How More of a Freelancer’s Time Can Be Billed Back to Your Client — And Save You Money with Professional Legal Support
- Kristy Mclaren
- Jun 16
- 2 min read
Today, I want to talk about an important financial benefit of hiring a freelance law clerk instead of an employee: more of the time I spend on your files can be billed back directly to your client.
Why Is This Important?
When you hire legal support, whether in-house staff or freelancers, one of the key considerations is how much of that work you can pass on to your clients for payment of legal expenses. This affects your firm’s profitability and cash flow.
Most employees perform a mix of tasks — some are file-specific billable work, while others are general administrative duties that often can not be billed back to clients.
Freelancers Focus on File-Specific Work
As a freelance law clerk, the work you hire me for is typically 100% file-specific. This means that the tasks I perform—such as document preparation, legal research, file organization, drafting correspondence, and court filings—are directly related to your client’s case.
Because of this, at least 85%, and often 100%, of my time spent on your files can be billed back to your clients.
Billing Options for Freelancers
One of the advantages of working with a freelancer is the flexibility in how my work is invoiced and billed:
Disbursement: I can be billed as a disbursement on your client’s invoice, similar to court filing fees or expert reports.
Contractor Fees: My fees can be listed as contractor charges, which clients typically accept as billable expenses.
Timekeeper: I can be added as a timekeeper on your invoices, allowing you to bill clients for every minute of my work, just as you would for lawyers or paralegals on staff.
This billing flexibility means that you might be able to recover the full cost of my services, or much of it, minimizing your overhead and improving your firm’s profitability.
Profit Potential from Freelance Work
In some cases, firms even find that working with a freelancer can be profitable. Because my rates are competitive and directly billable, and because I deliver efficient, high-quality work that reduces your firm’s time spent on tasks, your firm may generate a positive margin from outsourcing to me.
Why This Saves You Money
Little to no non-billable hours: Most, or all of, a freelancer's focus and time is on billable, file-specific work.
Less overhead: No benefits, office costs, or paid downtime.
Improved cash flow: You bill your clients for freelancer's work, as much of the work is file specific and not administrative.
Flexible scaling: Use freelancers as needed to match workload without long-term commitments.
How I Can Help Your Firm
With over 20 years of experience as a certified law clerk and licensed paralegal, I specialize in legal document preparation, litigation support, and case management. My freelance services help law firms increase billable hours and reduce overhead simultaneously.
Let’s Connect
If you’re looking for reliable, experienced legal support that can seamlessly integrate into your workflow, let’s talk. Reach out now to schedule a free 30-minute consultation and discover how Clearly Legal can help your practice thrive.
