What is a freelance attorney?

Unlike attorneys that directly represent clients, freelance attorneys work for other licensed attorneys who want/need to outsource some of their legal work on a project-by-project basis.

Where are you located?

I currently live in El Paso, Texas. But I can work with attorneys based anywhere in the United States. See below for information regarding ability of freelance attorneys to work with attorneys licensed in other states.

Does a freelance attorney have contact with the hiring firm’s clients?

No. When I’m engaged by a law firm, my work product is sent directly to the hiring attorney rather than to the firm’s client. The hiring attorney is then responsible for reviewing and revising the work product prior to sending it to her client for review or filing it. I do not sign pleadings or make any court appearances.

My engagement letter is with the law firm, not its client. And all invoices are sent to and paid by the law firm.

Are you licensed?

Yes. I am currently licensed to practice law in Texas.

Do freelance attorney’s have their own malpractice insurance?

A good one will. I do!

Does a freelance attorney become an employee of the firm?

If done properly, a freelance attorney is not considered an employee of the hiring law firm. Unlike an associate attorney, I decide whether to accept or reject an offered project, use my own tools (including a Westlaw subscription), and set my own schedule. And while I must have access to the documents and files necessary to do the assigned work, I will not have general access to the rest of the hiring firm’s files. By the terms of my standard engagement letter, I operate as an independent contractor.

What about conflicts of interest?

The same ethic rules regarding conflicts of interest that apply to all attorneys also apply to freelance attorneys. So I perform a conflict check before engaging in any work for a law firm.

Further, the American Bar Association has stated that a true freelance attorney’s conflicts are not imputed to an employing law firm. For more information see Lucian T. Pera’s July/August 2021 article for the American Bar Association, “Ethics: Ethically Extending a Practice with Contract or Temporary Help.”

How do you keep my client’s information secure?

As with conflicts of interest, the ethics rules regarding client confidentiality apply to freelance attorneys. So I strive to keep all client information and documents secure. To this end, I require that all client information sent to me be uploaded to an encrypted portal designated for each client, where the information will stay until completion of the project. It will then be permanently deleted.

Further, all of my work product will be sent to the responsible attorney by the same encrypted portal.

Can you work with licensed attorneys from other states?

Yes! Of course, ethics rules in every state, including Texas, prohibit the unauthorized practice of law. Those same rules, however, allow lawyers to employ the services of paraprofessionals and delegate functions to them. It’s in this paraprofessional capacity that I can work with attorneys licensed outside of Texas. The hiring attorney is solely responsible for reviewing and revising my work product. It’s comparable to using a student law clerk or a paralegal. Except I have nearly 15 years of litigation experience.

Can I pass the cost of a freelance attorney’s work on to my client?

Yes. Though how you do it depends on which jurisdiction you practice in.

In Texas, law firms are allowed to directly pass the costs of “non-firm lawyers” to their client either as an expense or hourly work for which the “non-firm lawyer’s” work is included in the law firm’s invoice.

Some law firms also add a surcharge to a freelance attorney’s fees to cover their administrative costs associated with working with a freelance attorney. You will need to consult with your local ethics rules in deciding whether to add such a charge. The American Bar Association, for example, has said that adding a surcharge to a freelance attorney’s fees is permissible if the total fee charged to the client is reasonable. For more information see Lucian T. Pera’s July/August 2021 article for the American Bar Association, “Ethics: Ethically Extending a Practice with Contract or Temporary Help.”

In Texas, however, law firms must meet the fee-splitting requirements of Rule 1.04(f) of the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. The hiring attorney, therefore, must obtain its client’s informed written consent to split a fee with a freelance attorney before adding any type of surcharge. For more information on charging a client for a freelance attorney’s work in Texas see Texas Center for Legal Ethics Opinion 577.