New York Lawyer
March 26, 2002

Q:
I am a sixth-year associate at a major NY law firm. I�m planning on quitting in the late summer to get a Masters in Journalism. While I attend school, I'd like to work 20-25 hours per week as a contract/temporary attorney.

What kind of work might be available at my level? How much can I expect to make? What are the best agencies?

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A:
The contract/project attorney market is booming -- and for sound economic reasons. Full-time attorneys cost their employers -- whether firms or corporations -- a ton of money in salary, benefits and overhead. If the legal market sags -- as it is right now -- or the economy tanks and the corporation's profit picture is sucking serious wind, the employer still has to pay the freight.

Contract attorneys allow employers to "accordion" their legal needs -- expand as needed, contract as necessary. Moreover, the employer needn't be concerned with career advancement, partnership prospects -- or even paying benefits. Contract lawyers represent immediate value added, no strings attached. It's all strictly economic, and thorny issues of fit, culture and retention just aren't relevant.

For non-recurring, specialized projects or huge cases requiring lots of short-term assistance, contract attorneys are a serious cost-saving tool. Many people think that the only project placements available involve nothing but low-level grunt work. While contract attorneys may be used to digest depositions and organize thousands of documents, the increasingly specialized nature of law practice creates attractive opportunities for lawyers with fancy skill sets. I know project counsel who have been instrumental in negotiating and documenting a major utility merger, handled strategic case management for a huge multi-district toxic tort case, created case management and document management systems of a major healthcare provider, and even stood in as de facto general counsel for a corporation while the incumbent took a six-month sabbatical.

Project work may seem unstable: the moment the existing gig is over, you're thrown back into an uncertain cash flow. But many contract lawyers find relatively long engagements (a year is not unheard, 3-6 months is common), and once a placement firm is assured of your skill and reliability, they tend to place you over and over again. Temp firms are more fond of mommy-trackers and back-to-schoolers, because there is less likelihood that their prize contract star will find full-time employment and bolt the project. That said, they do placed seasoned attorneys who are between jobs, and according to the head of one respected temp firm, about 15 percent of temporary placements ripen into full-time work. Indeed, some employers use contract projects as a sort of probationary experiment. If it doesn't work out, no one gets stigmatized or bruised: "The contract simply ran its course."

At the sixth-year level, you may be highly desirable for contract work. You're experienced enough to have mastered a subject-matter discipline pretty well, and your legal judgment should be well along. You didn't mention your practice area, but litigation, regulatory, transactional, bankruptcy, employment/HR and general corporate lawyers seem to find solid market demand. Some disciplines, like bankruptcy, can be cyclical. Others, like T&E, don't generate as much volume, although many firms develop "affiliate relationships" with trusts and estates people so they can provide a full-service menu to their clients without adding to professional staff.

For many contract lawyers, the more specialized you are, the more attractive you are. This is both because a firm may desire your specialty when starting a practice in a highly-specialized area, and because specialists can command a higher hourly rate and make more money for the temp firms.

Many contract lawyers like the gigs because their hours are flexible and are under their control. Advancement and annual billing quotas usually aren't relevant. Some engagements allow you to work at home; many allow flextime arrangements.

Take home pay varies widely with experience, the resources of the employer, and the ability of the temp firm to flog its wares in the marketplace. At the lower end, a take-home of $25 to $40 an hour is not unusual. More seasoned lawyers may make $60-$75. The air gets thinner higher than that, but I have known sophisticated transactional lawyers who are paid $135 an hour by their temp firms. What is the temp firms' cut? They're unlikely to tell you -- the overall rate is between them and the employer. Thirty-five percent is not uncommon, 50 percent is not unheard of. The point is that you can and should bargain hard for the highest rate for yourself, but don't expect them to divulge their profit margin to you.

What are the downsides? Well, no benefits for one thing. No 401(k) or profit-sharing. Many temp firms pick up the cost of malpractice insurance; in other cases employers do. If you're hawking your own services, you bear all those overhead costs. Also, regardless of their sophistication and experience, contract lawyers tend to be regarded as second-class citizens or as fungible by the "real" lawyers -- the full-timers. Contract litigators usually cannot enter appearances or be counsel of record; they must operate behind the scenes. Negotiators may find tough swimming, because their adversaries know they may not be around for long. And pressure for production may be every bit as high as for full-timers, with supervisors who aren't afraid to use the whip hand.

Which are the top shops? I wouldn't dare say -- this is not a testimonials column. But it won't take much networking among your friends, law school classmates or contacts with employers to get the names of firms that are fair, trustworthy and in a position to receive a lot of contract assignments. Generally, these firms will be more polite that legal headhunters when you contact them and request to be screened and vetted -- after all, you are their meal ticket. But expect to be interviewed aggressively about your knowledge and experience, and don't assume you're going to walk in and get a sexy placement on day one. On the other hand, if you've done six years in a major law firm, how incompetent can you be? And if you're changing careers, your motivation for leaving the big firm is evident. I think you can expect the project work will serve your needs well.

Sincerely,
Douglas B. Richardson
President, The Richardson Group