Paralegals who freelance

The aim of this blog is to explore the numerous avenues of employment and business opportunities for paralegals.

Disclaimer -- the purpose of this blog for me to obtain high marks from my course professor and is not meant, in any way, to be considered legal, business or any other type of advice.

Entrepreneurial Paralegals

One way is to be your own boss and work when and for whom you wish – ah, freedom and flexibility. There are pros and cons to this arrangement though and some of them are mentioned in an article from the May 2007 publication of Legal Assistant Today.

First though, some “musts":
* Experience – you should have at least a few years of actual experience in the field.
* Education – at a minimum you should have an associate’s degree in the paralegal field, a bachelor’s degree is better and certification is a plus. Any additional knowledge, experience, and education in business would be a plus, plus.
* Business plan – you need to know where you want your business to be in 5 – 10 years.
* Marketing skills – got to get the word out!
* Funds – enough to purchase the necessary equipment to meet your clients’ requirements.
* Cash reserve –at least 6 mos. to hold you over until your many clients come knocking on your door.

Some “shoulds”:
* Having a niche – as mentioned in the article, one person was well versed with trial presentation software; another was a certified CT Summation trainer and consultant.
* Memberships – professional organizations are excellent marketing tools and help to create a connection and network with other paralegals. The support will be invaluable and you never know when you meet someone that can help you out when you land that large account!

An interesting observation mentioned in the article is a paralegal entrepreneur stated that she received greater respect from lawyers as she’s viewed as a “fellow businessperson.”

The pros and cons are probably obvious: be your own boss, call the shots, come and go as you please...but the cons must be considered as well. A couple downsides would be that sometimes you may have to take jobs or work with clients that you'd rather not but, the bills must be paid. Then as for freedom to come and go...I've always heard that a business owner works twice as hard (if not more) than an employee. I'd love to hear from anyone who's had such an experience.