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Vol. 72, No. 4, April 1999

Contract lawyering as a career alternative

Contract lawyering can be a viable career alternative - but it's not for everyone. Before making the move to self-employment as a contract lawyer, build a solid foundation for success with realistic self-assessment.

By Hindi Greenberg

he contract practice of law has become a hot topic for individual lawyers and law firms. Attorneys are looking for a way to combine their legal background with a different quality of life - some for a defined short period, others for a longer time or permanently.

In the present legal market, there is a growing demand for contract lawyers - lawyers who are paid on an hourly or project basis by other lawyers. Law firms are revamping their attitudes and policies about less-than-full time lawyers. No longer are these attorneys thought to be less worthy. In fact, good contract lawyers often are envied for their ability to organize and handle complicated legal matters in a shorter time, thereby creating the benefit of financial economy for the firm and more free time for the lawyer. And, although some lawfirms are resisting the growth of alternative work schedules, contending that proper lawyering cannot be achieved with a less than full-time commitment, they stand to lose excellent lawyers if they do not eventually accede to the marketplace realities.

Many people exploring the possibility of working as contract lawyers desire to use their legal skills, but in a less intensive, all-consuming style. These lawyers want more time to pursue other interests or commitments, such as build a business, do volunteer work, attend school, or spend more time with family.

Some become contract lawyers because they were laid off or fired, or quit their jobs and need supplemental income until they find another job or decide what their next career move will be. Numerous small-firm and solo practitioners who are building their own law practices supplement their income by performing hourly work for other lawyers who are overloaded or short on expertise in a given field.

Others want to use skills that aren't appreciated by their current employer. One law firm associate tolerated her work only because of her strong relationships with most clients - client relations and customer service had always been her strong points. Because she wanted to use those client relation skills, set her own schedule, be involved in a variety of issues, and receive the respect for her work that was lacking in her current job, she left her job to begin work as a contract lawyer.

Determining if contract lawyering is right for you

The reasons for doing contract work are many and diverse, and each has as much validity as any other. However, there are numerous issues to consider before deciding to work on a contract basis. An effective contract lawyer must be at ease walking into an office with new people and new issues and comfortable being dropped into the middle of an existing case. When conscientious contract lawyers are confronted with unfamiliar law, they often remedy that

To avoid unrealistic expectations by her clients, one contract lawyer informs the hiring attorney of her level of expertise in any particular area and lets the hiring attorney decide if she should take the project. This lawyer once was brought into a pending case just months before trial and was asked to prepare a complex motion for summary judgment using volumes of depositions in an area of the law unfamiliar to her. After acknowledging her lack of experience in the subject area, the contract lawyer was still given the green light by her attorney-client. She has learned to handle the trepidation of working in a new practice area, saying, "You bite down that moment of fear and initial panic and just get on with it."

Contract lawyers are called upon to handle all kinds of legal and factual situations on a moment's notice. That's both the thrill and the terror of doing contract work. It is also the reason that lawyers who seem to cultivate the most of this work usually have at least two to three years of practice experience. Additionally, most contract work is in the litigation arena, often in research and writing, appearances, and discovery. However, there are transactional lawyers who help compile real estate documentation, draft contracts and trust documents, handle parts of probates, work on patent applications, and so on.

Attorneys considering working on a contract basis should consider these additional points:

• Lawyers who want to be responsible for a case or have ultimate authority, or who have their ego invested in the status they achieve, should probably not work on a contract basis. Often the work is supplemental, most times it is piecemeal, occasionally it could be done by an experienced paralegal.
  
  
• Sometimes the contract lawyer works under less than desirable conditions - for instance, pulling books off the law library shelves and copying cases, or reviewing complex files in cramped quarters if the hiring attorney does not want the files to leave the office.
  
  
• If a geographic location is not yet receptive to contract work, lawyers intending to cultivate work in that area need to determine how much pioneer energy they are willing to expend to overcome the traditional objection that "contract lawyers must not be good attorneys or they would have a full-time job."
  
  
• Contract lawyers need to be aware of conflicts of interest when switching from case to case and firm to firm, always asking who the parties, attorneys, and important witnesses are and inquiring about the issues in each case.
  
  
• In addition to realistically assessing their experience in any given area of the law, contract lawyers also must be able to assess the time needed to complete the project. One contract lawyer was handed a thick file and assigned to write a motion for summary judgment - in three hours. The lawyer tactfully informed the attorney-client that that was insufficient time. Upon review, the client agreed and extended the approved hours to a more reasonable amount.
  
  
• If you are considering a job as a full-time employee, working on a contract basis in a law firm often is a good way to preview a firm (and for the firm's lawyers to preview you). Even if you initially do some work for a firm without thinking about a permanent relationship, some "romances" do develop, resulting in permanent employment.
  
  
• If the firm doesn't require work to be done in its office, contract lawyers often do their research at the law library and their document preparation on their own computers. Many provide a finished product, although some firms want to have the information available on disk or have their own secretaries prepare the document.

Many contract lawyers do not carry malpractice insurance. This isa personal decision. But sometimes the supervising attorney's insurance policy will cover a contract lawyer, especially if the contractor does not sign documents, but merely prepares them for signature by one of the firm's insured attorneys. Some contract lawyers request indemnity agreements from firms with whom they do repeat work. Most wing it and try to avoid potential problems by not allowing their names on legal documents of any kind.

Editor's Note: State Bar ethics consultant Keith Kaap advises readers to carefully review professional ethics opinion E-96-4 before entering into any agreement involving contract lawyering - either as a lawyer providing or hiring contract services. E-96-4: Use of Temporary Attorneys in Wisconsin is published in the February 1997 Wisconsin Lawyer .

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