I received this from a reader:
Where can a solo find freelance lawyers who have really good contract editing and negotiation skillsets? I have had a really hard time finding such people, including through temp agencies. My biggest challenge is finding people who not only know how to draft agreements, but are also efficiency-minded.
Is there a market for such people? I have questions.
First, I’m not sure “contract editing” makes sense. Most of what you see is crappy, in terms of what it says and how it says it, and fixing it involves serious work. If you’re just editing, it’s likely you’re papering over the dysfunction. So maybe my reader should be looking for contract drafters, period.
Second, what’s a freelance lawyer? Someone who doesn’t have a job and isn’t a solo? Someone who has a job but is willing to do side gigs? I can recommend solos for this sort of work, but presumably the economics wouldn’t work.
And third, I can think of nonlawyers who could do this sort of work. See this recent post about nonlawyers and contract drafting.
What do you think?