are you a freelancer if you are a lawyer that doesn't work for a firm but by yourself?

6 replies
are you a freelancer if you are a lawyer that doesn't work for a firm but by yourself?


Would you rather be referred to as a professional or a freelancer?
#firm #freelancer #lawyer #work
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    It will still be a law-firm, even if it employs only one lawyer, I suspect? So maybe not really a "freelancer", per se? Not as most people use the term, anyway?

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    • Profile picture of the author joemason
      I'm a lawyer. That sort of terminology isn't really applicable to our profession. A single lawyer operating alone is generally called a solo-practitioner, as the term law-firm is generally reserved for those entities with two or more practicing attorneys to avoid misrepresentations.
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  • Profile picture of the author RogozRazvan
    I tend to believe that as a lawyer, you need to operate under some kind of legal entity. This makes you a firm, even if it is a one person firm.

    I had a lawyer in my extended family. She was not a freelancer but rather a legal entity that employed only one person - herself. I don't know the specifics though.

    However, things may be different in the US compared to Europe.

    Disclaimer: Personal view, not professional advice.
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    • Profile picture of the author joemason
      From an American lawyer's perspective, you do not necessarily need to operate under a separate legal entity. It doesn't matter whether you operate through a legal entity or not, the applicable professional rules of conduct likely disfavor holding oneself out as a law-firm if you are a solo-practitioner.
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    As a non-lawyer, I would think that you would want to be referred to as a lawyer or solo-practitioner because that would apparently hold more weight/prestige than being a freelancer.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Over here (UK), those "solo practitioners" are often referred to as "single-handed practitioners", which sometimes make me wonder whether they've all previously been involved in unpleasant industrial accidents of some kind, or whether someone's taken them a bit too literally when they've said "I'd give my right arm to be a lawyer" ...
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