the work.

Deadlines are the same. Please communicate when you need a project completed, rather than when it is due. The filing deadline is helpful, but the hiring firm needs time to review. Clients also often need time to review. Give yourself a time cushion to the greatest extent possible to avoid issues. Even if something “has no deadline,” provide one anyway.  Setting realistic expectations about time and deadlines relates to being proactive. Waiting to assign tasks leads to rushes, or worse, not being able to find help.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate!

What are your expectations for this work? Please communicate your expectations to the freelance lawyer. That is the only way for them to know what you need and want. There is no other way. There is no degree, no amount of experience, that will telepathically impart your ideas into a freelance lawyer’s brain. You must communicate.

The two most important pieces of information that you must communicate:

• How much time do you expect the freelance attorney will need to complete the assignment?

If you think the motion should take 10 hours to research and write, then please communicate that information to the freelance lawyer. Now you have an open line of communication with the freelance lawyer, so they can determine if your expectation is realistic. If, for example, this 10-hour hypothetical assignment is an opposition to a motion for summary judgment with 8 substantive issues and 5000 pages of discovery, then the freelance lawyer should ask you if perhaps you left out a zero (making it a 100-hour assignment). If you really meant 10 hours, then they should decline the work.

• When do you want the assignment completed?

This is very different than the filing deadline, or when the client needs the draft. You need time to review the assignment, which will depend on your schedule.

Other important items to communicate include templates, samples, ideas, notes, and other documents that may be helpful (e.g. a statement of facts from a previously filed motion). Freelance lawyers should also communicate with you frequently about status updates, questions or changes to assignments, unexpected issues, timing, availability, and anything else that arises. Communicate clearly and often!

6. Say nice words

Freelance lawyers are people too. Everyone loves kindness. Freelance lawyers love hearing when they’ve been helpful to a firm. You would be shocked by how far a little bit of politeness and positive feedback can go.