How to Become a Freelance Solicitor

What skills do I need as a freelance solicitor?

In a career that involves advising clients about the law and acting on their behalf when it comes to legal matters, a solicitor will need to have a specialist set of skills and knowledge in order to be successful.

You’ll need to have:

• Excellent communication and listening skills
• An analytical mindset with good attention to detail
• In-depth legal knowledge, ensuring you keep yourself up-to-date with any changes to the law
• The communication skills to be able to explain complex legal matters to those who aren’t familiar with the jargon and procedures

How to become a freelance solicitor

The most common route people take to become a solicitor is via a university course, however, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently introduced a new method to become a solicitor without having to obtain an undergraduate law degree.

This involves: having any undergraduate degree, taking both part 1 and 2 of the Solicitor Qualifying Exams (SQE), completing two years of qualifying work experience and then meeting the character and suitability requirements of the SRA.

Limited vs Umbrella

Once you’ve decided to join the self-employed sector, you’ll then need to choose how you want to contract.

We’re going to take a look at the limited company and umbrella routes, but, if you’re interested in becoming a sole trader, read our How to set up as a Sole Trader page for more information.

If you wish to set up your own firm and therefore go down the limited company route, then this is the most tax efficient way to work, as you can generally expect to take home 75-80% of your earnings.

However, there are of course pros and cons to both, and there will usually be one that will stand out as being better for you.

For example, those who expect to be contracting for an extended period of time and earning up to £100 a day, or £25,000 per year, will probably find the limited company route to be the best option.

Those who are only contracting short term, expect to earn less than the above figures and don’t want to have to take on the administrative side of being self-employed, are usually better suited to the umbrella route.

Take a look at our Limited vs Umbrella page for more information on this.

You may also find our Benefits of Contracting page useful.

We hope you found this page helpful. Our team of experts are available to answer any questions you may have, so either contact us via online chat, call us on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.