Category: Blog

It’s no secret that the legal industry has a severe issue regarding burnout and low job satisfaction. For legal firms and companies looking to expand their legal department, effectively recruiting and talent retention often comes down to avoiding your employees burnout. 

Avoiding burnouts does not just aid in boosting employee satisfaction, it also improves productivity and increases talent retention. 

Get help during crunch time

Some periods are just a lot busier than others. If you don’t adjust the size of your workforce to the increased workload, people will get burned out. The effects of this added stress won’t just be apparent during ‘crunch time’ but will often remain long after. 

A freelance legal consultant can help you out when the stress levels are high when your workforce is confronted with tight deadlines and a significantly increased crunch time. 

The main benefit of a freelancer is that they can plug in the gaps for a set amount of time with particular niche expertise. This allows you to get the help you need, exactly where and when you need it. 

Plan for (long-term) absentees

A long-term absentee can throw a wrench into your workflow. Having the resources available to cover for (long-term) absentees quickly and effectively helps you avoid burning out the rest of the employees.

There are multiple exciting options to fill in the gaps the absentee leaves. You can implement a flexible working space where people have many roles and can quickly get up to speed with new tasks. 

Another option is to always have some leeway in your deadlines and work allocation, which avoids burnout during times with more work. Another viable option is to foster excellent relations with competent legal interims who can help you out on short notice when there is an absentee. 

Allow flexibility on the employees terms

As an employer, you likely expect a certain degree of flexibility from your employees. The same goes for your employees. Your workforce expects you to be flexible when certain events (the loss of a loved one, burnout, a medical emergency) come up. 

A great way to go above and beyond in providing flexibility to your employees is by allowing them to work at home. Working from home does not just give them the ability to work in an environment where they feel comfortable; they avoid one of the main stress factors: commuting. 

Note: Make sure that you do not disturb the work-life balance of your employees when they are working at home—making your employees feel like they are on call 24/7 while at home can also induce a significant amount of stress. 

Have the right people on speed dial

Having a reliable legal interim on speed dial is one of the best ways to prevent your permanent workforce from burning out. So often, when specific issues are not clear-cut and significant resources have to be dedicated to solving problems, people experience an unhealthy amount of stress. 

A freelance legal consultant can help you when your current workforce needs extra help or breathing room. Getting competent external help quickly is one of the best ways to ensure your firm or business remains productive, and your employees don’t suffer from burnout.  

Limine allows you to find component freelance legal interims which suit your needs in record time. Then, when you make an account on Limine and post the assignment you need external help for, our algorithm gets to work and recommends the three most suitable freelancers for your needs. 

We use our own mind in the same way as our ancestors did. 

The power of habit in the legal practice

Over the last decade, however, science has gained many new insights into how we can use our mind optimally and how we can efficiently deal with the stress inherent in today’s legal practice. 

 

John Bargh is a professor at Yale University and studies the human mind and behavioral science. He describes in his book ‘Before You Know It – The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do’ what he discovered during his long career. As he explains in this most interesting talk to Yale students, his most important insight is that the most effective control over yourself is not obtained through willpower, but through the efficient use of the unconscious forces of the mind. Professor Bargh concludes that there is a much greater power available within us than willpower. He literally writes: 

 

“As it happens, people who are better able to self-control – who get better grades, are healthier and exercise more, are less overweight, don’t smoke, make more money, have happier personal relationships – are not the ones who exert willpower more than the rest of us do. It is just the opposite.” (p. 264) 

 

What your conscious mind can automate through the power and speed of your unconscious mind, soon becomes a good habit and therefore happens automatically. In this way, you can save an enormous amount of energy, which can be put to more useful use elsewhere.

 

Learning how to control your mind

The question is how long you can still function efficiently in this fast-paced world without such modern control of your mind. If we use our mind the way our ancestors did for centuries, we are missing out on a lot. We don’t use an old typewriter in the office, do we? No, in the office we are using high speed computers and even algorithms and artificial intelligence… 

 

How to use and control your mind most efficiently can easily be learned. This way you can help prevent stress and its consequences, and use your mind optimally for great projects. Understanding the optimal interaction between your conscious and subconscious mind and learning a number of exercises gives a boost to your personal skills. 

More energy and focus in the legal practice 

You get more energy, comfort, confidence and focus. Even if you think (rightly) that you are doing quite well today! The question is: Do you want to stay ahead and use the most modern techniques that are perfectly applicable in the legal profession?

 

LIMINE offers you the opportunity to become the best version of yourself thanks to its privileged collaboration with SERVO and Jeff Keustermans!

Running a business can be a stressful endeavour. Many firms consider regulations and laws some of the most daunting obstacles a company has to take into account every step of the way. Getting some extra-legal help is often necessary to keep your company (and yourself) out of trouble with the law. So why would you pick a freelance legal consultant over a law firm or hire an in-house counsel?

If you have already decided on hiring a freelance legal consultant, check out our blog post to find the very best talents out there. 

Attractive pricing for top talent

Hiring a law firm or a full-time in-house legal expert as an employee is often an expensive way to get the legal help you need. However, a freelance legal consultant can offer a quick solution at an attractive rate.  

Freelancers have a lot less overhead than a full-fledged law firm. Law firms have staff to pay, an office to rent, and many extra expenses that are all included in the rate they charge. For that reason, it is not unusual to pay a premium of almost 50% when hiring a firm instead of a freelancing individual. However, when it comes to the quality of legal talent you are getting, freelancers are often as good, if not better. If you choose a freelance legal consultant specializing in the niche you need, you often get top talent at a much better rate. 

A flexible way of working

The significant advantage that a freelancer offers over a full-time employee is your company’s flexibility. If you need to have some surface-level advice, you can make a quick call and know exactly what you need to do. Hiring a legal expert as an employee outright often results in them having little to do when the project ends or if you have overestimated the amount of work at hand. 

A freelance legal consultant can help you out whenever you want and for as long as possible. Then, when the assignment is done, you can quickly stop the cooperation and contact them again when their expertise is required. 

Plenty of freelancers to choose from

No matter what legal part of your business you need assistance with, there is bound to be a freelance legal consultant who has just the experience you need. By relying on a law firm or your in-house legal counsel, you often run into the problem that the people working on your case are competent, but no real niche experts in the subject. 

Choosing a different expert no matter what legal problem your firm is dealing with is only possible if you either go to a giant law firm or have a talent pool of freelancers to choose from. The latter option is more attractive due to the cost and closer relationships with those working on your projects. 

Limine makes finding the best legal talents for your needs quick and easy. When you create an account on our platform and post an assignment, we match you with the three relevant freelance legal consultants. This way, you can always find top talent that fits your needs!