The Contingent Legal Workforce

The Big Picture

The American Staffing Association and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 40,000 new temporary positions were added from February to March, 2010. In addition, the federal government directly hired 48,000 employees to conduct the 2010 Census. (I find that to be an interesting stat!) Temporary staffing numbers provide a historical litmus test to gauge the broader economic recovery and the good news is the BLS reports have shown continued growth in the temporary staffing market. In their quarterly earnings calls, the CEO’s of all the major staffing firms have noted the uptick demand for all temporary staffing services and noted this is a precursor to more full time hires.

Locally, we’ve seen a tremendous uptick in demand over the last four months from the law firms and corporate legal departments, as well as our other business clients that we service mostly in the banking, finance, and accounting areas. It’s good to know that our business reflects the broader trends in the market.

Temporary Staffing for Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments:

The availability of contract, project and temp-to-perm professionals (the contingent legal workforce) creates a unique opportunity for law firms and corporate legal departments.

Six months ago there was an abundance of real Talent available in the legal market. I met so many experienced and qualified attorneys and paralegals. Many firms did their own hiring, while some still used recruiters, and slowly but surely most of that Talent has found employment. The “free agent” period has expired.

There remains, however, a lot of professionals that are very capable, intelligent and hard working that are still seeking employment. Generally, these professionals find themselves dealing with one or a combination of the following “obstacles” when trying to find a new opportunity:

(a) their skill set is not in great demand, is not exactly what you need, or is a niche area
(b) they are too junior/senior in their career
(c) their previous salary was “too” high
(d) they don’t have a significant enough book of business, or
(e) they have had a number of jobs or went solo over the last few years and their work history looks unstable

I know these may be valid objections. I also know that these attorneys and paralegals can help you and that contingent staffing options can help satisfy your needs. A contingent legal workforce can help in a number of ways, including working on a document review or other specific projects, working up discovery, perform substantive legal work, or do legal research.

The Advantages of Project/Contract/Temp-to-Perm Employees:

TEST THE WATERS: Bring a paralegal or attorney on board without the obligations of full time employment. It gives you more brainpower, billing power, and frees you up to do the things you need to do and gives them a chance to prove their skills are transferable to your specific needs. Everyone needs an opportunity to “get back in.”

TEST THEIR “FIT”: Determine whether the person may be a fit for you long-term based on work product, attitude, and personality. In this market you can test drive before you buy, so why not?

FLEXIBILITY: Why pay someone a salary (and other benefits) over the course of a year if your needs fluctuate?

The demand for temporary, contract, project, temp-to-perm will continue to increase and is a great way for your firm or company to add to the bottom line and make sure you’re hiring the Right Talent.



By: Jonathan L. Broder


For further information or to discuss your needs and how we can work together, please contact Jonathan L. Broder at 305-767-3744 or jon@stratpros.com