Freelance legal support creates a unique opportunity for law firms to achieve growth while limiting overhead costs.
It’s no secret that investing is generally a smart thing to do. The problem with investments is that they are inherently risky. This is why it’s so important for businesses like law firms to identify investment opportunities that carry minimum risk and maximum possible return. Usually, that’s easier said than done, but for law firms that use freelance legal support, it’s more than possible.
If you run a law firm, then like any business owner, you know the importance of putting money back into your business. This is one of the fundamental drivers of growth. But simply knowing this doesn’t tell you to how to invest in your business to achieve such growth. Hire more staff? Pay for leads? Run an ad campaign? These are just a few examples, but when it comes to building your law firm, how can you be sure that any of them will give you the returns you want? Short answer, you can’t.
One option that many firms are now exploring is the use of freelance legal services as a tool for growth. The reason is because it’s a low risk, high reward proposition. Think about it, hiring staff, buying leads or running ads are all substantial costs with no guarantee that any will help grow your practice. Freelance support is different for several reasons.
Reason 1:
Utilizing freelance support as part of your practice does not contribute to your overhead expenses. Freelance attorney rates are generally well below those which hiring attorneys charge their clients. Furthermore, attorneys in Florida (along with most other states) are permitted to add a reasonable surcharge to freelance rates when billing their client for that work. So not only can you profit from the work done by freelancers, attorneys can use that extra time to work on other files simultaneously, resulting in a significant increase to their effective billable hour rate.
Reason 2:
It allows attorneys to take on a higher volume of work without hiring more staff. This enables law firms to achieve higher revenues while keeping overhead expenses to a minimum. Freelance support helps to absorb the increasing workload, which law firms can bill at a profitable rate with no added net expenditures.
Reason 3:
It allows attorneys to spend more time focusing on work that will have the biggest impact on their practice. Look, advertising is a great way to grow a business, that’s why companies spend tens of billions on it every year. But it’s extremely expensive and is often not an effective method for growth, especially in relation to the cost. Using freelance legal support lets attorneys clear off their desk and prioritize their time in ways that will benefit their firm the most. Call more clients to say hello, develop more referral sources, attend more networking events, the list goes on.
By no means is this list exhaustive, but these are just a few examples of how law firms can use freelance support to benefit their practice. The point is to shift the way we, as lawyers, view the use of freelance support in everyday practice. Freelance support isn’t merely a way for lawyers to catch up when they’re buried under work (because it’s great for that, too), it is a powerful business development tool that offers a path to solid growth with little to no risk. This is why every lawyer who is serious about the long-term growth of their practice should consider freelance as a worthwhile and cost-effective investment.
For more information on our freelance legal services and how they can benefit your practice, click here or contact us at info@thefreelancefirm.com.
