My Inhouse Lawyer
vs a legal contractor

• Introduction

  Many businesses consider legal contractors when they need additional legal support.

  While this model can work in certain situations, it differs significantly from a more flexible, team-based legal solution

• What is a legal contractor?

  A legal contractor is a lawyer engaged on a fixed-term basis, typically for 3, 6 or 12 months. They usually work full-time within a business for the duration of the contract

• My Inhouse Lawyer vs a legal contractor

  Choosing the right legal support model can have a significant impact on cost, speed and commercial outcomes. The comparison below highlights how My Inhouse Lawyer differs from hiring legal contractors

  Feature	My Inhouse Lawyer	Legal Contractor
  Service model	Team-based legal solution	Individual lawyer
  Engagement model	Flexible, ongoing support	Fixed-term contract (e.g. 3–12 months)
  Management time	Minimal. Senior experts who hit the ground running	Medium to High both in recruiting and in managing/supervising especially for junior lawyers
  Employment risks	Don’t apply	Apply
  Health & safety risks	Doesn’t apply	Applies
  Mindset	Purpose-led: to make a difference to SMEs and contribute to long term	Variable. Sometimes, a transitory quality due to finite nature of contracts
  Impact	High and immediate	Variable but immediate
  Flexibility	High, can scale up or down easily to match demand	Low - fixed duration and commitment
  Continuity of support	Continuous, backed by a team	Dependent on one individual
  Breadth of expertise	Access to wider team + specialists	Limited to one person’s experience
  Availability	Reliable and consistent	Ends when contract ends
  Cost structure	Flexible and scalable	Fixed term pricing + potential employee-related costs
  Cost efficiency	High and gets better over time	Medium to low
  Scalability	High via team and partner ecosystem	Low - single resource
  Resilience	Multi-layered support	Single point of failure
  Access to specialists	Built-in specialists + ecosystem	Usually requires external law firms
  Use of legal technology	Integrated where beneficial	Rarely included
  Best for	Ongoing, scalable legal support	Covering short-term gaps or projects

  In summary

  A legal contractor can be an effective solution for things like parental/long term leave cover. However, due to the temporary/transitory nature of these engagements, they can sometimes be less impactful. My Inhouse Lawyer’s flexible approach can work well as an alternative. In addition, the flexibility they offer can be helpful in the lead up to long term leave and can smooth the landing for the returning employed inhouse once their leave is over.

• Fractional lawyers can often be as effective as legal contractors to cover long term leave. My Inhouse Lawyer’s solution offers additional advantages in breadth of expertise, scale and flexibility

  When are legal contractors the right choice?

  Legal contractors can be useful when you need a full-time resource for a fixed period

• When is My Inhouse Lawyer the better option?

  My Inhouse Lawyer is typically the better option when:

  1. You need flexibility rather than fixed-term commitment
  2. You want access to a broader range of expertise
  3. You want a more resilient and scalable solution
  4. You want to avoid reliance on a single individual
  5. You don’t want someone you have to manage and supervise

In summary

Legal contractors can be effective for full-time short-term cover but My Inhouse Lawyer provides a more flexible, scalable and resilient solution by combining dedicated support with access to a wider team of senior experts