Ways for Lawyers to Make Extra Money

When thinking of high paying jobs, most often than not, most people will recommend pursuing a career in law (best practice area for solo lawyers). However, when it comes to accumulating wealth, lawyers can be quite slow at it. Of course, we have a few exceptions of billionaire lawyers, but more often than not, between crippling student debts and piling personal bills, lawyers will often find themselves thinking of ways to make extra money.

Thankfully gone are the days when if you needed to make more money the only way was to work extra shifts at your work. The world today is awash with so many money-making opportunities regardless of your educational background or profession. Therefore, if you are a lawyer and have been wondering how you could make extra money, you are in luck as we are going to highlight several ways on how to go about it in this article.

Make Extra Money as a Lawyer

Teaching and Tutoring

While in law school, you probably had one or two practicing lawyers teaching you certain units. With your qualifications and experience, so can you too.

You can apply to be a law teacher at your local law schools or even take up teaching a law-related class at your local community college.

Going hand in hand with teaching is tutoring. Law school can be hard and overwhelming especially with the many mandatory high-stake tests that students have to undertake such as bar exams. Several law students are always in need of a tutor to help them succeed through their first year as well as help them improve on their overall GPA.

Being a practicing lawyer, you are well suited to provide tutoring services to such students during your free time and at a fee.

Start a Blog

As a lawyer, whether in private practice or not, you are bound by strict regulations on the extent to which you can go to market your legal services. This can make marketing yourself as a lawyer a little bit complex but not impossible to accomplish. An easy way to do this is by starting an informative legal blog about various aspects of the law. To start making money from your blog, you can monetize it and start earning money from ads, sponsorships as well as paid partnerships.

If you are not big on running and growing a blog, you can also opt to write articles for income sharing sites. A good example is Hubpages. With this site, you will only be required to write and post informative content in your area of specialization then start earning.

Work as a Freelance Lawyer Online

Many lawyers do not consider working online as an option due to the nature of their work. (moonlighting jobs for attorneys). However, there are several legit and well-paying opportunities for lawyers to make money online. With a laptop and good working internet, there are several online websites and apps that you can register on and start offering your services as a lawyer at the comfort of your home. Example of these sites include;

LawTrades: this is a free online marketplace where lawyers can find clients, be it individuals or businesses, for a freelance project at a fixed rate. To get started on this site you have to apply and be accepted. Thereafter, when clients post projects, the system automatically matches the client with their best available candidate for that job.

Hire an Esquire: yet another great online platform that seeks to connect law firms and legal departments with freelance lawyers who they can work with for short-term projects. With this site, freelance lawyers are required to submit their application and wait for it to be approved. Once approved, then you can start applying for available projects that have been posted.

UpCounsel: this site is majorly for businesses seeking to hire a freelance lawyer for legal advice or completing small legal tasks. To get you started, you first need to apply to work as a freelance lawyer and wait for the application to be approved. Once approved, you can then start applying to the jobs that have been posted. The advantage of this is that you are at liberty to set your pay rate.

These are just but a few of such sites. There are several others available, therefore make sure to do your research and find one that best suits your needs.

Answer Legal Questions Online

Yes, it is possible to make money online by answering legal questions in your area of expertise. This is not the ordinary way to make money by participating in surveys, No.

This involves answering legal questions posed by real people. Each site works differently however they will all pay you for your answers. Examples of such sites include; LawGuru and JustAnswer. The main advantages of these sites are that you get to choose which questions you want to answer and are in control of how much time you dedicate to the site.

Become a Guest at a Live Show or a Podcast

This can be a great opportunity for you to advertise your services as well as get referral clients. There are so many avenues on both traditional and modern media that a lawyer can use to market themselves. Examples include;

Local TV and Radio Stations: these media avenues often invite various professionals to their news and talk programs to offer their viewers expert advice. They serve as a great stepping stone towards you creating awareness of your services to potential clients.

Podcasts: these are slowly becoming a form of mainstream media with more people embracing them. There are several podcasts available online covering a wide range of topics including legal affairs. Therefore, you can take up an opportunity to be a guest in one of these podcasts and get paid for your time and advice. Or, you could start your podcast on free websites such as BlogTalkRadio. Record and upload your podcasts for your listeners who could also be potential clients.

Incorporating video content, chat rooms and online discussion forums: these are also great alternatives for interacting with potential clients as well as increasing your visibility.

Note;

As a lawyer, participating in shows, podcasts and online discussion forums can cause you problems since there are strict laws on how one should market themselves. Therefore, before agreeing to take part in any of these, you should first check the rules governing this to ensure you are on the safe side.

In Conclusion

These are just but a few simple ways for lawyers to make extra money when they need to supplement their income. There are a ton of other opportunities for making money on the side but these are closely related to your profession hence they will also act as a means of improving on your skills and learning more.