How to Work as a Contract Attorney
Contract attorneys are often called "temporary attorneys," or "document review attorneys." In most cases, a contract attorney is employed by a mid-size to large large firm that is handling a large case requiring a significant amount of discovery. Discovery is the process by which information is given to the opposing party for its review prior to the trial stage of a case. Contract attorneys review these documents prior to turning them over to opposing counsel by reading them and determining if the document is relevant, subject to privilege, confidential and by classifying the type of document it is by its contents. The position of contract attorney is a reasonably well-paying position and is an option for new attorneys or lawyers in transition who are looking for work.
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Instructions
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Update your resume. If you have just graduated law school and passed the bar examination in your jurisdiction, you will need to update your resume to reflect this. Put any relevant law school information as well as your attorney license number in your resume. If you are a lawyer transitioning between jobs, you will need to update your employment history with your previous work experience.
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Register with career searching websites. Upload your resume and create a personal account with websites such as CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. This will not only allow you to search for employment as a contract attorney, but it will also allow employers seeking contract attorneys to search for your resume.
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Create an account with legal temporary employment agencies. Just as there are general temporary employment agencies, there are also legal employment agencies, such as Robert Half Legal and Hire Counsel. Most contract attorney work comes from legal temporary employment agencies because law firms generally "farm out" this type of work.
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Search law firm websites for employment. Check the employment section of mid size to large law firms. In a few cases, the law firm will advertise directly on its website for contract attorneys, but this is a rare occurrence.
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Contact your law school's career services office. Sometimes contract attorney positions are posted with law school career services offices in order to attract graduating law students who will be taking the bar exam. Whether you just graduated from law school or have been practicing for years, take advantage of your law school resources.
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