My Attorney Blog

Notwithstanding any perceived stigma or downside from performing temporary attorney work, there is a general perception that contract attorneys have the potential to make a lot of money within a relatively short period of time because they can work overtime hours. Yes, I think for the most part that’s true.

In a healthy job market when projects are plentiful, making a six figure income or more a year is not only possible, I would go as far as to say it is a likely occurrence. Of course, it would depend on your ability to successfully roll from one project to another. Even after factoring some downtime and gaps in between, a lucrative temp income is not out of the question.

The current recessive job market we are experiencing makes it more difficult to roll, but hitting six figures is still a very reasonable target. It simply may require more agency networking and persistence. Because the market’s a bit tight right now, you can’t passively wait for project announcements to be posted on the listservs. You need to take active initiative to bug the agencies and remind them of your availability on a routine basis.

Concept of Contract Attorney Pay As Fast Money

Interestingly, I have heard some refer to contract attorney pay as “stripper money” - categorized as the type of significant money that can be earned within a very short period of time through tasks that supposedly don’t lead to any future professional enhancement. I might disagree a bit about the latter part of that statement, but the first part is frequently true. Because most contract attorneys are paid overtime wages of time and a half for hours worked beyond 40, we are capable of earning a significant amount within a short period of time. It all depends on how many hours you are willing to put in.

I’ve worked a wide range of hours and personally have no problem with the varying project hour availabilities, but I know many contract attorneys who absolutely embrace and demand long hours. Long billable hours means more overtime and massive overtime can lead to big bucks. Many temps are frequently disappointed if not very upset when hours are cut back as such rollbacks greatly affect their bottom line.

Working 100+ Hours

I’ve had my share of long hours before and let me tell you, working that long is not easy. But at the end of each week, the resulting jackpot paycheck that greeted me was always worth it. Just don’t expect to accomplish much at home during those extreme hour weeks - this includes laundry, family time, sleep, and even personal grooming and hygiene for some people.

At the start of this year, I worked on a project that offered virtually unlimited office hours. Dinner was reimbursed up to $25 and transportation costs were covered. Working conditions were decent, associate supervision was reasonable, and internet access was not restricted. A few contract attorneys and I were separated from the main pack due to room overflow issues, so we essentially ended up with our own private room.

The members of my little posse all worked very long hours, and we took turns encouraging each other when energy and morale was low. Because our food expenses were covered and the office hours were so long, I essentially lived there for several weeks straight. I worked 5 weeks continuously, 7 days a week and racked up nearly 100+ billable hours each week. Needless to say, that one month span was my most successful contract attorney experience to date in terms of financial payoff.

I’m sure I contributed many productive hours for the client. It wouldn’t have been possible if the working conditions were oppressive. It was only possible because the agency and law firm created a commendable working environment that was ideal and conducive for extended hour work.

Extreme Hour Projects Are Rare So Take Full Advantage

There were times I wanted to just go home, but I knew such ideal overtime-heavy projects were not easy to come by so I made the effort to stick it out for the long haul. When you are on one of those kind of projects, you really need to maximize the opportunity. You have the potential to earn more than 2-3 months worth of income within a single month’s time. Contract attorney work can be occasionally unpredictable so when you have the chance to work and earn a lot of overtime in such a short burst of time, it is in your long term interest to stay the course.

I’m sure everyone has similar war stories of working those long hour projects. I hope they were good experiences.