July 24, 2024

 Paula Forbes

flexible resourcing Flexible legal staffing

Flexible resourcing gives you many options, from engaging talent on an on-demand, interim, rolling contract, or permanent basis via an hourly rate, day rate, or retained basis. What combination will serve you best and most cost-effectively?

The answer depends on the challenges you face. Among the common scenarios are a permanent headcount freeze, a need to reduce headcount, limited budget but the need for additional support, sporadic or unpredictable workloads, and capability or capacity issues. But no matter what your situation, the following guidance can help you consider the best approach for your team and business:

Payment Model: Hourly, Daily, or Retainer?

Hourly-rate resources are ideal for short-term, specific tasks requiring immediate attention for a limited period. The hourly approach involves minimal commitment and delivers cost-efficiency and precision-targeted support. Law departments have tended to use law firms in such situations to obtain insights and advice for specific questions, often complex ones or those involving a perceived heightened risk.

However, more and more GCs and heads of legal departments have discovered the advantages of using the talent networks of ALSPs for these sorts of situations. For example, Elevate’s network includes ex-law firm partners and former GCs who have held high-stakes roles and can provide more cost-effective and commercially orientated support on an on-demand ad hoc or consultative basis.

The day-rate model best aligns with a steady volume of work that reliably requires a full working business day (or days) on specific days. A key consideration is how long you expect to need the support, since these contracts typically include a two-way notice period.

For longer-term needs that are sporadic and difficult to predict, a retained-hours arrangement is usually best. The typical arrangement involves a minimum requirement (e.g., 20 hours per month) with a drawn down of hours over the month. This provides cost control and flexibility for when and how you use the time.  Where you require a range of specific skills or expertise, if the requirement is broader than one single lawyer’s skill set, we work with customers to develop a team of lawyers with complementing skill sets. Individual members are then called upon, on an hourly rate within the retainer, to support specific matters.

I would caution against using the retained hours model if there is a requirement for the individual to ‘parachute’ into a meeting or join a call with limited (or zero) notice. A better approach allows for completing work within an agreed-upon period. This way, the lawyer will manage their time and deliver within the specified period.

Engagement Choice: On-Demand, Interim, Rolling Contract, or Permanent?

Another decision when engaging ALSP talent is the type of engagement. Many law organisations are contending with permanent headcount freezes or need to reduce personnel costs. One solution is ‘rebadging’ members of your existing team onto the payroll of an ALSP that then second them back as contractors. Many individuals welcome this approach because it enables them to be redeployed by the ALSP onto other engagements their former company’s requirement concludes.

For headcount freezes where the work to be done does not decrease, flexible lawyering provides interim or fixed-term contractors who possess the needed skills and experience, but because they are payrolled through an ALSP, they do not impact the budget for permanent headcount. Unlike permanent full-time employees, this means you pay for what you need for only as long as you need it.

The range of payment and engagement options explains why increasing numbers of law departments and law firms are now choosing to use the services and resourcing solutions of Elevate and other ALSPs that can rapidly deliver high-quality, competitively priced practitioners via large, global, and talent-rich networks.

The best legal resource providers not only know how and where to attract new talent and how to retain and engage top-calibre candidates but also understand their customers’ needs and how best to respond. These providers do not offer one-size-fits-all solutions. Instead, they tune their response according to a particular customer’s challenges, with answers that can be as varied as providing a specific resource or partnering with the customer on bespoke resourcing solutions that meet the immediate need while providing a sustained solution for ever-evolving demands and long-term strategic considerations like succession planning, upskilling for the future, and emerging legal and business needs.