In today’s legal industry, and modern professional workplaces in general, work from home attorney jobs are in demand.
Whether it’s due to a desire for better work-life balance or an unexpected need to work remotely, today’s workers and job seekers increasingly crave a shift from the standard nine-to-five office paradigm: According to a recent Global Talent Trends study, 51% of employees wished their company offered more flexible work options, while one Bank says 80% of its full-time employees may shift to blended home-office work long-term.
Fast-tracking this growing demand for flexibility, the COVID-19 crisis has changed the way each law firm operates, even as vaccines begin to be distributed. In many scenarios, the situation has compelled lawyers and law firms to start working remotely for the foreseeable future and developing long-term law firm working from home policies. Going forward, even if a state has deemed lawyers to be an essential service, many lawyers will continue to work remotely in an effort to help keep their clients, families, and colleagues safe. Meanwhile, legal professionals looking for a job are now looking for work from home attorney jobs.
If you’re looking for a remote job a lawyer can do, this post will help show you what types of jobs you might want to consider, where to find them, and how to succeed.
See more
How to Find a Work-From-Home Lawyer Job
Working From Home as an Attorney: Top Tech Tools for Remote Work
Attorney jobs which can be done from home
Image of a home office
As an attorney, you’ve done more than just serve clients over the years. You’ve developed a fine-tuned skill set. Practicing law is, at its core, like a master class in writing, risk assessment, and account management. These skills can be applied to many legal jobs, and even in a non-legal-role as well. And there are many roles that also offer you the flexibility to work from home.
A quick look on job sites like Indeed shows plenty of listings for full-time attorney work from home positions. Armed with your legal education, professional experience, and fine-tuned skill set, there are many work from home lawyer jobs available to you:
Attorney
With today’s technology and telecommuting options, there are many associate attorney jobs from home to explore. More and more firms are hiring job seekers for roles that allow the lawyer to work remotely. Or, you could start your own law firm and practice on your own.Freelance Lawyer
There are plenty of online services that match freelance attorneys with law firms and other attorneys—and many of these opportunities can be taken on remotely, or even on a part-time basis. This can be a great option if you’re looking for additional flexibility.Legal writer
While you might not automatically think of yourself as a writer, chances are that all the legal documents, contracts, and briefs you’ve written have seasoned your craft. Interesting remote writing jobs for lawyers could include writing crafting online content (using your legal expertise to contribute to blogs or other website publications), or writing analyses and summaries for case law.In-house counsel
We’ve seen several in-house counsel attorney work from home positions posted. Organizations may offer remote, part-time, or contract positions for in-house legal support. It just depends on their level of flexibility and needs.Document reviewer
Even if this isn’t what you’d like to do full-time, reviewing contracts and other documents could be a viable remote legal work opportunity to fill in a gap in employment. Continue to review new case law in your practice area to stay abreast of the law and its changes. You can always resume your career as an attorney at any time.See more
How to Have a Professional Attorney Image When You Work from Home
Telecommuting for Legal Work
Non-legal work-from-home jobs
Finally, look beyond your legal experience! There are plenty of remote lawyer jobs where your past experience or hobbies and your legal know-how may intersect. Remote jobs in fields like project management, recruiting, content writing, and coaching could all be good options. Check out our list of alternative careers for lawyers for more examples.Whichever route you take when looking for full-time work-from-home opportunities, be sure to prioritize jobs with flexible options—and clearly negotiate your work-from-home arrangements from the start.
If you want to find meaningful work that you can do from home as a lawyer, the first step is to know where to look. Job seekers often start by reaching out to their personal and professional networks. Make sure your connections know you’re looking for a work-from-home opportunity, and someone may just help connect you with your next great opportunity.
Beyond that, your search will likely begin with online job ads.
How to get a work from home lawyer job
Headset
The rise of remote work has created a job type with different expectations than jobs at a traditional firm, the path to successfully getting a work-from-home attorney job may be a bit different than what you’re used to, and between different law firms and companies. Here are some tips to help make the process a bit easier:
Update your LinkedIn profile
When you’re looking for full-time work, hiring managers will absolutely look you up. Before you start hunting for online jobs for attorneys, use these tips to make sure your LinkedIn profile is professional and up to date.Show your tech competence
When you’re working remotely as an attorney, it’s critical to show that you’re cognizant of current legal tech tools and that you know security best practices. This shows hiring managers that you won’t require extensive training to learn how to use the tech needed to work from home, which is a huge plus for any firm or organization.Tune into this webinar on tech competence for lawyers put on by Joshua Lenon and Bob Ambrogi for more information on tech competence.
Stay flexible
These are unprecedented times, and how you handle yourself under challenging circumstances shows your professionalism. Your ability to solve problems in less-than-ideal situations is a big plus at any point in time, but even more so now. Regardless of the reason why you (or your potential new employer) are working remotely, be in the moment, be flexible, and show that you can adapt to things like changing schedules throughout the process.Be camera-ready
Part of the hiring process for stay-at-home legal jobs may include an interview—and it may take place over video. Video interviews are, of course, a bit different than in-person ones, but there are still best practices to follow.Showcase your best self on camera by dressing well, clearing your background, and ensuring good quality audio. You’ll find more tips for preparing for professional video meetings in our guide to working remotely as a lawyer.
Be yourself
In a remote environment, it’s more difficult to build company connections. You won’t be interviewed in-person, and you won’t meet new team members in-person once you get the job, so you’ll need to make more of an effort to spark connections. Keep it professional, but don’t be afraid to show your personality and connect with your interviewers.And of course, make sure everyone is clear on work-from-home expectations and arrangements. Once you’ve got the job, read top tips on how to work remotely as a lawyer to ensure maximum productivity and a good work-life balance when working from home.
Work from home attorney jobs: Best practices
After being offered different remote attorney jobs, and then accepting the position which you’re most excited about, you may begin to wonder how a remote role really differs from an on-location role in the office of a law firm. The truth is there are some adjustments you’ll need to make.When working from home full-time, your employers are putting more faith and accountability in you. Regardless of your job type, you’ll be expected to manage your time effectively whilst maintaining a high standard of work. At times the extra layer of responsibility can seem daunting, especially if you’re working alone and don’t have anyone you can bounce ideas off of or turn to for help if the printer isn’t working.
See more
Things To Know Before Joining a Virtual Law Firm
Advocacy Jobs: What They Are and How to Get Them
Fortunately, most of these matters can be overcome thanks to a combination of tech advancements and proper preparation, which we’ll breakdown for you now:
Find a space to avoid distractions
When settling into a remote job the biggest challenge can be ignoring your home comforts. It can be hard to conduct a thorough document review with the TV on in the background. Find a comfortable space and treat it with the same respect you would treat your workstation at the law firm. It will help to focus your mind and enable you to perform each activity productively.Make yourself available
Whether you’re in New York City, Los Angeles, or San Francisco, when remote working it’s vital that you make your presence felt to your clients and coworkers. If you’re hoping that not being in the company office means fewer meetings, you’ll be disappointed to know they’ll move to Zoom or Microsoft Teams.People will still want your feedback, expertise, and to be updated on projects. Just because you’re working in isolation doesn’t mean that you can isolate yourself from your team. Constant communication is key to a successful and happy team.
Don’t be afraid to get involved
When starting a new position working from home, you may think it’s more difficult to impress your employer with your work ethic and attitude, but this is not true. You simply have to show your enthusiasm in different ways. Get involved by regularly updating the firm partner or your manager on your progress, be active in any team or firm discussions on instant messaging platforms, and participate in any virtual team bonding activities that are upcoming.Set a routine
It doesn’t matter if you’re working part-time or full-time: if you don’t set yourself a work schedule you’ll struggle to stay motivated and productive as the days begin to blur into one. To keep your mind on track, create a set routine that accounts for breaks, lunch, and exercise. It will help to keep you fresh and help to avoid any error creeping into your work.Final thoughts: working from home is possible
While looking for work from home attorney jobs might not have been something you planned on doing in the past, there’s no reason to be intimidated. You’ll find plenty of information and resources to help you succeed in any remote work role in our work from home resource center.No matter why you want or need to work remotely, there are plenty of jobs that lawyers can do from home—jobs that will allow you to put your skills and experience to good use while giving you the flexibility that you need at the moment. You never know: Working from home could be an opportunity to widen your scope of skills, gain unexpected experience, and expand your network so you’ll be an even stronger attorney in the future.
