A career as a lawyer often requires long hours each day sandwiched between a time-consuming commute and generally comes with high levels of stress and the complications and uncertainties of office politics. Working as an associate in a larger firm is demanding and characterized by a lack of control. Your control over your workload and your work/life balance is generally quite low until you rise very high within a single firm.
Given the challenges and demands of the big law lifestyle, many attorneys are exploring their options as sole practitioners. While running your own firm is not for everyone, for those attorneys that the format fits with, it can lead to great reward and job satisfaction.
The Day-to-Day of a Solo Practitioner
Being a solo practitioner provides you with the freedom to work in the field you are most interested in. Additionally, it gives you the power to determine when you work and where in today’s virtual office environment. While the benefits of freedom of choice and scheduling are substantial, it is also important to recognize that being a solo practitioner is not without its challenges.
Freedom is Fun, But it Isn’t Free
Starting a solo practice means that all marketing and advertising to generate client intake is completely on you. Building your reputation to the point that you can attract clients without advertising takes time. During this building period, there are still costs that you’ll have to cover, ranging from office rent to liability insurance. Administrative work is something that can be rather time-consuming on your behalf or potentially costly to outsource.
The freedom associated with running your own firm comes with the constraints of having to cover the costs and demands of running it. Solo practitioners also, at times, face an uphill battle in defending their value and capacity when selling prospective new clients who can afford larger firms. This is where working with a larger firm as a freelance attorney can be especially beneficial to your career.
How Working with Scott Moncrieff as a Freelance Attorney Can Support Your Solo Practice
A great median between the full-time or more associate attorney lifestyle and the solo practitioner is a freelance attorney with Scott Moncrieff. Working as a freelance attorney with Scott Moncrieff provides you with the following benefits:
- A 70/30 split in your favor on gross billables generated
- State-of-the-art case management software
- Administrative and secretarial support
- The option to work from home or to take advantage of our office space
Connect with Scott Moncrieff to Discuss Options
To learn how we can work together, reach out to our recruiting department by email at recruit@scomolaw.com, or connect on our contact page.