1) A contract lawyer can earn nearly the same annual income as a
salaried lawyer from a small firm, for less time spent.
2) Time is left for personal life choices; the work hours are
flexible and often can be arranged to fit around the other important
aspects of your life.
3) There is the intellectual challenge of picking up a file and
quickly delving to the basic information necessary for the immediate
assignment.
4) The contract lawyer usually is responsible for only a portion of a
case or just one project - there is no tracking a case for four years
(some may consider this a detriment).
5) Often there is an interesting variety of people and cases.
1) Contract lawyers must market themselves and continually cultivate
business. The uncertainty about when and from whom the next job will
come can be unnerving.
2) The quantity of work available fluctuates, causing irregular
income and the need to budget carefully.
3) All taxes, vacation, sick time, and insurance (health, life,
disability, and malpractice) are self-paid. A contract lawyer files a
self-employed tax return and is responsible for Social Security payments
as well as income taxes. However, there are numerous business-related
tax deductions to which a self-employed person is entitled.
4) Unorganized, unrealistic client-attorneys, with terrible
management systems and sloppy work, who wait until the last minute to
call, can request the impossible and disrupt the contract lawyer's
schedule. However, a job can be refused.
5) Slow-paying clients occasionally cause cash-flow problems, and
some may need to be pursued for payment.
