Lawyers gone into freelance/contracting post baby

[nickname7890]

Hello

I'm a commercial solicitor weighing up my options again post second baby
I'm in house currently been there 5 years afte r 3 years pqe at the firm I trained at and looking to leave my current role

Freelance/lawyers on demand/axiom style work really appeals bc of flexibility and perhaps opportunity to try different industry sectors but I'm just wondering what the pay stacks up like and any major pros /cons ?!
Any experience /thoughts would be so appreciated x

I've some experience of this, albeit in a different sector.
I think arrangements differ greatly depending on sector/firm choice so I'm just going to very general.
Pros:
Flexibility for childcare fantastic.
Working from home (if you go down that route) made life with a family much easier.

Cons:
Workflow uncertainty - I found this much more challenging than I expected. This again depends on your arrangements. I found I didn't know week to week what my days would look like which meant frustrating periods where I was expecting work but not getting paid and didn't want to take on other commitments in that time.
More generally, the unreliability of the amounts of money coming in was challenging to us as a family.

In the end I went back to a role in private practice as I missed the certainty and sociable aspect of working (and the regular cashflow). I can see how it works out well for some people. But I would consider very carefully whether the work is out there at the moment in your sector to give you the return you need.

Also speak to an accountant and understand the costs of going down the freelance route.

Thank you this is really interesting
I was thinking of an axiom/ lawyers on demand model
I heard that you can easily hit the six figure mark at the 6 plus pqe level but I'm starting to wonder if that was rubbish and the net effect is not so wonderful once all paid off

I wish sometimes I had gone into a career where really "making it" and getting a decent salary didn't involve killing yourself and never having a life or a family life