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The new year is traditionally a time when people review their careers and lifestyles and strive to make changes towards a happier and more fulfilled life. For professionals, the main goal is often to find a happy balance between the number of hours they work and the level of earnings they aspire to achieve, whilst figuring out how to balance this up with other needs such as time with family and the freedom to enjoy quality time away from work. In the legal sector, this has historically been particularly challenging and near impossible to attain. For entrepreneurial minded lawyers, however, there has never been a better time than now to shake things up and enjoy the independence of working for yourself as a consultant lawyer.
The traditional law firm model
The legal profession by its very nature is slow to evolve in comparison to many other sectors. Whilst this is largely down to the way the whole legal process works combined with strict regulation, there is also an element of tradition that tends to hold a lot of practices back when it comes to moving forward with the times. In the past, lawyers were tied to their office desks and placed under pressure to keep billable hours to a maximum. The income of a partnership had to cover not just the remuneration of partners and employees, but also cover the costs of the office space.
In order to progress further up the ladder and have a shot at a senior position, hard graft was the order of the day. The recipe for success was often a willingness to put in the hours above and over what was needed in order to impress, in the hope that eventually your time would come. Often this would depend on other senior partners retiring, meaning that lawyers could become trapped into this working pattern for years to come, with no guarantee of actually reaching the desired outcome.
The new law model
Recognising that the legal profession can benefit from greater flexibility, the government introduced the Legal Services Act 2007, which for the first time allowed non-lawyers to own and invest in law firms. As a result, new ideas and practices could be adopted, allowing the industry to finally adapt and develop to mirror changes that had been taking places in other sectors. In particular, this meant having the possibility to break away from the traditional, rigid style of company to a more modern modus operandi that was based on a flexible, on demand approach.
Under this model, lawyers have far greater flexibility to choose the areas in which they practice, the clients whom they wish to work with and the hours they wish to work.
nexa law – the best of both worlds
Nexa law, established in 2016, is a great example of a company that embraces the best of both worlds. With their respective backgrounds in law and professional services, founders Eliot and John felt that clients could truly benefit from a new model law firm that allowed them access to the very best lawyers when and where it suited them most.
With their entrepreneurial backgrounds, they were also acutely aware of the challenges facing those wishing to make the transition from being a salaried lawyer to a business owner. Their solution was to create a company that put clients first whilst at the same time offering an attractive and supportive alternative to lawyers that would create a win-win model, benefiting everybody involved.
The result was the creation of what is essentially a ‘virtual’ law firm, which offers clients the trust and security you would expect from a traditional law company but with far greater flexibility and many additional benefits – and for lawyers, the chance to take back control of both their professional and private lives.
Total freedom, complete support
With nexa law, you can become a consultant lawyer without any of the usual stress and complications, so that you are free to do what you do best – practice. Whilst enjoying complete freedom to choose their hours and income, our solicitors will still feel fully supported as members of a team, just as though they are part of a traditional law firm.
We offer a comprehensive package that includes leading case management software, cashier support, access to practical law, market leading professional indemnity insurance and much more, not to mention the benefits of nexa law marketing and access to expert advice from the founder members.
If you are an entrepreneurial minded lawyer and have been looking for the chance to work with likeminded people, nexa is for you.
Love law, love life? nexa law is your springboard to success in 2019. Apply online today or call Eliot on 03300 24 24 20 ext 1 to find out more.