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What are the options for solicitors seeking alternative career paths?
The legal industry has an image problem. The stereotypical perception is that it is old fashioned, resistant to change, hierarchical, elitist and over-priced! But the reality is very different. Things have been changing and the pandemic has accelerated the pace of that change.
The demands of clients for greater value and different ways of accessing services, coupled with technological advances and innovation from some real disruptors in the marketplace mean that the legal sector is evolving and modernising – it has to.
Not only is this opening up choices around how clients access legal services, it is also giving lawyers more career choices. There is now significant diversity in the options for practising law, you don’t just have to stick with a traditional partnership firm or go in-house.
The next generation of lawyers has different desires and expectations to those who have come before. Societal and cultural changes – such as the expectation that fathers will share more in child rearing – mean the old ways of working are no longer acceptable to many.
New players in the legal market offer realistic career alternatives for ambitious solicitors. For example:
- Legal advice as a bolt-on to services offered by other professional firms such as management consultants and accountants – employment by one of these providers may be attractive (eg. the Big 4, Grant Thornton, Mazars, Ampa).
- Numerous freelance options for solicitors, including contract work with external in-house legal providers (eg. Axiom, Cognia, LOD, The Legal Director, Legal Edge) and models owned by large law firms (eg. Peerpoint, Vario, Konexo, Adaptive) placing freelancers in ad hoc assignments.
- Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs): law companies offering a mix of consulting contract lawyers and/or tech solutions (eg. Elevate, Syke, One Trust, Radiant).
- Consultant lawyer models within law firms where lawyers work remotely and share services (eg. GunnerCooke, Keystone Law, Setfords).
- Self-employed working with more flexible, regulated platforms that offer more autonomy and the ability to have your own client facing brand (eg. Nexa, Bamboo).
- Unregulated ‘legal’ businesses that offer advisory support to businesses (eg. Mint & Co, Aria Grace).
This variety of alternative options for lawyers and clients alike is great news for the legal industry. It’s time to challenge those stereotypes, the law really has moved on!
Ready to find out more?
If you are interested in finding out a bit more about life as a consultant solicitor, and building your own business, at Nexa then check out our careers pages here or, have a look at our brochure. For a confidential, no obligation chat, contact David Roth.
–Eliot Hibbert, COO & Founder
