Should Lawyers Consider a Side Hustle?

Pursuing personal projects or part-time work is not new for lawyers, but the “great reassessment” has amplified the discussion.
The post Should Lawyers Consider a Side Hustle? appeared first on Articles, Tips and Tech for Law Firms and Lawyers.

These days, it seems everyone has a side hustle — from the tech-obsessed associate to the partner-turned-novelist. For some lawyers, it’s a necessity; they need extra income to help pay off student loans. For others, a side hustle fulfills their needs, whether a respite from the daily grind, a creative outlet— or a well-laid path to the exit door. 

What Is a Side Hustle?

What’s the difference between a side hustle and a part-time job? Typically, a part-time job provides you with income, but your boss calls the shots, such as when you work, what your duties are and how much you’ll be paid. A side hustle also provides supplemental income, but you are the boss. You develop your business and determine how much you’ll work and how you’ll get paid.

Benefits of a Side Hustle

Why do lawyers pursue a side hustle? After all, their education has led them to one of the most honored, venerable professions. The reasons are as varied as the types of hustles going on:

• Side hustles can provide a financial safety net. For some lawyers, especially early in their careers, an extra income is important. Law school debt can be crippling, and solo and small firm salaries can be low.
• A side hustle can be a way of fulfilling your dreams. Maybe you want to become your own boss. Or perhaps you are saving for a big goal, such as your kid’s college fund, a vacation home or travel. Your side hustle can fund these ventures while not dipping into the monthly budget.
• A side hustle can be about emotional rewards. Exploring your hobby or passion in an intentional manner can be a release from the stress of a life in law. It can also be a way for you to enjoy your hobby or passion separate from your professional responsibilities.
• Side hustles can provide a financial safety net. A side hustle can pave the way to your next career or a fulfilling “life after law” plan.

Setting Boundaries and Goals

Law life is already more than a full-time grind for most lawyers. So, where is the free time for the side hustle coming from?

Business guru Tony Robbins says, “One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.”

While we can’t create more hours in the day, we can make better use of those hours. Devoting time to building the side hustle is essential, but it is just as important to set boundaries so that you can still manage a well-balanced life.

Building your side hustle shouldn’t come at the expense of your relationships with family and friends or your physical health. But the side hustle may play a part in your well-being. It might be the thing that allows you to set healthy boundaries in your law life.

Jay Reeves, a lawyer and life coach, says that finding purpose and profits is what will allow you to establish peace of mind.

As you set boundaries, consider the following:

• Establishing a schedule will help you focus on your day job while finding time to build your side gig.
• Another way to set boundaries is to use technology to master time management. Set a Pomodoro timer for focused work and use apps to block distractions from your devices.
• Create a timetable with milestones for completing a long-term project. Kanban boards can serve as a visual reminder and help you maintain focus on work-in-progress.
• Enlist an accountability partner. Having someone to bounce around ideas with can help you avoid decision paralysis and keep you moving toward your commitment.

Dr. Robert Cialdini, author of “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion,” writes about social influence and decision-making. His studies show that peer pressure is powerful, especially when our decisions are complex. Law life can be isolating. An accountability partner is a way to step outside of yourself and share the burden of decision-making by inviting a trusted resource to talk you through your goals and implementation.

Tony Robbins also said, “Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year — and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade.”

This doesn’t give you permission to ignore yearly goals; in fact, this is the argument for creating them. However, at the end of the first year, not meeting all of your goals does not equate to failure. And when you keep setting goals, you’ll look back over time and see your efforts multiplying.

Side Benefits to a Side Hustle

Mastering your law practice is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Lawyers need to be practice-area experts and build skills in developing relationships, negotiating and managing. However, these skills are transferable to many side hustles. Building a business on the side may, in fact, sharpen your skills and result in improved negotiation and management skills that benefit your law practice and your side gig.

An additional benefit to the side hustle is the expansion of your network. Many lawyers keep their connections and referral sources tied closely to their legal network, which can limit their opportunities. Your side hustle network may help build your law practice.

The Lawyer’s New Normal?

During the pandemic, many lawyers—especially women lawyers—were forced to leave full-time work to care for family, and others began reevaluating their career values and goals. This led to the “Great Resignation” or reassessment and greater acceptance of alternative career paths for lawyers.

Enter the rise of freelance legal platforms and the lawyer side hustle.

With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, the Great Resignation has segued into the “Great Stay” of 2024. Associate attrition rates are declining, and while competition for talent is greater than ever, more lawyers are choosing to stay with their employers longer. However, greater stability doesn’t necessarily mean a return to pre-pandemic times, or eliminate lawyers’ interest in pursuing side hustles.

Many lawyers still seek side hustles for various reasons:

• To pay off substantial student loans, which remain a concern even with job stability.
• To explore creative outlets and personal interests outside of their primary legal work.
• To develop new skills or test potential career transitions without leaving their full-time job.

Lucrative Side Hustles for Lawyers

In fact, many lawyers are pursuing profitable side gigs that complement their primary careers. Here are some of the most lucrative side hustles for lawyers today:

• Freelance legal work, which can include contract preparation, legal writing, document review and compliance work
• Bar Exam and LSAT tutoring
• Contract review services, especially in a niche area
• Freelance writing and content creation
• Mediation services
• Consulting and coaching services for other lawyers

Should You Consider a Side Hustle?

Engaging in a side hustle could become the accepted status for lawyers — the new normal. The side hustle could be a career path that supplements the practice of law, enhances the lawyer’s mental well-being, and ensures that the lawyer will have something to look forward to when retirement rolls around.

Updated from an article published in 2022.

Illustration ©iStockPhoto.com

More Tips on Building Your Side Hustle

• “Starting Your Side Hustle: Three Essentials for $300” by Andrea Cannavina
• “Starting Your Side Hustle: Three Ways to Control the Flow” by Andrea Cannavina
• “Starting Your Side Hustle: Building Your Website” by Andrea Cannavina
• “Writing as a Side Hustle: Three Lawyers Who Have Made Publishing a Secondary Income” by Tatia Gordon-Troy

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