header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
15 December 2023 / Matthew Kay
Issue: 8053 / Categories: Features , Profession
printer mail-detail

Working freelance: changing landscapes?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
151416
Matthew Kay reflects on how freelance legal consulting has evolved & offers some tips on how to make a success of it
  • A report from Vario and Crafty Counsel exploring freelance legal consultants’ motivators and different ways of working revealed lawyers are generally less focused on titles and more concerned about value and their legacy.
  • Autonomy and impact are chief drivers for these lawyers—many want the autonomy to work on projects which excite and inspire them.

This year we celebrated our 10th anniversary—an occasion which gave us an opportunity to reflect on a number of market-wide issues. For instance, are alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) really that ‘alternative’ anymore? And after a huge amount of change and evolution over the past decade, what is next for this market? What has been clear is that lawyers are hungry to work in different ways, and the path to partnership is no longer the be-all and end-all for legal careers. Over the past decade we’ve seen freelance legal consulting grow and grow, with this

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

NLJ Career Profile: Daniel Burbeary, Michelman Robinson

Daniel Burbeary, office managing partner of Michelman Robinson, discusses launching in London, the power of the law, and what the kitchen can teach us about litigating

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

Joelson—Jennifer Mansoor

West End firm strengthens employment and immigration team with partner hire

JMW—Belinda Brooke

JMW—Belinda Brooke

Employment and people solutions offering boosted by partner hire

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Appeal court reins in ‘wrong defendant’ switcheroo

The Court of Appeal has slammed the brakes on claimants trying to swap defendants after limitation has expired. In Adcamp LLP v Office Properties and BDB Pitmans v Lee [2026] EWCA Civ 50, it overturned High Court rulings that had allowed substitutions under s 35(6)(b) of the Limitation Act 1980, reports Sarah Crowther of DAC Beachcroft in this week's NLJ

NLJ this week: Driving test fraudsters steer towards jail
Cheating in driving tests is surging—and courts are responding firmly. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort Law School charts a rise in impersonation and tech-assisted fraud, with 2,844 attempts recorded in a year
NLJ this week: Deepfakes demand data law muscle
As AI-generated ‘deepfake’ images proliferate, the law may already have the tools to respond. In NLJ this week, Jon Belcher of Excello Law argues that such images amount to personal data processing under UK GDPR
NLJ this week: 40% penalty for coercive control
In a striking financial remedies ruling, the High Court cut a wife’s award by 40% for coercive and controlling behaviour. Writing in NLJ this week, Chris Bryden and Nicole Wallace of 4 King’s Bench Walk analyse LP v MP [2025] EWFC 473
NLJ this week: Mbappé row spotlights ‘ethics bonuses’
A €60.9m award to Kylian Mbappé has refocused attention on football’s controversial ‘ethics bonus’ clauses. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Estelle Ivanova of Valloni Attorneys at Law examines how such provisions sit within French labour law
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll