Setting Pay Levels and Keeping Your Own Hours

Becoming a sole practitioner allows you the freedom to set your own hours and level of pay. You can earn as much as you need to whilst also having the time and freedom to spend more time with family or explore personal projects.

Choosing your own hours – benefits and drawbacks

Overworking

Setting your own hours has many benefits but can lead to overworking. If you are not careful, you may fail to set boundaries or, without standard working hours, you can lose track of time. You may also feel like you are available to clients every hour of the day, which can quickly lead to burnout. You will need to have the discipline to ‘clock off’ and give yourself structured time off from work, including phone calls and checking emails.

Underworking

However, many people have the opposite problem. Without pressure from a manager or colleagues relying on you, you may end up neglecting work. In order to become a successful consultant solicitor, you will need to be sure you are the type of person who can thrive without external pressures. You will need to be self-motivated and organised to ensure you can get through your work.

Working alone

Working alone can be challenging. Humans are naturally social, and spending every day on your own may negatively affect your mental health, mood and productivity. Therefore, we offer a blended model, so that you can work alongside fellow solicitors at our offices or work remotely whenever you wish. Our communication methods also mean that even when you are working remotely, you feel involved in the day-to-day workings of the business.

Organisation and scheduling

Having complete control over your working schedule can be empowering, allowing you to maximise productivity and work with clients more effectively. However, you will be responsible for organising your days to ensure you can meet deadlines and ensuring that you take on enough work to meet your income goals. While making money may be important to you, you should be wary of taking on too much. It can be tempting when you are retaining the majority of what you bill; however, if you take on too much, then your work will suffer. It is important that you understand your availability and say ‘no’ to clients when you will not have time to do your best work for them.

Money matters

One of the most intimidating parts of becoming a sole practitioner is the fact that you will no longer be receiving a salary. While this means your earning potential is limitless, it can be a less secure career path since the amount of work you bring in may change from month to month. Having a varying income each month can make it difficult to budget and plan, so you may need to balance out your earnings.

You should also take into account that you will not be paid for holidays, sickness or absence and so you should put some money aside to cover yourself. As a consultant solicitor, you will not be receiving pension contributions from an employer, so you may need to arrange pension payments yourself. Additionally, you will need to organise national insurance contributions and tax matters.

Work with IMD Solicitors as a Consultant Solicitor

If you are ready to shape your career the way you want, we can help. At IMD Solicitors, our consultant solicitor model allows you to do the best work for your clients while ensuring you have the right work-life balance. You can work from home or from our offices, set your own hours and retain most of what you bill. If you would like to learn more about working with us as a consultant solicitor, please call us on 0330 107 0107 or email us at info@imd.co.uk, and we will get back to you right away with further details.