Worker classification is not a new issue for the California courts, but a landmark decision 18 months ago left a thriving legal industry—the freelance attorney marketplace—questioning its survival.  Now, with the California Legislature’s passage of Assembly Bill 5, law firms and freelance attorneys can breathe a sigh of relief.

The freelance attorney marketplace is distinct from the traditional notion of contract attorneys who are brought in to law firms for basic litigation support or due diligence. Rather, freelance attorneys represent a previously untapped crop of talent: lawyers who have fled Big Law due to intense work demands and need for a more balanced family life. The freelance attorney model where freelance attorneys work remotely for other law firms has given these attorneys a place to land.