In-House Counsel

Burned Out By Law Firm Life? How To Tap Into The Gig Economy For Lawyers.

The gig economy has seen an influx of growth in the past few years, and the legal profession is not immune to this shift.

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Young african american woman working from home and using a laptopOver the past two-and-a-half years since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the legal profession has seen major shifts in the workforce: lawyers making exoduses from Biglaw, lawyers with increased desires to stay remote or in a hybrid work environment, and lawyers receiving less scrutiny for career gaps. There’s also been a trend of increased burnout with higher rates of reported depression and anxiety in the legal profession, thus pushing a further need for flexible work options and increased work-life balance.

The gig economy has seen an influx of growth in the past few years, and the legal profession is not immune to this shift. As I’ve written, there has been a surge in demand for contract roles for those seeking legal consulting and contracting opportunities without the long-term commitment.

Enter Lawtrades, the on-demand legal talent platform, which has set out a mission to scale outside counsel work while also providing world-class flexible legal talent through its innovative app. This app allows brand-name tech companies like DoorDash, Headspace, Epic Games, Pinterest, Instacart, Coinbase, Airbnb, and Duolingo to match with attorneys seeking project-based legal work.

I had the opportunity to speak with Lawtrades founder and CEO, Raad Ahmed, about how Lawtrades is transforming the traditional path of lawyers to provide on-demand legal support while also tackling shortcomings in the legal profession such as a lack of diversity and inclusion, burnout, and expensive overhead that we’ve seen affected during and prior to the pandemic.

Founded in 2016, Lawtrades is a legal marketplace which seeks to empower “legal professionals to work and live on their own terms, offering unprecedented work-life balance, control and flexibility while enabling companies to seamlessly scale their operations.” Building a welcoming community for all lawyers, including those coming back from maternity leave or nearing retirement, is at the forefront of Lawtrades’ mission.

With positions available in 12 practice areas (e.g., corporate, securities, M&A, product counseling, real estate, labor and employment, data privacy/cybersecurity, litigation, and IP), the platform focuses on opportunities for attorneys, paralegals, legal ops, contract admins, and compliance teams. A typical engagement lasts around six to nine months, but also allows for some engagements to go on for two-plus years.

I dove into a few advertised positions, which openly provide the level of experience and skills required, practice areas, industry, as well as hourly rate (e.g., a data privacy counsel role seeking a midlevel lawyer for five hours a week at $130 an hour). This type of arrangement gives you a chance to work on multiple engagements a week and month, ultimately putting the ball in your court to scale up or down as you would like. This offers flexible work-life balance, particularly for someone who has planned travel or just wants an alternative legal career path for the next six-plus months while they sort things out.

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Based on the above-mentioned example, a five-hour-a-week gig at $130 an hour provides earnings of $2,600 per month. If you took on five separate gigs for that month at that same rate and hourly schedule, there is a potential for significant earning power with a truly flexible work schedule that lets you set the parameters around remote work.

If you’re facing a layoff, downsizing, or are simply burned out by law firm life, on-demand legal talent may be what you’re seeking for the short-term or even the long-term to keep your legal skills robust, build relationships with top technology companies, and maintain (or increase) your earning power.

Have a job search question? Connect with me on LinkedIn.

Wendi Weiner is an attorney, career expert, and founder of The Writing Guru, an award-winning executive resume writing services company. Wendi creates powerful career and personal brands for attorneys, executives, and C-suite/Board leaders for their job search and digital footprint. She also writes for major publications about alternative careers for lawyers, personal branding, LinkedIn storytelling, career strategy, and the job search process. You can reach her by email at wendi@writingguru.net, connect with her on LinkedIn, and follow her on Twitter @thewritingguru.  

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