oUTSoURCE To BooST PRodUCTIvITY And PRoFITS In 2020
Solo & Small Firm Section
Chairs: Matthew Crist – Crist Legal | PA and Gian-Franco Melendez – Law Office of Gian-Franco Melendez, LLC
outsourcing can
improve your bottom
line by leveraging the
L
ooking for ways to get
more work done and
increase profits —
without living at your
law office? The traditional way
most lawyers approach these goals
is to hire an associate and start
delegating. Associates are great —
they are eager-to-learn workhorses.
However, they also come with a
salary that must be paid even if
business is slow, not to mention all
the other overhead expenses like
office space, benefits, and bar dues.
All too often an associate stays for
a few years, then moves on to
another firm or opens his or her
own shop.
Hiring a traditional associate
isn’t the only way to increase
productivity and profits. Many
modern attorneys are turning to
outsourcing and working with
freelance lawyers.
Outsourcing is a smart way to
get more work done and better
serve clients. Freelance lawyers
(traditionally called contract
lawyers) are a great way to get the
help you need, when you need it,
without driving up your overhead.
What kind of work can you
send to a freelance lawyer?
Freelance lawyers can assist
on any work you might otherwise
delegate to a paralegal or a
traditional associate, as they are
subject to the same conflict of
56
time and talent of
freelance lawyers.
interest and confidentiality rules.
They can help with research, drafting,
and managing discovery. They
can also help with time-consuming
tasks like writing new blog posts
for your law firm website or just
providing an extra set of eyes on
a document before it is submitted
to the court. If you need help with
court coverage, there are many
freelancers who do appearance
work as well.
What is the talent level of
freelance lawyers?
Freelance lawyers have an
incredibly diverse array of
backgrounds and expertise. They
include everyone from recent
graduates to former judicial clerks,
stay-at-home parents, military
spouses, big law alums, and even
some retired or semi-retired
lawyers. Many have decades of
experience and deep expertise
that you can tap into to benefit
your clients’ cases — without
having to teach them the ropes.
even gain additional expertise for
clients in different practice areas.
By working with freelancers, you
can better meet your clients’ needs.
Outsourcing is a competitive
advantage allowing the ease of
expansion and contraction of your
firm with skilled freelance attorneys
at reasonable rates. Those rates do
not include typical benefits of health
insurance and other perks required
of associates. Those savings can be
passed along to clients.
Outsourcing frees up valuable
time to do other things like manage
your business, go to court, or enjoy
personal time out of the office.
Freelance lawyers provide the
ultimate
flexibility to
staff up when
you’re busy
without the
permanent
overhead of
full-time
associates. n
Authors:
Rinky S.
Parwani -
Parwani Law,
P.A. and
Kristin Tyler -
LAWCLERK
What are the benefits of
working with freelance
lawyers?
Outsourcing can improve your
bottom line by leveraging the time
and talent of freelance lawyers.
You can expand your practice or
M AY - J U N E 2 0 2 0
|
HCBA LAWYER