I met a guy a few years ago who operated a consultancy service upon which I’ve based my own service. He was honest enough to admit he worked very hard but he was independent and had a variety of clients. This all appealed to me.

I appreciate that nobody but me would ask why this appealed to me but, in no particular order, here goes:  

Reason 1: I adopt the “work hard, play hard” approach. By not having set hours lends itself to that philosophy. If I’m quiet in terms of client work, then I can do something else, usually find a beach.

Reason 2: I like the fact that if I’ve an idea of how something could be done, I can just do it – I don’t have to persuade anyone or feel as if I’m challenging “the way it’s always done” mentality. I just think “will this make something better?” and then I can at least investigate the answer.

Reason 3: I really enjoy working as an in-house lawyer but my own incessant curiosity means I eventually look over the fence at pastures new. Whilst I do appreciate the rewards and comfort of staying power, I do lack whatever is necessary to work year after year after year in the same place. Even to this day, I struggle to connect at any level to those who have been 5, 10, 15 years and more in the same place. Having multiple clients in different industries sates my curiosity and any desire to look over the fence and ironically am likely to commit for a much longer period.

Reason 3.5: My skill sets, my varied work experiences both in and outside of the law, in my opinion, it makes me a more rounded lawyer and being a freelancer allows me to build on that. Having worked in places under a specific job title, you do get a narrowing of experiences as you become more and more specialist. For example, when I was younger and the Data Protection Act 1998 came into force, I was asked to do a specific piece of advice. I then did more and more and more until it felt like I was the first stop for all things Data Protection! For certain types of clients, usually SMEs the broad base of experience is usually an asset.

Reason 4: Whilst I do miss working with other people (not necessarily other lawyers – if you know, you know!), I’m at that stage where I don’t need to work in an environment with a large team of lawyers. Over 25 years of being qualified does mean that I am pretty self-sufficient.

Reason 5: Over the years, the traditional pathway of being a partner in a law firm lost both its pull and sheen. Being a partner in an established law firm is primarily about office politics and how much money you bring in. I was never very good at the former, and bringing in fees and chargeable time can become a little bit all consuming.  

There are of course some very good arguments for being an employed in-house lawyer or a lawyer in a law firm and I do ask myself that question regularly but to date, those reasons have not been compelling enough to reconsider abandoning my preference for being a lone wolf.