Stay-at-home lawyers – the new normal?

Results of a 2019 survey showed that home workers worked an average of 1.4 days a month more than their office-bound peers. Those who work from home have long known how productive they are, but Covid-19 has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that having employees working remotely makes good sense.

There are a number of benefits for employees – forget commuting for a start, plus you can work where you want (the garden, your local café, and yes, if there’s wifi, the Maldives) and when you want (although that same research also notes that it’s also important to make sure you maintain a work life balance when you’re working from home). Plus there’s the potential to be more flexible around childcare, there’s less exposure to office politics and because productivity is greater, remuneration may well be too.

The other options for working from home include setting up as a self-employed solicitor. This is a costly, complicated and risky process. In contrast, working on a consultancy basis has all the benefits of self-employment and none of the nightmares – you don’t have to think about aspects such as regulatory and insurance requirements, not to mention marketing and IT. If you’re working with an established firm then they’ll have premises that offer meeting rooms, client entertainment opportunities and a range of other benefits. And you will be part of a team – albeit remotely.

Employers are now getting switched on to the benefits of legal consultancy work too. It’s not just the greater productivity that’s attractive, rising rents mean that having employees working from home is a cost saving that employers just can’t ignore.

For these reasons and more, a number of law firms are now embracing this way of working. Clearly, they’re looking for individuals who are self-starters and independent thinkers with a great work ethic: able to work unsupervised and with initiative. For this kind of person, legal consultancy work offers a great deal of opportunities such as split fee work and commission for referrals.

If you like the sound of this way of working, then get in touch with us at LawLink to see what opportunities we can link you up with.