My Attorney Blog

I think some people might think receiving free perks at work is a trivial concern but I disagree. There are many aspects of a job that make up the whole work experience. Access to a window view and proximity to a bathroom to name a few.

After all, if you wanted to request an aisle seat on an airplane or be seated in an emergency row for extra legroom, it is your prerogative to do so. Similarly, contract attorneys should take work related benefits into account when selecting projects (assuming the market’s healthy enough to offer the luxury of choosing).

Here are a few a benefits and perks that I always look out for when evaluating the attractiveness of a contract attorney project. Contract attorneys usually work long hours. The benefits help to make the experience more enjoyable.

1. Internet Access – Some law firms and agencies block out non-work related internet usage to boost productivity. In my opinion, this practice only works to a limited extent. Yes random web surfing will be down but it will be replaced with excessive talking or hallway roaming. I think having internet access is a necessity. I don’t know anyone who can work 10-15 hours straight a day without needing to take an internet break. For the majority of contract attorneys I know, not having internet access is a deal breaker.
2. Streaming Radio - Sometimes streaming radio is prohibited on certain projects. The reason is that usage of streaming media causes a significant drain on internet bandwidth, causing work related programs to slow down. This is a perk I enjoy but I understand why some firms would want to limit this privilege. It’s just hard to get a clear signal with a traditional hand held radio sometimes.
3. Earphones Permitted – At least one law firm does not permit document reviewers to wear headphones. Their explanation is that this causes workers to be mentally distracted and hinders the firm’s ability to make announcements and work related updates. I don’t buy their explanation one bit. Document review doesn’t require extensive mental analysis. During times when I need mental clarity, I usually just voluntarily turn off my headset for a moment. There is no need for the firm to regulate this matter.
   
4. Free Coffee and Tea – Usually it’s either one of those ubiquitous Starbucks or Flavia machines. On my current project I only have access to free Flavias so I’ve trained myself to drink them. Not the tastiest, but it beats paying $6 for a cup of premium Starbucks.
   
5. Free Pizza – At least one legal staffing agency offers free pizza and coke on Fridays. I’m glad they finally switched to Papa Johns from the other company. But is free pizza really a perk that would cinch the deal for you? If it is, then you have some low standards!
   
6. Catered Meals – For the single contract attorneys who don’t need to go home to eat dinner with their family, this is a welcomed benefit. Not having to pay for my own meals has allowed me to save up quite a bit. Not having to go out to find food allows me to work more and bill more hours as well.
   
7. Reimbursed Meals – I actually prefer this over the catered meals. Agencies usually cater meals from the same caterer. If the project is a long term one, you will get sick of eating the same food after a while, I assure you. You can only eat baked chicken so many times.
8. Reimbursed Parking – I usually commute by Metro so this one isn’t important for me, but for many who drive, this one is invaluable. Daily parking can be quite expensive in downtown Washington D.C.
   
9. Reimbursed Limo or Taxi Rides Home – If you work past a certain time in the evenings, some projects will permit you to have reimbursed access to a free limousine taxi ride home. You might not look like a high roller at your workstation, but at least you can cruise home like one.
   

Did I miss anything?

It’s never too late to start thinking about investing in a retirement plan. If you haven’t already done so, you should start maxing out your IRA or ROTH accounts every year.

Did you know that contract attorneys can participate in their legal temp agencies’ 401k plans? I didn’t know they offered these tax deferred retirement plans until a few months ago. Since then I’ve been trying to learn more about them.

Just One 401k Example

There are many of them out there but I’ll just use Compliance Legal Staffing’s 401k plan as an example. Like most of the 401k plans offered by other temp agencies, initial eligibility requires that you work for a certain predefined number of hours for the agency. Compliance is owned by its parent company Vedior. Vedior requires that you work 1,000 hours with them before you can qualify for their retirement plan. Through automatic payroll deduction, you can contribute between 1% and 30% of your eligible pretax income into the plan, which is run by Fidelity NetBenefits.

The good news is that Vedior does match a portion of your 401k contribution, but the match doesn’t vest for several years. According to the plan, Vedior will match 100% of the first $750 that you contribute and 50% of the next $1,500 that you contribute annually. This brings us to the bad news. The maximum annual match is only a measly $1,500. But hey, it’s free money!

If you sign up and work with several temp agencies over a number of months and years, you can strategically max out the matching contribution limits of more than one agency’s 401k plan. I think that would be a pretty smart way to take full advantage of company matching and the tax deferred benefits of 401k’s.