“Laurie Rowen and Erin Giglia would like to add a new work status to the law dictionary: freelance.” The August Issue of the American Bar Association Journal features an article about Montage Legal Group titled “Freelance Law: Lawyers’ network helps these women keep a hand in the workforce.” The article explains how Montage’s freelance attorney network sets itself apart from the contract attorneys of the past, and is an increasingly popular way for mothers to keep their hand in the legal market. Montage Legal’s first former BigLaw partner, Isabelle Smith, states in the article: “I ultimately decided that at this point in my life a freelance pratice would provide me with more control over my time and projects…I feel that with the support of like-minded women at Montage Legal Group and the overall reputation of the group, I could continue to practice as well as pursue other options in the legal community, like public interest.”
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| Taylor Rowen, Laurie Rowen & Erin Giglia |
One of Montage’s law firm clients, Gary Wolensky of Hewitt Wolensky, LLP, is quoted as saying that Montage Legal’s former BigLaw freelance lawyers are a great way for a small firm to expand slowly:
We believe in growth and expansion—but not too quickly…when we have overflow, rather than immediately hiring yet another attorney, I turn to Montage because many of the attorneys I know there are from Snell & Wilmer. They’re excellent attorneys, they have a big-firm pedigree, and the quality of their work is outstanding.
Wolensky hires Montage Legal Group about once a month for 10- to 50-hour projects like product liability motions, discovery responses and the occasional employment law or trade-secret misappropriation matter. “I wouldn’t go to any other contract attorneys,” he says. “As long as this works, we can grow at the pace we want.”
The article states that Montage’s business model is just the beginning of the melding of today’s hottest legal trends. “You’ve got outsourcing, unbundling of services and virtual law practices,”says John Olmstead, principal at the legal management consulting firm Olmstead & Associates in St. Louis. “We’re going to see more of this, with additional variations as time goes by.”
To read the full story, go to the ABA Journal’s website or read it when the August magazine comes across your desk. See also University of San Diego School of Law’s article on this issue: Alumnae Give a New Twist to the Contract Lawyer Model.
Montage Legal Group would like to thank reporter Gabriella Filisko, who contacted us about our unique network after interviewing Erin Giglia about social media, and wrote an amazing article about our group. We also want to thank ABA Journal’s freelance photographer, Jonah Light, for taking brilliant photos despite the “toddler moments,” which ultimately appealed to the ABA editors!
