The consultant lawyer path is proving attractive - Geraldine Kelm

Whether resourcing an upcoming project, acting as an overflow, helping manage workflow peaks, backfilling a team absence or departure, or outsourcing elements of the in-house function, our model is designed to support clients’ businesses and immediately add value.

We have formed a partnership with Crafty Counsel, the UK’s fastest growing in-house legal community with 4,000-plus members, to help us explore changing perceptions and attitudes surrounding contracting within the in-house legal profession.

Together, we surveyed nearly 100 in-house legal professionals with a mixture of working styles, and interviewed six consultant lawyers to explore their working lives in more detail.

The lawyers come from a diverse range of sectors, and over half have worked with law firm-backed alternative legal service providers (ALSPs), which has become an essential pathway into consultancy.

This report revealed the evolving in-house legal career landscape, moving on from traditional norms and embracing the emergence of legal consulting, with diverse work styles, motivations, and challenges.

Consultant lawyers navigate unique pathways, from project-based roles to partnerships with ALSPs, showing a shifting sector dynamic. Collaborations with ALSPs offer essential support and growth opportunities, with honest communication a key driver.

The allure of consulting lies in its freedom, flexibility, and learning potential, yet uncertainty also emerges. As consultant lawyers reflect on downtime and financial stability, it’s clear that balancing these aspects is an art.

Junior lawyers are increasingly drawn to consultancy, which shows evolving perceptions of this path, and a consultant lawyer's role is pivotal in reshaping in-house legal work, emphasising autonomy, fulfilment, and evolution in a sector undergoing big change.

We found things are changing when it comes to working identity, and how people define success. Lawyers are generally becoming less focussed on titles, tenure and team size and more concerned about impact, value and legacy.

It seems money is not a motivator in itself as long as people are paid fairly for the work they do. We did hear concerns about the lack of reliability of income while working in a consulting capacity, and this is a strong barrier for some, but many consultants found ways of managing that, and being comfortable with planned and unplanned time off.

More motivating than money is the feeling of satisfaction people have from the contribution they make, and that can be felt just as strongly in a series of short projects as within a long legal career at one company, perhaps even more so.

Our final observation is that the feelings of autonomy and control over people's work were very strong intrinsic motivators, and to have the freedom to avoid office politics and the cycle of agreeing annual objectives for themselves and their teams is liberating.

Some key findings included:

• Consulting is an attractive alternative to traditional law firm roles, with autonomy and impact the main drivers;
• Successful consultants value diverse work and experiences, and the impact their work has on clients;
• Challenges include uncertainty and managing downtime, while junior lawyers are increasingly drawn to consulting due to changing norms;
• Consultants can work in a variety of ways and appreciate support from ALSPs;
• Flexibility when it comes to billing and working hours is balanced with challenges.

Geraldine Kelm is Partner and Head of Account Management, Vario Flexible Services