Firm Advice - Legal Employment & Staffing Positions-Virginia DC and Maryland

Since the Vizcaino v. Microsoft decision, how to maintain the distinction between contract workers and employees has been blurred. Employers have no safe harbor in which to operate to ensure that contingent workers are not reclassified as employees by the courts or the IRS. The tips below may mitigate the facts in favor of a finding that your contract attorney is not reclassified as an employee, should an inquiry ever be made.

Tips for keeping contract attorneys just what they are - contract attorneys:

Ensure that the attorney has signed an agreement that she or he is not an employee of the company

Do not treat the contract attorney as an employee

Allow the attorney to work as independently as possible

Allow the contract attorney to accept work from other clients, if possible

Work through the placement agency regarding discipline, termination, and similar matters

August 16, 2004 - The Legal Times
"How Did They Do It?"
By Mary W. Legg

June 28, 2004 - The Legal Times
"Thinking Small"
By Christine M. Garton

March 10, 2003 - The Legal Times
"Fitting in a New Group of Lawyers"
By Mary W. Legg

January/February 2002 - Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia,
Raising The Bar, "Client Development, Part Two - How to Network"
By Mary W. (Adelman) Legg

December 10, 2001 - The Legal Times
"Recession: A Grim Toll on Firms" (Quoted)
By Jennifer Myers

November/December 2001 - Womens' Bar Association of the District of Columbia,
Raising The Bar, "Client Development, Part One"
By Mary W. (Adelman) Legg

November 19, 2001 - The Legal Times
Career Advice, "The In-House Life"
By Mary W. (Adelman) Legg

October 22, 2001 - The Legal Times
"Legal Market Feeling Pain In All Corners" (Quoted)
By Jennifer Myers

August 14, 2000 - The National Law Journal
"In-House Lawyers Still Mostly White" (Quoted)
By Siobhan Roth

June 30, 1997 - The Legal Times
"How Should Your Contract Attorney Be Billed?"
By Mary W. (Adelman) Legg