A freelance solicitor is a new way of operating as a Solicitor first introduced in November 2019 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

Prior to that date, solicitors could only practice as part of a regulated firm, either in partnership or as sole practitioners. The same regulation applied irrespective of the type of work carried out.

The new type of solicitor was introduced to allow experienced solicitors to operate more on a consultancy basis and without the shackles of extensive regulation much of which is not relevant to the type of work carried out. 

A freelance solicitor is required to be registered with the SRA and must comply with certain criteria, namely:

• • Must not employ anybody and must work alone;
  • Must trade under their own name;
  • Must invoice clients direct; and
  • Must not operate a client account

One feature of the Freelance model, is that professional indemnity insurance is not always required. However, because of the nature of the work undertaken, I have ensured that appropriate professional indemnity insurance is in place, along with professional IT support and backed up, secure, systems and all necessary Data storage and security.