Demand grew double digits across nearly all practice areas, with commercial, privacy, product, and employment law leading the way, while areas like contract management and niche specialties remain strong.
Overflow work has surged in the past year, outpacing backfills as the biggest driver of demand.
Full-time flexible legal staffing grew by 7+ percentage points, reflecting a growing demand for consistent support, while ad hoc projects declined.
More legal teams are embracing flexible lawyers for the first time, frequently starting with three-month “try before you buy” projects—many of which are extended. This trend highlights a shift toward agile, FTE-like resources that offer flexibility without long-term commitments.
Legal departments today face mounting pressure to cut costs alongside massive workloads. Traditionally, this meant either overworking in-house teams or relying on expensive outside counsel. However, our latest data reveals a different trend.
Legal departments are increasingly turning to flexible legal staffing solutions now more than ever. This shift allows them to hire flexible lawyers on demand and maintain agility while managing costs. Flexible legal staffing refers to highly skilled professionals who integrate seamlessly with your team to deliver specialized, scalable support without the long-term commitment of an FTE. This distinction highlights the strategic value and flexibility that interim talent provides, far beyond the transactional nature of freelance or 1099 arrangements.
Our 2024 data reveals key insights into how to navigate budget constraints without compromising on talent quality. Read on to see how we break down the trends in our data so you have benchmarks to assess how you’re handling in-house talent gaps with your legal budget.
As we look back on flexible legal staffing in 2024 and prepare for what’s ahead in 2025, trends in practice area demand tell a compelling story about the evolving needs of legal departments. From surging demand in commercial, product, and privacy law to steady growth in employment law and niche specialties, companies are seeking specialized flexible lawyers to navigate today’s challenges.
Commercial and technology transactions roles continue to be the most in-demand area—and that demand is only growing. Companies are increasingly seeking flexible lawyers with expertise in commercial agreements, technology licensing, and data privacy to navigate today’s complex business landscape.
The demand for contract management professionals has seen significant growth, reinforcing the ongoing need for legal experts who can efficiently handle high-volume contract workflows.
Employment law demand showed a clear shift toward flexible lawyers with multi-jurisdictional or international experience. Companies are grappling with workforce challenges stemming from changing labor laws, gig economy regulations, and remote work policies. Shannon Murphy, VP of Recruiting at Paragon Legal, noted, “The rise in employment law engagements reflects companies’ need to adapt workforce policies and ensure compliance in an increasingly complex global environment.”
Privacy expertise has remained in high demand, with notable growth in placements for flexible lawyers specializing in global data protection, cybersecurity, and privacy-related litigation and dispute resolution. As companies navigate evolving privacy regulations and increasing scrutiny on data practices, the need for legal experts in this space continues to expand.
Across all practice areas, there is a clear trend: clients are increasingly seeking attorneys with specific industry experience. For example, commercial roles now frequently require familiarity with particular sectors such as tech, supply chain, or manufacturing. This heightened focus on industry-specific knowledge reflects the growing complexity of legal challenges companies face in their respective fields.
Legal departments are experiencing unprecedented workload surges, leading to higher demand for scalable flexible legal staffing solutions that offer FTE-level support without permanent hires.
While backfilling FTE roles remains a key need, overflow work and specialized projects have become the fastest-growing drivers of demand. As legal departments embrace flexible resourcing strategies, they are increasingly turning to flexible legal staffing to manage growing workloads and address specialized legal challenges.
This steady increase indicates that legal departments are experiencing higher workloads and operating at or near capacity. In-house teams are seeking cost-effective ways to hire flexible lawyers to manage demand peaks and minimize burnout without breaking their budgets.
Over the last year, there’s been a clear trend toward full-time flexible legal staffing engagements. Placements at full-time hours per week increased by 7+ percentage points, while ad hoc and low-hour projects declined.
These trends suggest that more legal departments are seeking the stability and depth of full-time support. They also reflect a growing recognition of the benefits of flexible staffing models in the legal industry.
By engaging flexible lawyers for full-time hours, legal departments can quickly scale up their capacity to handle increased workloads while maintaining the flexibility to adjust their workforce as needs change. However, not all firms offering flexible legal staffing are the same.
“It’s important to talk to your legal staffing partners about the specific need you’re trying to fill and get a good idea of how they vet their candidates,”
says Tracy Scanlan, Paragon’s VP of Client Development and Legal Affairs.
“It’s true that we have seen interim, flexible engagements rise in general but we are seeing an increased need come in from clients who engaged an attorney through another company that didn’t work out.”
Getting your flexible legal staffing needs right the first time not only benefits your current team, but the business as a whole.
While legal departments clearly need more support, they’re not rushing into long-term hiring commitments. Instead, our data reveals a preference for more agile flexible legal staffing solutions.
We’ve observed a significant increase in 3-month flexible legal staffing projects, largely driven by new entrants into the flexible talent market, as companies test interim solutions before making longer commitments. While 3 months is often the starting duration, the majority of these engagements ultimately get extended, highlighting a growing preference for flexible, FTE-like support.
Shannon Murphy, VP of recruiting at Paragon Legal, notes,
“In the current economic climate, we’re seeing a rise in short-term projects as companies prioritize flexibility and test out talent through three-month engagements before making long-term commitments. This shift reflects a growing need for agility as legal departments manage increasing workloads without overextending their budgets.”
This trend is particularly pronounced in legal operations, where companies have scaled back full-time legal ops roles—creating opportunities for flexible legal staffing to step in and provide targeted support.
The three-month time frame appears to be a sweet spot, allowing departments to bring in specialized talent for specific projects or to address seasonal workload increases without committing to longer-term arrangements.
This preference for more nimble engagements could reflect GCs’ desires to reassess needs more frequently or to align projects with quarterly business cycles. Either way, the three-month engagement helps legal departments remain agile in the face of economic uncertainty and rapidly changing business needs.
As we step into 2025, successful legal teams will be those that embrace agile flexible legal staffing strategies—balancing increasing workloads with smaller budgets while maintaining high-quality legal support.
By leveraging flexible legal staffing solutions, legal teams can access the specialized skills they need while maintaining the agility to respond to an uncertain economic landscape.
This might mean engaging an flexible lawyer 40 hours per week over three months, or it could be using a flexible lawyer 10 hours per week on an ongoing basis. The key is to remain adaptable, continuously reassess your in-house team’s needs, and adjust your staffing strategies.
Paragon Legal provides flexible legal staffing solutions to help our clients navigate this dynamic environment. Our team of experienced professionals offers the specialized skills you need when you need them. Reach out now, and let’s build a strategy that works for you.
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