Jordan Schwartz is a seasoned in-house attorney with Big Law roots and experience as a General Counsel. Since transitioning into freelance work, he has partnered with a range of dynamic, high-growth companies, helping to scale their businesses while managing diverse legal functions—including tech transactions, product counseling, intellectual property, and general corporate matters.
Tell us a bit about your professional background.
I worked at a large NYC law firm after law school, then joined a startup in Silicon Valley as their GC prior to transitioning back to private practice.
What encouraged you to start your own solo practice?
As a GC, I was frustrated by the lack of options available to a small, rapidly growing company, which were limited to working with larger law firms at relatively high rates with work typically done by junior lawyers, or expanding the legal team. Seeing a gap in the market for experienced, hybrid lawyers, who are external to the company but can plug-in and work with other internal stakeholders like in-house counsel, I decided to explore if that model would work, especially in light of the changing technological landscape that enables lawyers to be able to work remotely.
When did you first learn about Lawtrades and what prompted you to join the platform?
Around 2019-2020. It appeared to be a good platform for reaching a diverse group of early- and mid-stage companies, especially in geographic regions outside my immediate area. I also appreciated it taking some of the admin work of running a small firm, such as with client billings.
What's your favorite aspect of Lawtrades?
Access to high quality clients, but at an early enough stage where I can develop and grow the relationships over several years.
What advice would you have for others that are looking to utilize Lawtrades successfully?
If you are just starting out, be willing to be flexible with opportunities in order to establish a baseline of clients and to find the right work balance for the number of hours you are looking to get to work. Hopefully you will be able to find longer term clients that will engage your services over several years like many of mine have, which helps reduce downtime as an individual client's work fluctuates throughout the year, and also allows you to gradually reach any additional income goals by taking on new clients and/or increasing rates.
How do you establish strong, long-term relationships with clients?
First and foremost, basic professional requirements are always key, like performing work diligently and in a timely manner. But also strong communication skills and willingness to tailor your services depending on each client's particular situation and needs. For example, some clients may have fairly loose processes with little guidance, whereas other client's processes will be more rigorous and standardized. Each client also has different levels of risk tolerance and particular contractual terms they are sensitive to, so try to calibrate your approach as quickly as possible to what each specific client's needs are, not just what you may be used to from past work.
