Law firms are invited to search for legal freelancers in 30 states and counting

Freelance legal professionals from 30 states have already registered as beta-testers of the FreelanceLaw online legal outsourcing network and we are preparing to introduce them on this FreelanceLaw blog.

Attorneys, paralegals, interpreters and other professionals have signed up from the following states: Alabama, California, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

FreelanceLaw is now welcoming law firms to join the network. Register as a law firm beta-tester, search for and contact legal professional in your area, and receive email notification of when a new freelancer in the area joins the network.

Freelance lawyering is part of a new business model for law firms

"With all the attention paid to the AmLaw 100, it may come as a surprise to learn that lawyers can have intellectually challenging -- and financially rewarding -- careers without joining the faceless ranks of mid-level associates." Thinking Big, Staying Small, California Lawyer, May 2008.

This article shares the stories of four California law firms that run successful small, yet high-profile, firms, including Birka-White Law Offices (www.birka-white.com) in San Francisco. One of the essentials to keeping this law firm's overhead low, the article cites, is his use of independent contractors for support. (the full article can be found at http://californialawyermagazine.com/story.cfm?eid=893567&evid=1)

FreelanceLaw can be a part of finding independent contractors/freelancers that can help you keep your law firm small in overhead, but big in business.

FreelanceLaw opens its website for beta testing

FreelanceLaw has now opened its website for beta-tester freelance legal professionals and law firms to register. This new, national database of freelance attorneys, paralegals, and interpreters that will allow law firms to directly search for and contact freelancers that meet their particular qualifications.

Freelancers and law firms who are interested in participating in the growth of this unique new resource for the legal industry and willing to give feedback on ongoing developments of the site are encouraged to register. (see the beta-tester link on this page)

Freelance legal professionals help law firms increase profits

"I have too much work to do, but not enough to justify hiring an associate." That lament is uttered over and over again in the legal world, often by solo attorneys or small law firms. The usual "solution" is for attorneys to work longer and longer hours until their entire lives are consumed by their professional work and work product quality deteriorates from sheer exhaustion.

There is a better solution. Freelance legal professionals are experienced and well-qualified in the profession and merely want the flexibility and reasonable hours that traditional legal employment does not allow. Being independent, FLPs are able to offer law firms part-time or project-specific work solutions without the expense of a regular employee, and with a higher level of expertise than a general practitioner.

Use of flexible FLP as-needed staffing can decrease the law firm's overhead expenses, while increasing the value of services to the firm's clients.