Careers
Contract Lawyers Get Paid Less, But May See More Job Opportunities
Posted May 5, 2009 7:37 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Contract lawyers are seeing a drop in hourly pay as more laid-off colleagues join their ranks, but there may be a silver lining in the economic downturn for those who prefer contract jobs.
Gregory Bufithis, who runs The Posse List contract job website, tells the National Law Journal that the going rate for contract lawyers in New York and Washington, D.C., is about $30 to $32 an hour, compared to $38 before the downturn.
The upside of the downturn—for contract lawyers but not necessarily associates—is that law firms experimenting with new staffing models to satisfy value-driven clients may create more contract jobs.
James Leipold, executive director of the National Association for Law Placement, talked to the National Law Journal about possible changes. "Law firms are re-imagining how to use lawyer talent," he said. "Different firms find different solutions. There could be some wins for contract lawyers in that restructuring.”
Some recruiters are already reporting growing demand for contract lawyers. Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal, said there is greater demand for staffing agency lawyers, particularly in litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy and foreclosure work. There is "an uptick in the number of candidates coming through our doors" and increased demand from law firms and corporations, he told the NLJ.
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Comments
TN
May 5, 2009 7:47 AM CST
Contract lawyering is about the worst move an attorney can do for their career as it builds no appreciable skills. A monkey can point and click. It is soul sucking…and law schools shouldn’t be allowed to count law grads that do contract work as being “employed”
But with that said, contract laywering should only be used as a stop gap measure to help pay the bills until one can get till their next substantive legal job. If one must do contract work, set a time limit, for example, 1 year to get a real job or just get out of the legal field completely.
Note also, that legal placement agencies in general treat people as being immensely disposable…legal placement agencies I’d say are some of the worst employers.
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JN
May 5, 2009 10:56 AM CST
It should definitely be a last-refuge stop gap and not a long term move.
You can make $30 an hour in a skilled trade - that doesn’t require $90k in student loans.
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CJT
May 5, 2009 11:34 AM CST
Couldn’t agree more with both of these comments. Use it for what it is, pay the bills and look for something better.
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fed up
May 5, 2009 11:53 AM CST
“You can make $30 an hour in a skilled trade - that doesn’t require $90k in student loans.” That assumes you can perform a skilled trade on a full time basis, and have the training, background and experience to do so, which may be equivilent to 90K in student loans. Seems to me that drafting a will from a legal software program may not be as difficult as say, putting a roof on a home, or repairing a septic system, but I am not a lawyer, so I can’t say for sure.
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CJT
May 5, 2009 5:02 PM CST
Nope, you’re not. It’s not that drafting a will is super difficult, it’s that there are many nit picky things that need to go along with it or it’s useless Generally though in this day and age why would anyone use a will. There are so many other estate planning devices out there that are better for many different reasons (tax, avoiding probate, etc). That’s where a good estate planning lawyer comes in handy.
I always found it funny how at the start of all those do it yourself legal guides, it always says, in some form or another, “Don’t rely on this book, consult a lawyer.” That should speak volumes. If all you really want is a will you can probably do it yourself with some research, but most lawyers will only charge a $200 or so for the work so why bother. It’s those other estate planning services where a good lawyer is worth his weight in gold (or at least he will be to your family after you’re dead.)
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KAJ
May 6, 2009 8:48 AM CST
Why is everyone so down on contract lawyering? I have a “real job” but I’m making 2/3 what I made as a contract attorney, with less time with my son.
I do agree with TN though, that law schools should not be allowed to count contract attorneys as “employed.” I can tell you from experience that contract attorneys do not feel “employed”. The insecurity prevents you from planning for your future and you couldn’t get a mortgage even during the “loose lending” years.
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CJT
May 6, 2009 10:18 AM CST
People are down on it because it doesn’t jive with what “real” lawyers are supposed to do. Stick a type A person in a menial job (even if it pays well) and he’ll feel insecure about it. Taken for what it is; however, it’s a very useful tool if one can make it work (ie: between jobs, when starting up own practice, etc).
Then again there is the occasional attorney who’s a whiz a contract work and has made a fortune doing it. That’s awesome.
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fed up
May 6, 2009 10:51 AM CST
To CJT, the will was just an example, it could be a power of attorney, advance directive, designation of health care surrogate, etc. In our town we have many lawyers who never litigate or appear in court, they make a living printing forms from software, which seems pretty easy compared to putting a roof on a home in the hot Florida sun. FYI, my bank just rejected a POA from one of these lawyers, it was not done correctly. When I told the lawyer, he responded by dropping me as a client. When I pointed out that this may be a matter of malpractice, he agreed to redo the POA gratis. I thanked him for the offer and went to another lawyer.
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JN
May 6, 2009 12:09 PM CST
fed up, you may be pigeonholing my example a bit. I am a lawyer and represent myriad skilled and unskilled laborers. Most of them make a solid living and have benefits that would make my HR rep whimper. I’m sure there is an expense associated with trade school and training, but I would wager that it is much more manageable than law school debt. I’m not by any means decrying skilled labor - frankly, I’m often envious. Sure, I’d miss the suit and tie, but I’d enjoy not having to take my work home with me (in more than one sense).
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CJT
May 6, 2009 1:33 PM CST
To be clear, I too am not decrying skilled labor by any means (it’s also a good % of my client base). I’d also be lost if I had to replace my roof and I’d hire someone competent to do it.
I think you either got a bad attorney or got a good attorney on a bad day. If a bank rejected one of my POA forms I would have been horrified and would have contacted the bank myself on behalf of my client to find out what I needed to do to fix it. (also keep in mind that the bank might be nit picking over and above what the law requires, but that’s beside the point). In work like this, you’re not done til the client is happy.
And yes, most of my POA forms are templates. If you think I just print one out and sign my client’s name you’d be wrong. The template/ software/ form book is a starting point. The client might not need that much tweaking or I might change it a great deal. The client’s not paying me for how many words I delete and replace, but rather to make sure he has a valid completed document.
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CJT
May 6, 2009 1:38 PM CST
Also, a lawyer doesn’t need to litigate to be a professional. Personally I’ve always loved the courtroom, but I know a lot of great attorneys who don’t mess with that type of work.
Estate planning attorneys often get a bad name because it seems like any idiot with a JD offers “estate planning” services. These guys can certainly do whatever is needed for about 85% of the population who have no need for uber sophisticated estate plans; however, if you look in the yellow pages or based on price what do you expect.
A bona fide estate planning specialist is going to be more expensive and will generally cater to wealthier individuals or those with a speciifc need outside the mainstream. If you want to find these guys contact your bar association.
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K.
May 6, 2009 5:05 PM CST
Oooh, I love it! Last portion of first sentence of this article: “Those who prefer contract jobs.”
Have you ever found yourself saying “Gee, I LOVE insecurity! I never want to know whether I’ll still have a job next week, and I HATE benefits! Vacation days, paid holidays—those are for LOSERS! And the thought of having health care insurance or sick days just about makes me SICK!” <groan> If so, then you must be the person the article refers to, the elusive soul who “prefers contract jobs.”
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jz
May 6, 2009 6:37 PM CST
Terrible article. The author doesn’t even try to present just how dreadful contract work can actually be. No mention of the lack of benefits, the constant job insecurity, the mindlessly boring nature of (most of) the work, or the dishonesty of some (not all) of the staffing firms. The fact that more and more of these “opportunities” are out there, and that more and more lawyers are having to do them instead of finding “real” jobs, only hurts the profession.
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kunovar
May 13, 2009 2:46 PM CST
Foreign language contract attorney work pays more ($150,000-plus) with no stress. It’s nothing to sneer at.
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