In July this year, a report compiled by Freelancer.com called the “2020 Fast 50” – which tracked and analysed the quarterly movements of the 50 fastest growing and declining jobs across 247 different regions – showed a 25 per cent increase in the number of freelance jobs posted between the second quarter of 2020.  The figure for Australia rose from 482,000 to 605,000.

This data suggests that the pandemic is paving the way for more freelance careers. As a business that hires contract/freelance lawyers, our own data shows similar trends – where we observed a sizeable uptick in the number of applicants wanting to become contract lawyers between April and June 2020, having recorded 265 applicants in June, compared to 160 in May and 90 in April – an increase of nearly 200 per cent.

When we’re talking about the legal sector specifically, why might people be turning to freelance or contract lawyering amid the pandemic?  What benefits does this kind of career offer that a more traditional career might not?

The freedom to pursue passion projects

We find that many people who come to us in order to initiate a new freelance career do so because the increased flexibility it offers allows them to pursue their own personal “passion projects” alongside it. Many of our “Varios” run their own businesses alongside being a freelance lawyer – and these ventures are usually not even in the legal sector.

Why is that so attractive, now more than ever? Unfortunately, we live in times when the prospect of setting up one’s own business from scratch is a rather risky and daunting prospect. With an unpredictable economy, the chances of things going wrong are perhaps higher than they have been in other years. Being able to manage and reduce the risk by having part-time work as a contract lawyer to supplement an income is exceptionally attractive in today’s world.

Remote working has become easy

Another major benefit of undertaking flexible lawyer work is that the vast majority of it will be done remotely or from home. Given that most of us have been doing exactly this for the past three to four months, it’s no surprise that people are considering working this way on a more permanent basis.

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The first point, and one that is often spoken about in today’s times, is that people have warmed up to the idea that they can work from home and be just as happy, engaged and productive as when they were working from the office. Many professionals realised that the “fear” that working from home would diminish these things was entirely irrational. That’s had a big impact. As soon as people can see for themselves that there is nothing to worry about, we begin to see more people become willing to take that leap of faith into a new career.

The other point to note is that, because most of us have been working from home for so long now, we’re now totally set up to continue doing so. Any worries that existed previously, such as those with children sorting out childcare arrangements, people kitting out their home office with the right equipment etc have been taken care of. Moving to a freelance career is now, for many, much less disruptive in a practical sense than it might have been a year ago. People have become increasingly confident using remote-working technology such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams.

What can we expect from the future?

Will this trend continue? Undoubtedly. As the effects of the pandemic continue to be felt across the globe and governments are increasingly forced to withdraw financial support, more people are going to have to consider new options. That’s absolutely no different for those in the legal sector, and no different for Australia’s legal sector.

There’s still a great deal of uncertainty in the current environment. But opportunities are definitely there for those who want to transition into a new kind of legal career. We expect that the number of people considering freelancing will continue to rise at pace. 

In a time when we’re observing this trend, I would encourage people to think about whether a freelance career could work for them. Not only may a switch help them flourish in their careers, but they might also realise that they could easily have made the transition before the pandemic. You won’t know until you give it a fair try!

Matthew Kay is the managing director of Vario at Pinsent Masons.